I caught ESPN’s interview with the NBA’s 2008 Most Valuable Player & LA Laker superstar Kobe Bryant this weekend. A year ago the Laker’s were struggling and there were rumors that Kobe would be traded, but things have turned 180 degrees this season as the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals by defeating last year’s champion & are the favorite to win it all.

Three things Kobe said in this “exclusive” interview stood out for me.

The interviewer asked what the biggest difference is in the attitude of the team this year versus last year. Kobe’s answer was that everyone had developed a special bond through all the adversity and that they were like a band of brothers – like a family.

When asked how he learned to win with his current team-mates, Kobe said that as the team captain he learned to instill his DNA into the entire Laker team.

The follow-up question was ‘How did you go about doing that?’ and I love Kobe’s response: ‘That’s something I figured out… and it took me a while to figure it out’. Kobe went on to say that others have to figure it (instilling the desired DNA in others) out for themselves.

Watch the interview here: Kobe interview

Leading any team to success beyond a short-term project requires both a special bond between the team members and that the DNA & vision of the leader be instilled in the rest of the team. Those two things were notable but not profound for me, however, the last part struck a cord with me.

As a church planter, I’m moving into a new place in my leadership journey which has been accompanied by loads of self-study, book reading, seminars, webinars, coaching and conferences. As great as all those resources are there is an element of figuring out for yourself for which there’s no substitute.

For some things in leadership and life there’s just no instruction book, but God’s Spirit is ready to guide & grow you through the “figuring it out for yourself” that must take place in our journey.

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