✖️Be a Multiplier
Magic Johnson could have taken the shot.
He was the best player on the floor. Everyone knew it. The defense knew it too.
Instead, he passed.
Not because he couldn’t score.
Not because he was unsure.
Because he saw something bigger unfolding.
That moment became a pattern. And that pattern changed teams.
🧠 The Insight
Leadership isn’t about how much you can do yourself.
It’s about what happens when you don’t.
The easiest way to look like a leader is to dominate. The harder way is to make others better, even when you’re capable of taking over.
That’s the difference most leaders never fully confront.
🏈 The Story
When Magic Johnson entered the league, he was a star immediately.
Size. Skill. Vision. He could score at will.
Early on, the temptation was obvious: give Magic the ball and let him go.
But Johnson made a different choice.
Instead of proving how great he was, he focused on making everyone else dangerous. He passed constantly. Sometimes almost to a fault. Teammates who were role players elsewhere became confident scorers alongside him.
The result?
The team didn’t just rely on Magic.
They multiplied.
When defenses collapsed on him, it didn’t matter. Someone else was ready. Someone else believed they belonged in the moment.
Magic didn’t shrink himself. He expanded everyone around him.
🔁 The Contrast
This is where leadership usually splits.
Spotlight leaders take the shot because they can.
They fix the play because they see it.
They step in because it’s faster.
The team performs, but only while the leader is involved.
Multiplier leaders do something riskier.
They pass the ball.
They trust someone else to step up.
They allow mistakes.
They accept that things may look worse before they look better.
But over time, the entire group becomes harder to stop.
🧭 The Shift
Here’s the uncomfortable truth.
If you always take the shot, no one else learns how.
If you always solve the problem, no one else develops judgment.
Leadership that lasts means resisting the urge to prove yourself every moment. It means choosing long-term strength over short-term control.
Magic could have been great on his own.
Instead, he made teams great.
👊 Put It Into Practice
This week, pass the ball once more than you want to.
Let an athlete make the call
Let a teammate lead the drill
Let someone struggle before stepping in
It may not look clean. That’s fine.
Growth rarely does.
🏅 The Locker Room
Are you the reason things work?
Or have you built people who can make things work without you?
Only one of those scales.
❤️ The Parents’ Bleachers
Parents feel this tension every day.
You see the answer.
You know what they should do.
You could fix it instantly.
But every time you do, you take the ball out of their hands.
Instead, pass it back:
“What did you see?”
“What option would you try next time?”
Confidence grows when kids realize they can handle the moment themselves.
⚡ BE THE CATALYST
Magic Johnson didn’t stop being great when he passed.
He became more dangerous.
Leadership works the same way.
Make others better.
And the whole team rises.