Michael Jordan as an Example of Leadership in Sports

Abstract

Leadership is a practical prowess that incorporates the resourcefulness of a person or an organization to guide another person, team, associations or organizations. Leadership is rooted in the attributes that an individual possesses. It is borne out of intelligence, bravery, confidence, discipline, reliability, devotion, conscientiousness and ability to adapt. Individuals who are leaders in their own right will always display leadership traits in various diverse situations and duties. Leaders are visible from different areas such as politics, business, religion, education, wars and sports (Northouse, 2015). One such leader that has emerged from the field of sports is Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is a famous American basketball player who has scaled the heights in the sports zone. He has won everything worth winning in basketball. In the process, he has led both his basketball club, Chicago Bulls and the American National Basketball team to winning ways in various tournaments. Popular sentiment regards Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time and he popularized the sport around the world during the 1980s and 1990s.

Michael Jordan and His Leadership

Biography

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He was born to a banker, Deloris and James Jordan who was a supervisor at an equipment firm. Michael Jordan was the fourth born child in a family of five children, with two older brothers, an older sister and a younger sister. He spent his childhood in Wilmington, North Carolina and was a regular feature in his High School’s basketball, baseball and football team (Taylor, 2015). In 1981, he began his path to the National Basketball Association (NBA) when he received a basketball scholarship at the University of North Carolina where he pursued Cultural Geography. He was featured constantly for the University’s basketball team for three years before joining the Chicago Bulls in 1984. He won the Rookie of the Year Award and as a result, Jordan was called up to represent the 1984 United States Olympics national team and they went ahead to win gold at the Los Angeles Olympics. He was recalled again to represent the United States in 1992 Atlanta Olympics basketball team that won gold. In his career at Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan won the NBA Championships six times, declared the Most Valuable Player in six Finals and won five Most Valuable Player awards. He also won the All-NBA team select eleven times, selected fourteen times for the All-Star Game, three NBA All Star Game Most Valuable Player awards and nine All-Defensive team selections (Taylor, 2015).

Michael Jordan retired from basketball in 1993 after his fathers’ death but surprised everyone by signing for a minor baseball team, the Chicago White Sox in 1994. However, he made a comeback to the NBA in 1995 and won more accolades before retiring once again in 1999. He made another comeback for the 2001-2003 NBA seasons with Washington Wizards before finally hanging his boots later in 2003 (Hoffmann, 2016).

Leadership Traits in Michael Jordan

Industriousness

Michael Jordan believed in industriousness. He is on record saying that whatever one puts in the game is exactly what one would get out of the game. Michael Jordan spent a lot of his time in practice sessions improving on his weaknesses. He concentrated on turning his weaknesses into his strengths. Initially he was not a good three-point shooter but after many sessions of hard work, he ended up being one of the most lethal three point takers in the game. Jordan also watched videos of his rivals a myriad of times in order to come up with strategies to counter their tactics. This helped his team in dire times and was one of the main contributing factors to the success of Chicago Bulls as a team.

Teamwork

In the 80s, Michael Jordan won many individual accolades but his team, Chicago Bulls, had no titles to show for it. Despite the fact that Jordan had emerged the overall top scorer and a myriad of Most Valuable Player awards, Michael was yet to hold the championship cup in his hands. Michael’s selfish style of play was the net reason why the team was not successful in winning the NBA. However, by the 1990s, Jordan had come of age and realized that he could not do it alone. He became more of a team member by distributing the ball more often and allowing team members to make crucial shots. The results were immediate since Chicago Bulls went on to win an unprecedented three NBA championships. One of his most famous quotes is, “If you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” (Hoffmann, 2016)

Self-confidence

Jordan was confident and an optimist. He rarely, if ever doubted himself when in action. Michael always kept fighting for a win, no matter how far behind the Chicago Bulls were. There were many instances when Jordan had the ball in his possession in the dying, pivotal minutes of the game and he would make a do or die shot never entertaining for a single moment that he would miss. These big moments made winners out of Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan optimism decided twenty five games in the last minutes including two crucial NBA Finals that the Chicago Bulls went on to win. He was arguably the most dangerous player in the NBA in the last seconds of a close game. Michael Jordan’s policy was, “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” (Taylor, 2015) Humility As an individual, Jordan was quite humble. He did not let his stardom go to his head. This was evident in how he interacted with his teammates always listening and working with them. He invested his time in training with rookies in order to bring out the best in them. His teammates never complained of him looking down upon them. On the court, Jordan did not exhibit pride, e.g. banging his chest after making incredible shots. He also did not look down upon referees nor get into arguments with them despite his stature in the game. This trait earned him respect in the game as well as admiration form his fans. A leader who exhibits humility earns the respect of his team thus making communication much more open and simpler (Northouse, 2015).

