The Michael Jordan Leadership Myth
Like millions of others, I have been transfixed by The Last Dance, the 10 part ESPN documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls that ended last night. Last week a 2 minute segment from the end of Episode 7 blew up the internet — in the video, Jordan reflects on his leadership style and what it takes to reach the mountaintop; we watch MJ at practice and winning championships in a montage that includes everything but a Nike swoosh and toward the end his voice starts to crack. We are led to believe winning comes at a price few are willing to pay, that being the best requires a win-at-all costs attitude regardless of the wreckage left in one’s wake.
As someone who idolized Jordan growing up, the video gave me chills. But I don’t buy the supposed lesson: if Jordan’s ruthless leadership style is responsible for the Bulls success, why didn’t any of the Jordan-led Bulls teams of the 80’s win until Scottie Pippen, a Top 50 NBA all-timer, became Jordan’s wingman? How come they didn’t win until the Bulls hired Phil Jackson (who would later coach the Lakers to 5 more titles after his 6 with the Bulls) and instituted the triangle offense? And what about the pedestrian record of other Jordan organizations like the Wizards and Bobcats/Hornets?
The Last Dance builds on the myth that nice guys finish last, that icons like Michael Jordan and Steve Jobs would not have changed the world without crossing the line from obstinate to a**hole. But it’s not true. The reality is, teams DO need a relentless drive to win, and MJ DID provide that fuel — but not in the way the documentary wants you to believe. Mike led first and foremost by example; the best and most revealing part of that 2 minute video clip is when Jordan says his teammates knew there wasn’t anything he’d ask of them that he wasn’t willing to do himself. THAT is great leadership — being the first and last one in the gym, your team knowing you’ve put in the work and that you have their backs so long as they’re willing to sacrifice, too.
Further, the world is full of unsuccessful jerks. I know: I worked for one for 2 years early in my career, when our start-up got a new CEO. He was a world-class bully, mocking and belittling others both openly and behind their backs, he was caustic and rude on the phone with vendors, he would not listen to perspectives different from his own and he’d reward those who stroked his ego. I came to believe I worked for a man with diagnosable narcissistic personality disorder. In the first year of the new CEO’s reign of terror our vibrant, collaborative culture deteriorated as the team jumped ship one-by-one.
As the saying goes, experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. I ended up resigning, too, but in hindsight I’m grateful I saw firsthand now NOT to treat people, how much culture matters, how great leaders empower and encourage and hold themselves and their teams accountable. Great companies do not tolerate cultural terrorists. Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix, has famously discussed how the company will not stand for “brilliant jerks”, believing the cultural damage is too great if that employee cannot buy into the company’s values.
All of this is to say, to beat the competition and win, culture trumps all — and while we can point to a few examples of tyrants succeeding, culture can be destroyed by just one bad apple. Of course, this is not to say we shouldn’t demand a lot from ourselves and each other; in fact, radical transparency and constructive feedback can be painful to hear but critical to personal and professional growth. Good managers and good leaders are not afraid of tough conversations and they’ll push their teams to do more than they think possible, but they won’t resort to bullying or fear.
While watching The Last Dance I also watched another brilliant documentary, HBO’s The Defiant Ones, which chronicles the unlikely success and partnership of music producer Jimmy Iovine and rap mogul Dr. Dre. While both Dre and Iovine might serve as examples of those who made it to the top without being world class jerks, I was struck by another icon who didn’t need to be one, either: in Episode 1, Iovine discusses working as the sound engineer for Bruce Springsteen in 1975 as he worked relentlessly to perfect the album that would become the iconic “Born to Run”. Bruce was incredibly driven, the hardest working guy in the studio, and while he could be a demanding perfectionist, he never belittled or bullied. Seems apropos for a musician known as The Boss.
