leadership
Identifying Mission Through Sports and Faith
coach JOHN MOSLEY | Basketball coach at East Los Angeles College and featured on Neflix’s Last Chance U
JERMAINE SPIVEY | Los Angeles based Dancer, Performing Artist, Teacher, ChoreographeR
JERMAINE You reminded me so much of some key teachers in my life that coached me essentially and they became my mentors unofficially but officially. I remember feeling like it was my job to make them proud. That was a part of my goal, yes to get their approval, but it was kind of beyond that I just wanted to make them proud. I’m doing this for me but I’m also doing this for them. And I could see how just from the 2 hour time we had with you I felt the same thing. If you were my coach full time I would definitely be working to make you proud.
COACH I have my expertise in basketball but you can see some of those leadership techniques across the board. I think it starts with that compassion or that special interest in the ones that you’re trying to help.
There are different leadership styles and I take the approach where I come to you. There are those that have better learning capabilities. They don’t need my help. Who’s going to have the patience for those who have trouble learning, or who get distracted, or fall behind, or have the potential but nobody has time to bring out that potential? That’s kind of what I go after. For me, I didn’t give up on myself. There were some people that saw interest in me. There were a few that had interest, and I grabbed onto those few and I said okay, well you said I can do it so I’m going to do it. I want to be that guy that sees the good in everybody and brings that out.
Since I was younger I had the leadership capability in that regard. I can remember myself being the class clown, the one that initiated some level of emotion in the class, and I didn’t know what that was. I often got in trouble for it. And so now when I see young people I really attach to that. When I see a level of energy like that, when I see a level of influence, even if it’s going in the wrong direction those are the guys that I want to grab. You just have to direct that energy. I learned that from my wife too. She’s a fifth-grade teacher. The kids that are advanced are either super quiet or they’re a big distraction because they’re ready to move on mentally.
“When I see a level of energy like that, when I see a level of influence, even if it’s going in the wrong direction those are the guys that I want to grab. You just have to direct that energy.”
— COACH
JERMAINE The energy to command a room or people is there, you just have to find the right way to channel it. [When I was younger] I was desperate to fit in. I just wanted to make everybody happy, truth be told. And that’s a very interesting distinction to be able to make to see somebody doing something and also understand where it’s coming from. It’s not necessarily just bad or loud or disruptive or distracting. It’s a tool that they can use in another way. What did you learn from your mentors?
COACH What I learned from some of the best mentors is just about caring about others. And I think the ones who cared about me and had an interest in whatever was going on with me are the ones I listened to. Those that had zero to gain to help me are the ones that I knew had invested interest in me.
JERMAINE That is really powerful. Your coaching is based on the humanity of people. You want to win, so basketball is important, but it really sounds like the person is most important. You change their lives, which ultimately changes the way they play basketball. They also have to rise up and meet you where you’re asking to be met. And it seems like most of the time most people do.
“Well I’ve observed some great leaders and I’ve watched them address behavior, and one of the things I’ve learned is you can’t address negative behavior all the time. Sometimes it’s best just to ignore it. When you do it it’s a teaching moment for everybody.” -COACH
JERMAINE What do you expect of a leader and what are your expectations for yourself as a leader?
COACH As a leader, to elevate those guys and put those guys in those spaces to me is what I value more than anything else now. Is to see guys be successful and see people be successful, and for those to see dreams that I have for them. Some young men come in and they don’t know what to dream. I have to remind myself that it’s not always about winning. It is, but it isn’t. What helps the winning is if I have compassion. If I’m truly serving them then they’ll feel like they don’t want to let me down. Not only will they not let me down, but they also won’t let themselves down.
COACH Never lose the mission over the money. That’s my goal.
JERMAINE Never lose the mission over the money. Can you imagine if you heard more leaders say those things? And not just say them but practice that? In dance, it definitely gets complicated for directors to keep that in mind because if you start a dance company you start in a deficit. There’s so little money that is given on the federal level to support dance and yet it’s so important for so many different reasons. People sort of lose sight of keeping the mission alive because survival is also a big part of it. The money becomes so important.
JERMAINE How much of [your teaching style] is conscious and how much of it is instinctual?
COACH I think it’s a little bit of both. It’s like observing and trying to figure it out instead of what we think the kid needs. It’s instinctual. I always revert back to my faith. Why would we come and try to serve those who don’t need any help?
JERMAINE Do you believe there are ideal conditions for a student or mentee to learn and grow? And if so, what do you think those conditions are?
COACH In terms of leadership I think the conditions are you have to care. Everybody has a sacrifice that they can make for others. Whatever sacrifice that is, I think that’s what you have to do. I think that's one of the prerequisites of leadership.
JERMAINE Are there areas of your coaching that you would like to improve?
COACH It would be the actual coaching side. There’s so much I have to learn about that I don’t spend enough time on from the actual basketball side. Of course, I need more compassion, I need to be more understanding of individuals, but the actual craft of basketball–there’s so much happening. Every year there’s something I have to learn, and I wish I had more time for that.
JERMAINE How do you approach keeping your coaching skills sharpened and feeling fresh?
COACH The biggest way I think you can learn is to be under mentorship or to watch someone who’s already successful. If you have the opportunity as a leader to work under somebody who’s a great leader already I think that’s the best way. There’s always something you can learn from everyone. Even if it’s bad you can learn how not to do something.
JERMAINE I loved when you talked about being interested in the person and interested in what happens to them as a foundation for why you are engaging, why you’re doing what you’re doing. It makes all the difference. If I could ask you one last question, how do you replenish yourself? What do you do to give yourself energy, recuperate? How do you take care of yourself?
COACH I always go back to the bible. I spend time in prayer. Responsibility can replenish you too. I have a responsibility to be here with my family. My responsibility is to love my family. So I recharge when I come home and spend time with my family.
