LeBron James has been thrust into positions of leadership ever since he made his NBA debut. Even at 19 years of age, he was expected to lead the 2004 USA Olympic Team to a gold medal, despite there being more experienced players around him. Years later, while giving an interview in 2014, James compared the role of a leader in a team to that of a father.
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The realisation for him came from a surprising source, his younger son, Bryce. When speaking to Jeanne Marie Laskas for the cover story for GQ Magazine, he and his family were at an ice-cream parlour. When Bryce looked unhappy with the particular flavor he’d been given, James told him he was free to keep looking till he got something he fancied.
Then he looked at Laskas and said that fatherhood was a lot like leadership in sports:
“Being a leader of my household, a leader of Miami, a leader of Team USA. It’s the same exact thing. You can sense when a guy is frustrated—maybe doesn’t feel involved enough in the offense. As leader you go over to him, you know, ’How can I help?’ Because at the end of the day, we all have one common goal—and that’s to be great.”
Being touted as the ‘Chosen One’ since before having played a single NBA game is a huge responsibility in itself, but James embraced the role of a leader wherever he went. He’s played for three different teams in the NBA, and in all of them, he’s been the unequivocal leader- everyone’s go-to guy when they need help.
James has always had one clear rule when dealing with frustrated teammates: try to understand why they are frustrated. As he put it himself, they’re all there with a common goal in mind, so it becomes his duty to make sure he’s doing his best to make them feel involved.
He uses this same philosophy in his parenthood as well. In a 2019 interview, James claimed that he has one main rule in his household, and that is to be respectful of people, no matter where they are. Be it at home or in public, James wants his children to always treat people with the respect that they want to be treated with.
He added that the best compliment he can get from others about his style of parenthood is when they tell him that his children are well-behaved.
James also mentioned that rather than bombard his children with repeated advice, he likes to dish it out over time, so as to not overwhelm them.
