Leadership & The Last Dance: Episodes VII & VIII
The Last Dance is quality television. I’ve watched every portion of the documentary twice with rapt attention. Michael Jordan and I start our journey together on Sundays at 6pm and end it at 10pm with me hanging on for dear life for next week’s episodes. We only have two parts left to experience. I already know that I’m going to miss it.
I was born in 1983 and have a brother that’s five years older than me and there’s never been a day that I remember when he hasn’t been obsessed with Michael “Air” Jordan. I don’t think that’s a rarity in this world. I never had a pair of Jordan’s but that emblem and the man behind it left an indelible imprint on my mind.
Now, at 37, watching The Last Dance informs me, reminds me, and affirms for me that he is the best that’s ever done it.
I don’t care who you are or what you do, but If you consider yourself a leader or you’re attempting to step into those shoes, it’s a great idea to study other leaders. Michael Jordan is a leader and I think The Last Dance is a phenomenal leadership case study.
Now, I certainly don’t think that MJ is a perfect leader because that doesn’t exist as leaders are human and as I hope we know by now, perfection is a fool’s errand. I’m not even sure that I agree with all of his methods but you can’t doubt the outcome. If success is defined as winning, then he and the 90’s era Chicago Bulls are successful.
During each of the episodes, I’ve been taking notes. For people who know me well, I can’t actually just watch TV or a movie, anything and everything is material. The Last Dance for me has been about more than a basketball player-- it’s been about how one became the best basketball player EVER and what we can all glean from this leader’s journey.
Michael was surrounded by leaders so these thoughts or ramblings aren’t just a reflection of Michael but many of the people that inhabited his environment.
I’m doing this totally out of order but Episodes 7 & 8 hit me hard.
Episode VII:
This episode focused on the tragic murder of James Jordan, Michael’s father, and it made me emotional as I thought about the role his father played in his life and how that incident fueled Michael.
There were a few moments that stuck out for me:
James Jordan would find a kid in the arena to meet Michael. He would pick a kid that likely thought it was IMPOSSIBLE to ever meet MJ. Leaders are often charged with and responsible for helping those around them to achieve “the impossible”. The process of leadership is to lead your team to obtain that thing that they can only ever imagine will happen. If that’s how you saw your role, how might you approach leading them tomorrow?
Every one of us including world class basketball players have mountains to climb. His father was murdered and he went back to work. Are we tuned into the mountains of our team members? Do we care enough to know enough about them to understand that when they’re at work -- in the arena-- that they are doing their best to give us their all even when the climb is slowing them down. Are we assuming that people are being lazy or are we checking on them as a human and being open to their humanness to see what’s really going on in their world and the impact that may have on their work? How can you as a leader help them with that mountain?
The power of optimism seemed to play a role in MJ’s life post his father’s death. His father encouraged him to always turn a negative into a positive and to see the bright side of any downside. That optimism and gratitude seemed to help Michael push through rough moments. What role does optimism play in how you practice leadership?
The motivation discussion has changed recently and people seem to be a bit anti-motivation and pro-discipline. Argue it out as I haven’t decided where I fall on that fault line. My question is, what keeps you in the game? Michael mentioned that he didn't feel like there were any additional challenges for him in basketball and that nothing was really motivating him to remain in the sport. This helped him decide to retire. It begs the question, how do you know when you’re done? When is it time to walk away? There’s this old adage that you should leave while the audience is still applauding. What do you think the signals will be for you in your career/leadership that it’s time to move on to the next phase of your journey?
Obviously, the baseball era didn’t go exactly the way he’d hoped and perhaps that was because of the strike. We never know what might’ve happened with Michael and baseball if the strike hadn’t occurred.
Risk v. Reward came to mind when watching this part of the episode. What is the reward of doing something that you’ve ALWAYS wanted to do, since you were a child, and at the same time examining the risk of doing it. There’s also the risk of not doing it and living your life from a place of what could’ve been? MJ made a very personal decision to play another sport at 31 years old. Not many people have the gonads to do that, especially not coming from the top of the NBA to the bottom of the MLB. There’s humility, vulnerability, willingness to learn, adaptability, and resilience laced in this experience. Is there a thing for you that you say you’re “too old”, “too educated”, “too advanced”, “too whatever” to pursue in your life? Maybe it’s time to examine those self-limiting beliefs.
