How to Be Like Mike (24 page)

What else must great communicators rely on besides optimism?

They must be storytellers, like Phil Jackson, who is known to quote scripture and Zen literature to his players in a way that they can understand. And they must gauge the perceptions of their subjects, so that what’s being said actually gets implemented. “It’s about finding a level of confidence,” Jackson said, “so that when they hear your voice, they know whose voice it is and it’s the only voice speaking.”

If one had to name a single, all-purpose instrument of leadership, it would be communication.

—John W. Gardner
AUTHOR

Communicators must also be attentive listeners. Phil Jackson’s own theories for“mindful leadership” include this suggestion:

“Listen without judgment—no matter what the stakes and the situation, practice listening with impartial, open awareness. Key on your team members’ body language and the silence between words. As a result, you will better understand their concerns and receive improved performance.”

This is something that Jordan abided by as well. As difficult and demanding as he could be, the way he learned how to give his teammates that extra push, how to motivate each of them most effectively, was by paying attention to their needs, to what they responded to most effectively. “My role as a leader was to help them find different types of challenges,” Jordan said.

By the time he was finished, Jordan could communicate without speaking, with one look, one glare across the dressing room at a player he felt was taking a night off. “Coming from a guy who never took a night off,” said John Bach, “that would get you going. Michael was never a Salvation Army worker . . . the guy who was going to solve everyone’s problems, or fix everything in the world. But he picked the times that were important.”

Motivational speaker Brian Tracy hit it right on the nose when he said, “The world is full of people who are waiting for someone to come along and motivate them to be the kind of people they wish they could be. . . . These people are waiting for a bus on a street where no busses pass.”

Communicators must also be relaxed public speakers. This is something that perhaps did not come naturally to Jordan, but it became instilled in him over time, and he blossomed into one of the league’s most eloquent spokesmen.

Lastly, communicators must adhere to their own thinking above all else. They have to assert themselves, their own beliefs, and do it in their own way. For Jordan, this was often done without a great deal of verbalization.

“I was never one of those vocal, rah-rah types of guys,” he said. “I may have given some vocal leadership, but that rah-rah stuff was immature to a certain extent. I was not the person to do that.”

3. People Skills

I don’t think people are going to be successful on whether they nail the technology. They are going to be successful if they nail the sociology.

—L
EE
D
INGEL
business executive

Here again, it was Jackson who set the standard for the Bulls by treating his players with maturity and respect. “With Phil,” said NBA veteran John Salley, “it’s, ‘You’re a man. I’m a man. I’m going to help you be a better man. ’ Phil understands people.” I like the Liberian proverb that says, “If the townspeople are happy, look for the chief.”

Jackson was a teacher, a coach, a friend, a counselor. He was visible and he was available. He concerned himself with the welfare of every one of his players, both on and off the court. He encouraged and he listened. He did not exaggerate mistakes—“My attitude is, ‘I know you made a mistake, and the rest of the team knows you made a mistake . . . but it’s not personal criticism,” ’ Jackson said—and he balanced his criticism with compliments.

I never criticize my players until they’re convinced of my unconditional confidence in their abilities.

—John Robinson
FOOTBALL COACH

“Compassionate leadership,” Jackson called it—in other words, treating people with the same respect and care you’d give to yourself. Using your authority sparingly. Allowing room for a sense of humor.

Most of us can run pretty well all day long on one compliment.

—Mark Twain

“Phil let us be our own people,” Jordan said. “But within a structure.”

It was something else that rubbed off on Jordan.

“He’s encouraging with the guys, trying to tell them what to do, where he’ll be on the court. ‘You set this pick, then I’ll use you that way. ’That kind of stuff,” said Bulls coach Phil Jackson on Jordan’s career transformation. “He’s taking guys and playing one-on-one, players like Dickey Simpkins, for the fun and thrill of it. He’s still involved in the shooting games and likes to make those little bets, but there’s also been this acceptance, which has helped us as coaches.”

“Michael had an attitude toward us of protection,” TrentTucker said. “He basically said, ‘I must take care of these eleven guys so that when the battle hits they’ll be strong enough to take care of themselves. ’ That’s what a leader does.”

Red Auerbach told me early on, whenever a player asks for some time off because of a wedding, birth, illness, whatever, give it to him. Give him a little extra, and he’ll always pay you back with a little extra when he comes back.

—Rick Pitino
FORMER
C
ELTICS COACH

Los Angeles writer J. A. Adande saw Jordan’s leadership skill in action: “In 1993, the Bulls won their third straight title. However, they got a scare in the Conference Finals when New York won the first two at home. The Bulls won Game Three and just before the Bulls took the floor to start Game Four, I saw Michael in the hall outside the locker. He was dancing in front of his teammates with three fingers in the air and singing enthusiastically, ‘Three-peat, three-peat.’ I thought
What confidence he has
and how must that make his teammates feel.”

In the 1993 finals, the Bulls led the series 3–1 before losing Game Five at home to Phoenix. The Bulls were stunned. The city of Chicago had been braced for a celebration. Instead, it was back to Phoenix for Game Six.

The next day at the airport, the team was tight. They waited for Jordan to show. He was the last one there. He strutted onto the plane with a huge cigar in his mouth.

I decided I was going to become an optimist, when I decided I wasn’t going to win anymore games by being anything else.

—Earl Weaver
H
ALL OF
F
AME MANAGER

“What’s this?”asked Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

“My victory cigar,” he said.

On the plane, Jordan spoke one-on-one with every player. He started a massive card game. By the time the plane landed, the team was loose again.

The Bulls won Game Six to finish off their third consecutive title.

