What Made Michael Jordan a Great Leader

A large part of Michael Jordan’s legacy is his ability to be a leader. Between 1984 - 1998, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA Championships. During that time, Jordan also won many awards such as Defensive Player of the Year and NBA scoring leader. Many people consider Jordan to be the greatest basketball player of all time, not only because of his skill but also because of his competitiveness and determination. Jordan had an enormous influence on the game of basketball and still influences players to this day.

I believe Jordan’s leadership style is best represented by the Influence Leadership Theory. This theory focuses on leaders who utilize their charisma and personality to inspire those around them. These leaders are highly influential due to their ability to create a vision of the future and bring about a culture that embodies the values needed to bring the vision to life. Jordan was famous for being extremely dedicated to the game of basketball and was focused on doing whatever it took to win. This style of leadership has been successful for Michael Jordan because in order for his team to win championships, they needed to work together. In order to accomplish this, they needed someone like Jordan to lead the team and to inspire them to work harder. Jordan’s competitive spirit and determination influenced his teammates to work together and beat the competition. There are three traits Jordan possessed that greatly contributed to his ability to be a great leader. The first of these is his drive. Jordan’s drive and determination were unlike anything seen before in the game of basketball. On and off the court, everyone knew Jordan to be someone who was driven to win as much as he could. The second trait is his self-confidence. In order to perform at the best of his abilities, Jordan knew he needed to believe in himself. Jordan’s confidence in himself continued to increase as he practiced more and more. His self-confidence allowed him to excel in the game of basketball and made other people believe in him. The third trait is optimism. This trait goes hand in hand with self-confidence because the more self-confidence one has, the more optimistic it allows them to be. From the time Jordan started playing on the Bulls, he always said he was going to win a championship. He realized that a large part of becoming successful is believing in yourself and being optimistic. This is an essential trait for great leaders to have because it gives the people around them hope when things aren’t looking good.

Being a great leader means not only having certain traits and qualities but also taking certain actions and embodying certain behaviors. The first behavior Jordan embodies is being a democratic leader in opposition to an autocratic leader. This means Jordan doesn’t put himself above his teammates. He appreciates what they have to offer and understands that the role they play is vital to the success of the team. This leads me to the next behavior that made Jordan such a great leader and that is consideration. Although some people will say Jordan was too harsh on his teammates, the only reason it appeared to be that way was because Jordan knew that pushing his teammates would turn them into better athletes. Jordan respected his teammates and his coaches, besides for Dennis Rodman. When the owner of the Bulls was considering trading Jordan’s teammate Scottie Pippen, Jordan stood up and fought to keep Pippen on the team. When head coach Phil Jackson was considering leaving the team after the 1997 season, Jordan said he wouldn’t want to play another season on the Bulls unless Phil Jackson was the coach. These examples show just how close Jordan was with those around him. The third and final behavior that made Jordan a great leader was his ability to initiate structure for the team. Leaders with this type of behavior are task oriented and are dedicated to achieving their goals. Jordan was a perfect example of this because of the way he pushed his teammates to keep working hard. He was focused on getting the team to work together and winning a championship as a team. Jordan had several leadership skills that contributed to his success as a team leader. The first skill is empathy. Similar to consideration, Jordan’s empathy for his teammates and coaches made him someone that people looked up to and trusted. People are more likely to follow you if they know you have their best interests in mind. The second skill Jordan embodied was great communication. Maintaining strong communication is an essential skill for a successful leader. Communication allows for all members of the team to be on the same page and for members of the team to trust each other. Without good communication, the team is unable to work together and accomplish their goals. The third and final skill that played a significant role in Jordan’s leadership style was his ability to strategize. This skill is what set Jordan apart from other basketball players and allowed him to outdo his competition. Along with Phil Jackson, Jordan planned out how the team would execute on the court and what strategies they would use.

Strategy was a vital factor for the success of the team and to ensure the team was working together. Together these three leadership skills created the leader that Michael Jordan was. The leadership skill that best explains Michael Jordan’s success was his ability to strategize. Strategy is everything in basketball and Jordan knew how to strategize better than all of his competitors. The leadership behavior that contributed the most to Jordan’s success was democratic behavior because it forced the team to operate as one. Without the team working together, they wouldn’t have been able to win all the games they did. Finally, the leadership trait that had the biggest impact on Jordan’s success as a leader was his drive. When you watch Jordan play and hear him talk about the game, you can see how much more committed he is to winning than other players. He was self-motivated and fought every day to get better at what he did. The amount of effort and drive he puts into the game is unmatched by any other player.

In conclusion, Michael Jordan was a fantastic leader because of the traits, skills, and behaviors he brought to the game. The way he approached the game of basketball and the way he strategized was one of a kind. He pushed the people around him to become the best version of themselves. Without him, the Chicago Bulls would not have won 6 NBA championships.