There’s also the importance of transferable skills and transferable mindset that I’m sure came in handy for Michael. He’s an athlete. That doesn’t disappear because you move from a court to a diamond. Every day that you’re living builds to the current day and every job that you’ve had, every challenge that you’ve faced -- it’s all training. For most of us, we might be placed in new circumstances, but we’re starting with experience and we have a toolbox that if we just tap into it and not allow the outside noise or that inner critic make us forget who we are, we can set ourselves up well to survive and hopefully thrive should we find ourselves in a new role, with a new team, or having to learn a new way of doing our work. This might be the case for many of us as we continue to navigate the fallout of the pandemic. Never forget the mountains you’ve already climbed and as Glennon Doyle reminds us, “You can do hard things.”
During the baseball era, Michael’s absence from the Bulls allowed us to be able to see other players step up and how they embodied what it means to be a leader.
Michael is a thermostat. He sets the temperature of the room and the tone for the team. He was the bar and everyone needed to get on his level. He played the role of influencing everyone else to be their best. He was the rising tide that lifted all boats. You can say that for the Bulls, all of the teams in the League, and the League itself. He modeled the way.
You can agree or disagree with his methods. There was some fear-based leadership, intimidation, bullying, disrespect, and crossing personal boundaries. There might be a question of his “professionalism”. There are many ways to influence others and you have to be mindful of your context and highly aware of what your team needs from you as a leader. He took challenge and support to a different level. A level that likely will not be accepted in most workplaces.
We get to see Scottie Pippen become the experienced leader on the team and he emerges from Michael’s shadow. Undoubtedly, all of that time spent playing with MJ showed Scottie a few things about leadership including helping him to define his leadership style and identity which we can see is different from Michael’s. I think it’s important to point out that you have to lead from a place of authenticity. You have to do it in a way that is representative of you and not just become a clone of a mentor, idol, or predecessor. People can often see through that facade and it’s going to feel super uncomfortable for you. It’s fine to take bits and pieces, but at the end of the day, you can’t be a fraud. Scottie could have a different touch with the team and lead differently. Scottie talked about the Bulls, at that time, being a team by committee and that they play and win together. That was different from MJ’s approach. One of the commentator’s mentioned that Scottie is a facilitator and Michael was a scorer. A team has to be well-rounded. Not a person. A team. It takes all kinds to make an effective team.
We see a critical moment in Pippen’s career when he decides to not reenter the game against the Knicks. He was upset about how Kukoc was being given an opportunity and decided that he was done. As a leader, that’s an easy pit to fall into. The pit of “me”-- the focus on the “I” instead of the “we”. As a leader, you can’t give up on your team. You play until the end. You present a united front and you take care of the drama behind closed doors. If you give up, as the person who everyone looks to for guidance, then what can you possibly expect from everyone else? It’s never just about YOU. That mindset is detrimental and dangerous.
Bill Cartwright’s moment of vulnerability was important. Letting Scottie know, with his full emotions on display, that Scottie had let them down and had made a disappointing decision was a powerful moment for the team and Scottie. Sometimes, we hold our leaders to extremely high standards and then we neglect to understand that they too, are human, and need honest feedback in order to continue to grow into their role. Leaders make mistakes and need to be held accountable. I’m unsure if that open environment existed when MJ was on the team but I think it’s important to build a container that allows for feedback to be provided at all levels. No one can be above feedback because no one is perfect.
The concept of “nice”.
I think “nice” is quite often a gendered word in leadership. We don’t speak often about desiring our male identified leaders to be “nice” people. We accept that they are aggressive, gruff, demanding, rough around the edges, mean, and crass, etc. Now, for women, we talk a lot about the importance of likeability, and that we want “nice” women leaders. She’s mean, she’s cold, she’s bossy, and she’s a bitch is detrimental to women’s progress.
There was a lot of emotion in this segment from people who’d been on the other side of Michael’s less than nice nature. His teammate expresses, “He couldn’t be nice.” What he set out to accomplish did not lend itself to being nice to his own team members. His goal was to drive them to win by any means necessary. Nice was not a part of that equation. There seems to be some anguish or torment in this for Michael still to this day.
