Leadership doesn’t always look like confidence and control. Sometimes it looks like improvisation—trusting the training, adjusting the play, and finding your rhythm as the game unfolds. When plans fall apart and people are stretched thin, leaders who practice their craft can find rhythm in the chaos and turn disruption into discovery.
Leadership isn’t tested when everything’s going your way. It’s tested when you don’t have your best stuff.
That truth came to light for me again last night watching the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Miami Heat. Our work often takes us into professional sports environments around the world, and I’m always learning—and relearning—how much the game reveals about leadership. Last night’s game came with a story: On Monday, the Cavs had suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Heat—a buzzer-beater at the wire, injuries to key players, and the kind of emotional gut punch that can shake a team’s confidence.
Two nights later, the same Cleveland-Miami matchup looked like a mismatch for the Cavs. Only two starters in the rotation. A bench full of role players and fresh faces not long out of the G League. These were athletes who had spent most of their time preparing—practicing, conditioning, refining their game—waiting for a moment in the spotlight that may never come. But with the Cavs’ stars sidelined, that moment arrived.
The first half looked rough. Missed cues. Awkward possessions. Poor communication. You could feel their discomfort through the screen. But as the game unfolded, Coach Kenny Atkinson kept adapting—changing rotations, mixing lineups, testing combinations, and looking for chemistry. The players began to trust their training. The rhythm started to return.
By the fourth quarter, the Cavs—underdogs on paper—had flipped the game, ultimately defeating Miami by 14 points.
Watching it live, I was reminded: leadership is rarely about having all your best people or your best plan. It’s about trust and adaptability—trusting the work that’s been done beneath the surface and adapting to what the moment is asking of you now.
Every team, every organization, every leader faces moments when the “starters”—the people or strategies you count on most—aren’t available or aren’t clicking. That’s when you’ve got to dig deep. Look to the bench, to the potential you’ve been developing all along. Experiment. Adjust. Learn in real time.
Leadership is a practice. And becoming a leader isn’t a status you acquire; it’s a role you inhabit. The best leaders, like the best athletes, go to work—every day. They train, learn, reflect, and stay ready.
That’s what the Cavs modeled last night. And it’s what great leaders practice every day.
Bill Adams, Co-Founder and CEO
Bill Adams loves people and is passionate about relationships, leadership, and business. He is a serial entrepreneur who has started, owned, and sold multiple businesses. As a founder and the current CEO of Leadership Circle, Bill brings 30 years of experience to his clients—the CEOs of major Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofits, and private equity startups. In addition, Bill co-authored Mastering Leadership and Scaling Leadership. As a trusted advisor, teacher, consultant, and coach, he works with CEOs and top teams in fulfilling the promise of leadership.