This people skills story touched the Williams family deeply. My son Bobby has had a passion for baseball from the time he discovered that baseballs are round. He worked diligently to hone his catching skills with the dream of becoming a major leaguer. In 1999, he graduated from Rollins College, where he was a backup catcher on the varsity baseball team.

Bobby realized that his dreams of going to the big show as a player would not become a reality. Jim Bowden, general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, and also a Rollins graduate, learned of Bobby’s baseball knowledge and love of the game and hired him, at age twenty-two, to be a first-base coach for the Reds’ Billings Mustangs minor-league team, making Bobby the youngest coach ever in professional baseball history.

The Reds’ first spring training game of 2001 was coincidentally scheduled to be played at Rollins. The night before the game Bowden and Reds’ skipper, Bob Boone, contacted Bobby at training camp in Sarasota and told him to be dressed and ready to coach first base for the Reds.

The bus rolled into the Rollins stadium. Manager Boone walked off, followed by Ken Griffey, Jr. , Barry Larkin, Deion Sanders, and Bobby Williams! The people skills of Bowden and Boone provided a major-league thrill for Bobby Williams (and his dad) that day.

4. Character

There is, in our day, only one kind of strength which is lasting—it is that proceeding from character.

—A
LEXIS DE
T
OCQUEVILLE
historian

General Norman Schwarzkopf is a true American hero because of his strong stand on the importance of character. He stated, “The main ingredient of good leadership is good character. This is because leadership involves conduct, and conduct is determined by values.”

Character is a product of humility and integrity, of possessing the confidence to adapt to certain situations, as Jordan displayed in the 1992 Olympics and as Scottie Pippen did not in the 1994 play-offs.

For all of Jordan’s apparent flaws, his recognition of these qualities—especially within the team dynamic—was unflinching. Sportswriter Jackie McMullan visited Jordan in Birmingham during his stint in baseball. It was the day after Pippen, feeling disrespected and petulant, had refused to play in the final minutes of a play-off game in 1994.

“Can you believe that?” Jordan said.

“No,” McMullan replied. “Can you believe it?”

“Those guys,” Jordan said, “never realized what it takes to be a leader.”

“The 1992 Olympics were dominated by the Dream Team, and Michael Jordan was the dominant player on the team,” said
Sports Illustrated
writer Jack McCallum. “However, MJ stepped back and let Magic Johnson run the show and be the team leader. MJ sensed that Magic was better than him at this function, and it would be best for the team if Magic had the lead role.”

Integrity is everything. Without it, you go nowhere and lead no one.

—Dennis McDermott
AUTHOR

5. Competence

Leaders are made, not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.

—V
INCE
L
OMBARDI

“MJ had the rare knack to be a great leader. He just outworked everybody,” said Brad Daugherty, a Cleveland Cavaliers center and Jordan’s North Carolina teammate. “He’d be the first and last in the weight room, on the floor—it didn’t matter. He just had the drive to outwork you. I learned about work ethic from Michael. He took me aside and gave me a lot of confidence. He’d stay on me. He’d compliment you if you did what you were meant to be doing and not the extra. He just expected you to do that.”

Jordan demanded a great deal, but he’d earned that right. He was the franchise, the nucleus, and he’d proven himself. This is what we mean by competence: a strong track record. “You don’t become a leader because you say you are,” said former Detroit Tigers manager Sparky Anderson. “It’s much more what you do than what you say.” Jockey Willie Shoemaker stated, “The horse never knows I’m there until he needs me.”

“It’s hard to lead unless you’re demanding of yourself,” said former NBA coach John Calipari. “You can’t demand anything of others until you’ve shown that you’re willing to do it yourself. That’s why MJ was a great leader.”

The other facet of establishing your competence is a commitment to continual growth. For Jordan, that meant studying the opposition, educating himself on the nuances of the NBA. For the rest of us, it means reading and thinking and learning—both in and out of our chosen field—long after our formal education is complete.

When you sell a man a book, you don’t sell him twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue. You sell him a whole new life.

—Christopher Morley
ACTOR

6. Boldness

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

—J
OHANN
W
OLFGANG VON
G
OETHE
writer

Be willing to make decisions. Don’t fall victim to the ready aim-aim-aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire.

—T. Boone Pickens
BUSINESS LEADER

Another of Phil Jackson’s strengths as a coach was his encouragement of debate. He wanted people—his coaches, his players—to express their ideas, even if it exploded into an argument. He wanted everyone to feel free to speak, to empty their minds, to contribute experiences that may be unique to them. This led to better thought processes. And it bred a team that was willing to take risks—another attribute personified by both Jackson and Jordan.

“Above all, trust your gut,” Jackson said. “This is the first law of leadership. Once you’ve made your move, you have to stand by your decision, and live with the consequences, because your number-one loyalty has to be to the team.”

“When I was coaching at Boston College, we had a senior named Dana Barros,” said college basketball coach Jim O’Brien. “Before the draft, a Bulls assistant coach called me about Dana. He asked, ‘Would Barros have the ability as a point guard to wave off Michael when he comes off screens, yelling and demanding the ball?’

I said, ‘No he doesn’t. But I doubt your coaches do, either. ’”

Back to Birmingham for a moment, to Jackie McMullan, who one night saw Jordan strike out three times until, finally, a pinch hitter was called in to avoid embarrassment. Afterward, McMullan asked how he felt about it.

There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in the shallows and in miseries . . . and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.

—William Shakespeare

“I like the challenge,” Jordan said. “The NBA is too easy for me.”

Baseball, of course, was Jordan’s ultimate risk. It was also a bold statement about the leadership qualities of a man who refused to listen to anyone who thought he should take the easy way out.