Everything I Needed to Know About Personality Types I Learned in Little League Basketball

Watching our 9-year-old son play basketball Saturday brought back memories of my many years on the court. I started in 3^rd grade like Nate and played every year until I broke my arm in eleventh grade. I remember what it was like to be an awkward kid, uncertain of where to go and what to do on a basketball court.

As I watched his team play, I noticed the same types of kids that I played with. There really are only about four kinds of basketball players: 

1) The scrappy point guard who knows how to handle the ball and has his favorite players with whom he'll share it. If one of those players isn't open, he keeps the ball for himself until he drives himself into a corner with four opponents fighting him for it.

2) The obedient child strictly follows the coach's orders. "The coach said this was my spot, so this is my spot. No dad, I have to stand right there .. the coach said so." The obedient child is so worried about staying in his little spot that he never runs out to meet the ball and rarely gets open. Yet, he just can't figure out why nobody will throw him the ball.

3) The hustler. This player doesn't hold back. If there's a ball out there, he's diving for it. He's racking up fouls. He's thinking with his heart. He acts first, thinks later and sometimes that means he's diving for a ball that an opponent just tipped out of bounds. He's so busy acting, he doesn't realize that some balls you just have to let go.

4) The natural is the child who makes basketball look effortless. He swishes shots from the outside and drives down the court to score the winning points. Of course, the scrappy point guard loves to pass him the ball. All goes right in the world of the natural. 

These same types of players are the same types of people you'll encounter in life. Particularly I see these players in the business world. 

There's the scrappy leaders who run things, have their favorite people, and rarely "pass the ball" outside their "clique." They're front and center making things happen, but they often forget to delegate until they've worked themselves into a corner with few options. 

Then there's that obedient person who does what he's told, but nothing more. He's going by the book, doing his job by the regulations, but rarely thinks outside the box. Because he won't venture outside his circle, he misses opportunities and gets passed over for promotions. In the entrepreneurial world, this is the person who starts a business, does a few obvious things to promote it and then gives up crying, "I tried, but no one would hire me." 

The hustler is out there making a lot of noise, doing a lot of things, busy, busy, busy. He may or may not be getting anything significant done with all that action, but sometimes his sheer heart for "giving it all he's got" makes him luck up. Then again, he often spends his energy fixing things he's botched while acting first and thinking later. 

We all envy the natural. This is the person who makes life or business look easy. Everything seems to fall into his lap. Few realize that it's the attitude, confidence and consistent effort that the natural has put forth over time that has perfected his craft. He's learned to listen and act on intuition. The natural has learned the delicate balance between doing and thinking. There is no wasted effort with the natural. He's learned the art of acting while he's in a state of flow. He knows if he does, things will get done in half the time with a fraction of the effort. 

Addendum added 1/22/08:

What's the danger for the natural? Ingratitude! The moment he starts thinking how "great and smart" he is and forgets that his ability to be "in the zone" comes from a higher Source, he disconnects himself from that Source.

So which one are you?

Comments

[Phillip Davis]

Hi Marnie,
That's an interesting way to look at it, and there's probably a percentage of all four types in each of us. The natural is typically someone who, at least for the time being, is "in the flow" and seeming to almost watch things operate around them, almost as if witnessing it rather than orchestrating it. In sports they call it "the zone" and few people live in it consistently.

I tend to default to "the hustler" and place a disproportionate emphasis on "doing." So I'm going to keep the natural more in mind as I go through my day.

Great post!

[Nancy Marmolejo]

I agree with Phillip, I think we all have them within us.

The job is to know how and when to call those "personas" up.

For instance, when we're not in the flow and need to get something happening, go for it and hustle for a while. The hustler explores new areas and does so without fear or self consciousness.

When we're steeped in a learning curve, it's not a bad idea to be obedient for a bit. There is nothing more discouraging than jumping in prematurely before you're done learning.

great post!

[Jennifer Youngblood]

Marnie,

This was a great article! You have a way of capturing life at its most natural state and allowing me to see things in a different light. I wish I could say that I was a "natural," but unfortunately, I saw myself in the other players as well. These are excellent points to keep in mind. Who would've thought you could learn so much at a little league basketball game?

[Digital Info Diva]

I really enjoyed reading this article. It captures the basic essence of people types so clearly!

Looking back in business, I was a natural. And then I decided to build a business on the Internet. I was so caught up in being the natural, I was fighting success every step of the way and had turned into the hustler. Once I figured this out, things started flowing again. Yeah!

[Wiley]

Been there seen that both playing the game and observing traits. The article is right on the mark.

I enjoyed and only wish I had written it myself.

[Will Buckley]

I think it is naive to say we have a little of all 4 characteristics.

At times this may be true but being a former athlete myself I am sure upon observation you are dominated by one of them and lucky if you show any of the other three in balance.

If you haven't figured it out yet I am the "hustler".

So I will see you later once I have thought about and want to revise my statement.