Obama dissed Rajon Rondo and it affected him...mentally, emotionally, or not at all?

Josh here - I pledge to post something at least once a week. Something constructive and insightful. This blog always seems to slip down on the priorities list but I am dedicated to changing that.

On with it...

I came across a story from ESPN talking about President Obama (ENTP) dissing on Rajon Rondo. Supposedly, they were all on a tour of some museum, and POTUS looked at Ray Allen, pointed at Rondo, and said "Hey, Ray, why don’t you teach this kid how to shoot?"

Wow. Spoken like a true leader.

The full story is here, excerpted from Shaq's upcoming biography. I want to quote the rest of what Shaq had to say though:

"Everyone starts laughing...

KG told me he saw the look on Rondo’s face and the kid was devastated, embarrassed. Dissed by the President, even though I’m sure Obama didn’t mean any harm. Rondo smiled and went along with all of it, but KG told me he could see it in his eyes. It bothered Rondo. It killed him.

The next day Rondo shot the ball horribly. He stopped taking shots after that. He’s so sensitive. I think it was a real jolt to hear the outside perception of a basketball fan who happens to be the President of the United States. It messed with his mind. I’m sure of it."

Words are powerful...especially the more to the Feeler side a person is. Were Rondo a "T", well...let's just throw someone else into Rondo's shoes in that situation: Deion Sanders, Charles Barkley, Dick Cheney - what would THOSE guys have done?

Not been hurt. They'd have come right back at Obama with a crack of their own, maybe asking the tour guide to teach the President how to not to lead the country into an abyss. Only, I'm sure they'd be much more clever, funny, and cutting with their slam.

But that's the thing about words, and about brain types. Someone who is a T by Nature - and the more to the T side, the more this is true - isn't going to be affected much by mere words, whether they're from a no-name opponent or the theoretical 'most powerful man in the world'.

But a Feeler? Ouch. No matter how confident the person is, that's still going to sting. All the worse if it's a joke about something that is somewhat true (which, good jokes usually revolve around a bit of twisted truth), something that the person perhaps is already frustrated and sensitive about (like Rondo with his crappy shooting), something that perhaps already affects the athlete's confidence in the arena.

Communication is as much the receiver as the giver, and self-esteem should come from one's own valuation of themselves. However - I think this is a great example of the way words are used by different brain types, and received by different brain types.

T's can seem heartless and cruel, even if they're 'just joking'. And for them, it really is just playing around. For _STP types and ENT_'s, one-upmanship is a game. Especially with American guys, jocks in particular.

F's can seem overly sensitive and insecure, unable to take a joke. But for them, a diss on them doesn't just bounce off and roll away, it buries itself and creates a wound. The stronger the Natural inclination of the Feeler, the more it's going to affect them.

Is Rondo a Feeler though? Perhaps. I could see him as a Dwayne Wade ISFP type. He's always seemed to have sad eyes in my opinion, which would indicate Feeler. I could certainly see Introvert as well. His reaction - if Shaq's correct - and subsequent shooting slump would at the very least indicate that he's a Feeler.

And it also serves to remind us to be aware of those we're communicating with, and speak and act in a way that is going to be clearly understood and inspire people, not tear them down.

Of course, with a T, that might mean dissing them and kicking their butts to get them inspired. While with an F, it's going to be better to offer encouragement.

But make your communication more productive, not destructive - and to do that, it helps to know the brain types of the people you're interacting with, and to communicate accordingly.

Or, I could just say, don't be an ass to people when you're the freaking "leader" of the free world. That's basic leadership 101 as well as basic "who's fair game to roast" rules.

No matter how you slice it, Obama did not communicate wisely or how a leader should with people who look up to him. As a result, it seems his target of ridicule was a Feeler who took the slight personally, and the emotional turmoil caused a drop in his performance.

But then, maybe Obama did it on purpose - he is, after all, a Chicago Bulls fan...

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