Determination and Drive

Michael Jordan shows that with determination and devotion, goals are achievable. When he joined college, he was shunned based on his height despite his passion to join the college team. However, he did not give up on his dreams, rather he joined the junior team and he was able to show his talents by being the top scorer that season. The senior team had no choice but to select him and from there, Chicago Bulls spotted him. In the run-up to their three title wins, the Chicago Bulls had lost three times consecutively in the playoffs. Despite that fact, Michael Jordan kept going and his determination finally paid off when they won the championships. His scoring statistics serve as evidence of his determination and drive to ensure that his team won as many games as possible. One of his quotes was, “Failure makes me work even harder.” (Taylor, 2015)

Loyalty

Jordan always put his team and team mates first. He was always in the front line driving the interests of the team and that was to win titles. Throughout his career, Michael Jordan never switched allegiance from Chicago Bulls. The fact that he played in almost every game and averaged over sixty games for every NBA season depicts the loyalty he had for his team. There were also instances when Jordan played despite having an injury. He gave his all to ensure the team did not lose a match. He also stood up for his teammates when other rival players confronted them. This aspect of loyalty enabled his colleagues to trust him and thus enhance the gelling of the team (Hoffmann, 2016). All leaders should have this trait since it creates cohesion and trust in the team thus making work easier.

Flexibility

Jordan was an all-round player. He was strong on both sides of the court. He won accolades for being the best scorer as well as the most defensive player. This gave him confidence in the execution of his tactics since he knew and understood his way around all types of opponents. This further enabled him to understand where his weaknesses lie and what to do in order to improve on them. It enabled him to understand what was required of him at various times and he would duly be able to communicate the appropriate solutions to his teammates. The ability to play in all parts of the field also built instilled empathy in him and he could thus understand and anticipate moves from both his teammates and opponents (Chee, 2017). It also made him a tough opponent to counter since he was all over the field and it was difficult to pin him down to the advantage of the Chicago Bulls. All leaders should be flexible in their operations. This would give them further depth in understanding their colleagues and the intricate operations of a business or society.

Delegation

A good leader exhibits skills in delegation of duties. Michael Jordan was the star player of Chicago Bulls and the team expected him to take crucial shots whenever he had an opening. However, Michael learnt that not everything must end with him. He was also aware that he could not accomplish everything by himself. During the latter stages of his careers, Michael would always look for the best-placed colleague to make a shot and consequently pass the ball to him. A leader should avoid running a one-man show, but rather he should cultivate trust amongst his colleagues. Delegation fosters experience in handling tasks thus ensuring continuity in the absence of the leader.

Resilience and Competitiveness

All leaders should have the quality of resilience. Jordan’s most visible attribute was his tenacity in being able to deliver results when under pressure. Every time Jordan stepped on the basketball court, it was clear that his mind set was to win the game. Whenever the team was in a tight corner, Jordan stepped up and provided the much-needed results. He was a standout player who salvaged victory quite a number of times in the most crucial games during the final minutes. Jordan had a buoyant spirit and he would always step up to take a shot when it was just him versus the clock. He was able to control his emotions and calmly take a deciding shot regardless of the background noise. He was always thirsty to break and set new records in the game. The mental strength that Jordan exhibited was enviable and all leaders should be able to adapt this trait when conducting their day-to-day business. Level-headedness in a leader is a much-desired attribute. Emotions should not affect the quality of his decisions (Northouse, 2015).

Integrity

Michael Jordan was one of the most disciplined players of his time. Throughout his careers, Jordan religiously attended practise session to ensure optical physical fitness. He set up an exercise regime that he followed conscientiously and that ensured that he had the minimum incidences of injuries as opposed to other players. Another attribute that Jordan had was the good discipline he had both on the court and off the court. Jordan never got involved in altercations with opponents or referees. He rarely was on the receiving end of disciplinary decisions. Off the court, Jordan was never involved in scandals that usually rock celebrities e.g. drug scandals and sex scandals. Jordan was also able to balance his studies and his love for the game. The big money that Jordan earned whilst playing for the Chicago Bulls did not distract him from completing his degree at the University of Carolina. It is important for a leader to be disciplined in order to be able to focus on his missions and objectives. Indiscipline leads to distractions whilst also leading to loss of face in society. The absence of discipline leads to disobedience and lack of respect within the ranks of the leadership (Forsyth, 2018).