He points to the fact that all of the guys could attest, that “He never asked me to do something that he didn’t fucking do.” -- As a leader, are you ever asking your team to do things that you wouldn’t do? Are you willing to do the grunt work? Are you willing to put in the long hours? Make the sacrifices? Are you willing to make the same commitment to the cause? Are you with your team or are you set apart? Whatever your choice, it communicates loudly to your team.
“So I pulled people along when they didn’t want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged, and I earned that right because my teammates who came after me didn’t endure all the things that I endured. Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game, and I wasn’t gonna take anything less. Now if that meant I had to go in there and get in your ass a little bit, then I did that. You ask all my teammates, ‘The one thing about Michael Jordan was he never asked me to do something that he didn’t f**king do.’ When people see this, they’re gonna say, ‘Well, he wasn’t really a nice guy, he may have been a tyrant.’ Well, that’s you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win and be a part of that as well. Look, I don’t have to do this. I’m only doing it because it is who I am. That’s how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don’t wanna play that way, don’t play that way.” - Michael Jordan
(https://fansided.com/2020/05/10/5-best-quotes-episodes-7-8-the-last-dance/)
What we can’t deny is that the way MJ led worked. I think most leaders are doing the best they can with what they have and they are likely building the plane while flying. Leadership is hard. Most people lead from their perspective and lead from a place of what works for them. For someone who’s built to go full throttle and that makes almost anything a competition, you have to know that they will have a hard driving leadership style. He is going to give you his best, which is unmatched, and he expects you to do the same. No excuses! It’s who he is and who you are impacts how you lead.
“Winning has a price and leadership has a price.” Leaders pay that price and maybe the price for Michael (or one of the prices) is that he couldn't be the nice guy. That won’t be a part of his legacy. He may not look upon that part of himself fondly but, at the time, there was a greater goal at hand and winning was more important than being nice.
“Let’s not get it wrong, he was an a**hole, he was a jerk, he crossed the line numerous times. But as time goes on and you think back about what he was actually trying to accomplish, you’re like, ‘Yeah, he was a hell of a teammate.'” — Will Perdue
(https://fansided.com/2020/05/10/5-best-quotes-episodes-7-8-the-last-dance/)
They wouldn’t trade any of the rewards or Michael for anything in the world. Leadership is sacrifice and sacrifice comes in many forms. What price are you willing to pay?
Episode VIII
The mind is quite a powerful tool. Imagine making up and spreading a whole story that only serves to get you to your required mindset. “Nice game, Mike.” LaBradford Smith was not ready for the comeback. What psyches you up? What do you need to get into the right headspace? To be honest, it’s remarkable and also a little scary that he could do that to himself.
K.I.S.S.-- Keep is simple, stupid or sunshine (if I’m being nice). MJ didn’t need a bunch of verbiage in the press release to let the world know that, “I’m back.” Don Draper would say “Make it simple but significant.” -- What are you out there doing the most on,when you could be doing the least, and it be a whole lot more effective? As a leader, it’s important to think about messaging and communication.
Beginnings are hard. Reentry is hard. Take a break and come back stronger is my favorite Barre3ism. You have to know that Day 1 of the Start or Day 1 of the comeback may not be on your level. Allow yourself to be a beginner and embrace a beginner’s mindset. Remember, that you’ve climbed mountains before and you can do it again with a bit of reconditioning, grace, commitment, passion, and support.
Michael’s comeback humanized him and some people could see that as weakness. Others could just see that as truth. Have you built an environment where you and your team can be fully human? They can make mistakes, they can express a wide range of emotions, they have the ability to say “I don’t know.”, they can disagree with you and each other, they can fail and might even be encouraged or expected to do so. I think a humane workplace is a healthy workplace and some would say produces better results.
The spotlight is a blessing and a curse. The spotlight is not always focused on your best side. It’s often not even interested in finding your best side. The spotlight is often a searchlight for your shortcomings. Seek it all you want and know that once you’re in focus, you have very little control over what it chooses to see. Michael had been on top for so long that the story now was the fall.
