A photograph of Michael Jordan wearing as suit and answering questions at a press conference during a brand tour to Paris in 2006. The image was shared under creative commons by Nicolas Richoffer.

Shooting star: Michael Jordan became a more effective team member to achieve success. Image shared under creative commons by Nicolas Richoffer.

Few environments can match the pressure of a professional sports arena.

On the basketball court the pace is high, decisions must be made relentlessly, and the scrutiny of the crowd and the TV cameras is remorseless.

As such, it can be a useful place to look for lessons in leadership, particularly if you focus on the very best athletes.

Michael Jordan is one of those athletes – a basketballer who has transcended the sport, his name known around the world by people who have never seen a slam dunk.

He is also the wealthiest sports star in history, with inflation-adjusted earnings reportedly worth $4.5 billion.

That stems both from his stellar playing career and the huge success of Nike’s Air Jordan line of footwear which carries his name.

Jordan was the extraordinary but controversial leader of his team. He drove his teammates hard, most notably at the Chicago Bulls where he became the figurehead of a basketball dynasty, but sometimes created conflict and resentment in the process.

So, what lessons can leaders learn from his extraordinary career as an athlete and business mogul?

1 Shared responsibility helps stars work better

Jordan was an extraordinary basketball player, but his flair alone wasn’t enough to secure the sport’s biggest prizes.

He joined the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 draft, but it wasn’t until 1991 that his career really took off and his team began to win championships.

Those early years were full of promise, but they were also littered with disappointment.

In recognition of Jordan’s abilities, the Bulls adopted a simple approach: just give him the ball to take the winning shot. It was a strategy that did not deliver the expected results.

Opposing teams soon learnt that, if they could neutralise Jordan, they would be well on their way to winning a game. Jordan didn’t respond well to defeat and he was often harsh to his teammates – an attitude that led to friction and only made winning harder.

The situation changed in 1989, when a new coach was brought in. Phil Jackson altered the team’s approach, using a more collaborative system that forced Jordan to play in a triangle offense alongside other players such as Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.

For this to succeed, Jordan had to synchronise with his teammates, share responsibility, and sacrifice the ‘me’ for the ‘we’. He took some time to adapt, but championship victories duly followed, starting in 1991.

The lesson for business leaders is that every organisation has its stars, but in order for the team to succeed, those individuals need to work effectively with their colleagues to achieve common goals, rather than focusing on their own narrow objectives.

2 Leaders are not always front and centre

Phil Jackson transformed the Bulls from an underperforming team that contained perhaps the greatest NBA player ever into an outfit that consistently won silverware.

Jordan and his teammates were the ones who received most of the public accolades, but Jackson was just as instrumental in achieving those goals.

As further evidence of his quality, Jackson later coached the LA Lakers, where he won five league titles, including three consecutive NBA championships from 2000-02 with stars such as Kobe Bryant and Shaq O’Neal.

The lesson is that sometimes it’s the figure in the background, the little-noticed middle manager, who creates the environment where talented individuals can flourish and combines them to form a high-performing team.

This offers important benefits for an organisation, not least resilience. Succession and transition issues are far easier to handle if a team is not held together by one individual.

3 Pressure to perform can weaken trust

When Jackson took over the team, he didn’t just force Jordan to change what he was doing during a game, he also made his star player change his approach to his teammates off the court.

He pushed Jordan to take a different approach to leadership and become acquainted with his teammates’ personal lives, so that they could form bonds based on trust and mutual respect, not just in-game performance.

Under that guidance, a new group dynamic began to emerge. As Jordan worked more closely with his teammates, he began to place more trust in them and to delegate more responsibility, allowing them to make more significant contributions to games.

The improved communication, which flowed in both directions, helped to give his teammates a much-needed confidence boost and opened new paths to victory.

In 1994, Jordan passed the final ball to a teammate, Steve Kerr, who took the winning shot for the championship.

Jordan’s personal discipline had never been in doubt and he had been admired by his teammates for his dedication, but they had also feared and resented him at times.

Setting high standards is a vital aspect of winning, and Jordan never asked teammates to do anything he would not do himself.

However, high standards can only raise performance if the goals are realistic and the individuals involved are supported in reaching those heights.

4 Luck is as important as skill and dedication

When Jordan signed his merchandising deal with Nike in the mid-1980s, right at the start of his professional playing career, it was by no means a ‘slam dunk’ or guaranteed success.

The two sides were hoping for sales worth a few million dollars a year.

Yet annual revenues from Air Jordan are now counted in billions of dollars. Many of the customers who wear his shoes were born long after Jordan retired as a player.

Before he signed the deal, Jordan had preferred Adidas – but the German company wasn’t interested in a partnership as it failed to see the potential value.

What followed shows that Jordan ended up with the right business partner, and Nike’s gamble paid off.

For its part, Nike forged a relationship with a basketball player who proved to be as astute in the boardroom as he was with the backboard.

That relationship has lasted far longer, and been far more lucrative, than anyone could reasonably have expected.

Even the most exceptional individuals cannot count on good fortune. But business leaders should recognise it quickly and seize the opportunities it presents.

Further reading:

The risks of being a powerful leader - and how to avoid them

Leading high-performing teams: The power of genuinely caring about people

How leadership lessons from the past inspire CEOs

Five strategies to change company culture, inspired by WBS alum and British Lions captain Maro Itoje

 

Irina Surdu-Nardella is Professor of Strategy and International Business. She teaches International Business and Strategic Advantage on the WBS MBA programmes and Doing Business in Mexico on the Global Online MBA and Executive MBA.

She also teaches Global Challenges in Management and Sustainability on the MSc International Business, MSc Business with Marketing, MSc Marketing and Strategy, and the MSc Accounting and Sustainability.

Prepare to lead with renewed purpose, resilience, and adaptability with the WBS Executive Leadership programme.

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