How to Inspire Sportsmanship and Leadership with Coach Jim Johnson

Having served as a sports coach, primarily in basketball for over 30 years, Coach Jim Johnson knows a thing or two about how to inspire and motivate others to take action. His record of success speaks to the efficacy of his methods. Jim’s purpose now is to serve others in reaching their dreams and believing they’re possible.

In this episode we talk about how a difficult situation can be seen as a rallying cry for team members to inspire and take action around, a firsthand recounting of a miraculous night in basketball that actually managed to beat the late Kobe Bryant in an award competition and the profound impact on telling a story that you were a part of making.

Find Jim online

https://coachjimjohnson.com/

Find us online

https://impactfulcoachingpodcast.com/

1:05 Joseph alters the format of the show just slightly, asking instead “what’s new and on the mind?” rather than “how’re you feeling?” This prompts Jim to reflect on his newfound practice of gratitude.

3:04 Before asking Jim to share his coaching story and his take on coaching altogether, Joseph reflects on the thematic significance of gratitude in storytelling, and how gratitude (as well as grief) are uniting traits that help us give service and credence to higher forms of power.

7:48 Reflecting on the many inspiring conversations Joseph has had so far, what he was keen on asking Jim is for him to reflect on his definition and status as a coach as he fits a more conventional definition based on shared past experience.

11:06 Coach Jim Johnson shares the story of one miraculous team manager who pulled off an unbelievable performance that clutched the game for his team.

20:15 Joseph asks JIm where that story took him as he became a motivational speaker.

25:00 Jim talks about how the stories and speeches he told/gave to his basketball team formed the basis of the work he had done as a speaker. One such method was his use of “Warnings and Examples”

31:21 Talking about leadership in sports, Joseph reflects on the Green Bay Packers podcast he edits and how Aaron Roger’s leadership was difficult to inspire because he wasn’t surrounded with people who had his experience throughout time.

35:38 Coach Jim is asked what he needs to do as a speaker to make his motivational speeches… motivational. Likewise, what do audiences need to do to hold up their end?

42:42 Joseph asks Coach Jim what sportsmanship is, a topic that Joseph considers to be in desperately short supply in the E-Sports online gaming tournament scene.

47:11 In continuing our discussion on sportsmanship, Joseph reflects on the trouble that being on TV or in front of a crowd can cause in the execution of skill under pressure. Does entertainment invite more inviting, unsportsmanlike behavior?

51:42 We head into the final round of questions, what lessons did Coach Jim learn early on and what’s his view of the future?