Michael decided to wear the #45 on his reentry into the NBA and he had his reasons, but you know, you can’t ever forget who you are and #23 is synonymous with Michael Jordan. Even now, on your 23rd birthday, it’s your “Jordan Year” and that comes with expectations of excellence and of winning. I’m not saying that one should be superstitious or that your identity is defined by a number, but there are some anchors for us in life that might contribute to successful navigation of our path. They are not just brand symbols but they become ingrained in our minds and the mind of others as markers of our identity. I think there was collective cheer and sigh of relief when he slipped back on that old number.
His trainer became emotional when speaking about his time with Michael. The Bulls did not win the championship the year he came back to the team. That was not okay with MJ. He knew that his body was not in the best basketball shape at that time. He’d spent over a year building his body into that of a baseball player because that is what was required of his new existence. He didn’t give himself enough time to make that physical pivot. It hit me when his trainer shared that MJ didn’t take a break post the loss to Orlando and instead he hit the gym the next day. “My obligation is to give you my best ALL the time.”
This vow is admirable and also quite a tall order. I reflect a lot on what it means to “give my best”. For Michael this means, we win championships. It damn near means perfection. His best is virtually unmatched. I’m a person who believes that “best” is quite subjective and changes based on the day and my current condition. My best on Monday might be 60% and my best on Friday might be 80%. I’m going to give it to you but it doesn’t mean that it’s 100% of Krystal all the time. That is all that I can reasonably ask of myself and others. There are consequences when one attempts to go 100% ALL of the time and as we see with Michael, there are also rewards.
Now, I have no idea how Michael was as a father or husband but my guess is that he wasn’t going 100% on every aspect of his life. I would guess that if we talked with Juanita or his kids, they didn’t see 100% MJ because it's likely he didn’t have much left to give when he returned home. Whatever percentage of yourself you’re giving in one area of your life, it means that you’re subtracting it from another area of your life. There are trade offs. Men get the privilege of not being asked questions about family responsibility and the personal bane of my existence, “can you have it all?” He just got to go to work and no one cared who was feeding the kids. He could have done absolute zilch at home and no one could be bothered by it. Must be nice.
The filming of Space Jam created an opportunity for Michael to bring in younger talent and play against them while on the set. He wasn’t afraid to challenge them to a game, to play with them, alongside them, and to observe them and learn from them. A lot of seasoned leaders reject and are often fearful of opening the doors to the younger generation. To stay sharp, you have to keep learning and challenging yourself. Get in the arena with them and do the work. The energy of new/newer professionals is refreshing to me and I learn something from my young colleagues each time I interact with them. If my goal is to win I need to learn how to win with you or to beat you. Let’s play.
My final thought on Episode VIII is really a reflection on what and who matters most. All of the wins are great but, who do you share it all with when you leave the court? MJ honored his father, his mother, his wife, and his children. All the work has to mean something. As you’re sacrificing and paying the price of leadership, are you also making sure to prioritize time for what/who matters to you? With all the traveling, late nights, working at home, cell phones at the dinner table, missed family events, lack of physical and mental presence in the moments and lives of others-- is it truly worth it for you? What will remain for you when/if it’s gone? Could this relentless pursuit of success and professional fulfillment actually leave you feeling quite empty?
That’s it for those two episodes. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Disclaimer: I am not a basketball guru so excuse me if there’s any misused terminology or whatnot. I’m a person who has been home for the past 9 weeks alone who sits on her couch with a notebook, pen, and a deep interest. I’m also a leadership educator at a Top 20 institution of higher education and leadership is a thing I think about a daily basis. It’s my work.
We’re all having to learn how to lead in a new world. For many of us a new virtual world. It’s never a bad time to learn or unlearn -- there’s no finish line of leadership. It’s a lifelong process. Maybe some of these tidbits can help you and get you whatever the equivalent is of “trophies” and “big rings” in your world. And some of you might say that Michael wasn’t a leader at all, he was just a talented bully. Let’s talk about it. Regardless, every example allows you to learn about the leader you want to be and the leader you don’t want to be.
I’ll do this again for the final two episodes and then bounce back to the beginning.