Significant Leadership Challenges

Selfishness

Michael Jordan faced challenges at the beginning of his career. Michael Jordan was used to performing as a virtuoso while on the court. He would rarely pass the ball to his teammates. While this resulted in individual high scores and individual awards for Jordan, the Chicago Bulls team suffered since, as they did not win championships. It also led to some mistrust between his colleagues and him. This also got in the way of maximizing the Chicago Bull’s results as well as his own performance. The other players considered this as disrespectful.

Jordan was able to counter this by learning to involving his teammates more and more in his game. He changed his style of play and learnt to trust that his teammates would make the crucial shots. He also adopted a more open communication stance and listened more to instructions from his coach as well as his teammates. Michael learnt that not everything must end with him. He was also aware that he could not accomplish everything by himself. During the latter stages of his careers, Michael would always look for the best-placed colleague to make a shot and consequently pass the ball to him. In 1993, during Game Six, he exhibited this trait when he passed the ball to John Paxson in the last minutes of the game. John Paxson nailed a three-point shot that enabled the Bulls to win the game against the Phoenix Suns (Hoffmann, 2015). By playing as a unit, the Chicago bulls changed its fortunes and successfully won three NBA cups in a row.

Competitiveness

His competitiveness worked against him at sometimes. His psychological drive for competition led to development of grudges with his colleagues since he always demanded more from them. He did not accept mediocre results and it often led to outburst from him. This made him a disagreeable teammate because his teammates were constantly in fear of getting on his wrong side. At the beginning of his career, fellow players would not pass him the ball thus effectively reducing him to spectator in the game and locking him out. However, as Jordan matured he became more empathetic and developed trust between his colleagues and himself. These led to a better relationship between him and his teammates. Leadership style Michael Jordan was a charismatic and innovative leader on and off the basketball court (Klenke, 2016). He was able to influence his teammates to give their best performance through his domineering personality. Jordan, by leading from the front and being energetic, was able to inspire his colleagues to move forward regardless of fatigue. His confident personality was infectious and radiated into the team thus pushing the team to further heights. He was a gregarious character who liked spending time with his teammates playing poker and playing pranks on each other. On the court, he was skilful at controlling the emotional temperatures of the team with his presence. The teammates looked up to him, as he was a source of inspiration. He would take control of the game and guide the junior players as their mentor. Michael Jordan also had the public rooting for him and his charisma with the fan base worked its magic on the team since the support from the fans would egg the team on. His charisma was interspersed with innovation. Jordan was intelligent and he put it into use by coming up with crafty skills in the court in order to break down stubborn defences. Jordan would approach a game with a bird’s eye view and thus be able to grasp the entire scenario of what the game required. He would be able to deduce what was not working, incorporate new thinking and he would usually go over and above the regular course of action to ensure victory. This sort of approach was fruitful since it also triggered and encouraged creativity in the other players who took cue from Jordan. This approach also increased the enjoyment of the game as well as leading to job satisfaction in the team. It creates an aura of respect among teammates and respect for others ideas (Forsyth, 2018). This sort of leadership in a team sport is disadvantageous since chances of the team floundering once the leader eaves are quite high. This was evident in the failure of the Chicago Bulls to capture more championship titles when Michael Jordan retired from the sport. It also led to intra-conflicts due to Michael Jordan’s feeling of invincibility and the knowledge that he could get away with some omissions (Klenke, 2016).

Conclusion

The sport fraternity considers Michael Jordan as one of the great basketball players. He broke and set records with his performances while leading the Chicago Bulls to Six championships in 8 years. His coach, Phil Jackson referred to him as a great charismatic player whose presence on the court and the locker room had a massive influence on the performance of the team. Fellow players regard Jordan as a great mentor and source of inspiration. His legacy encouraged many young males to pursue their dreams in basketball and some of them have gone to become great players. Off the court, Jordan’s charm and charisma endeared many people to basketball and increased the television coverage of the NBA. He was also a great role model with no record of drug use. He also served as an icon to encourage kids to pursue education in tandem with sports.