The point guard dribbles up the court, looking to start the offense. The goal is to score a basket. Teammates run to their positions. Everything is set.
The point guard dribbles left and doesn’t find an opening. He then dribbles right and is unable to find a play to make. He dribbles back to his original position at the top of the key. He feels he now has an opportunity and starts to drive to the basket—but a defender blocks the point guard’s path, and he dribbles back out of chaos.
As the shot clock winds down, the point guard continues to dribble, thinking of what he can do next.
His coach is yelling at him to pass, the crowd is yelling at him to shoot, his teammates are yelling “I’m open, I’m open!” The point guard just dribbles.
The point guard is the leader because not only is he the team’s best player, but he has the most important thing—the ball. He has the power to decide where that important thing goes next.
He doesn’t shoot, he doesn’t pass, and the shot clock eventually runs out. The ref blows the whistle. The point guard must now give the ball to the ref and, even worse, to the other team, his competition.
As a thought leader in your business, do you dribble too much?