https://youtu.be/79mz2MazUHM
The closing 1:23 seconds of Michael Jordan’s interview in The Last Dance Episode 7 shown above went viral. This is justly so because it was so emotional and compelling. Jordan gave us a glimpse into the price required to be the absolute best in his chosen profession. Warning – Jordan drops the f-bomb at the 10 second mark so have your mute button ready.
Before getting to its leadership lesson, it raises a series of important questions for leaders. Are we willing to pay a similar price to be great? Is the price needed for that level of success worth it? Do we really “want to be like Mike”? The answers may not be as easy as you think.
The following are 6 Leadership Costs Michael Jordan’s Paid From His Emotional Last Dance Episode 7 Speech I gleaned from the clip above:
Michael Jordan Paid The Price Of Intolerance And Setting The Tone For Everyone In The Entire Organization
Jeff Van Gundy famously said, “Your best player must set the intolerance for anybody who gets in the way of winning.” That’s what great leaders do. They set the tone, pace, and intolerance for the entire organization. They raise the standards and hold everyone accountable. Jordan said in more simplistic terms, “You ask all my teammates, one thing about Michael Jordan is he never asked me to do something that he didn’t (expletive) do.”
Michael Jordan’s Paid The Price Of Physical And Emotional Pain
Everyone wants the benefits and perks of leadership. They want to hear the crowd cheering, the endorsements, the financial rewards, and to hold up the trophy. But before you can have public acclaim you must have private pain. In fact, your level of public praise will never exceed your level of private pain. You must put in the work when no one else is watching. The video showed Jordan going through excruciating off-season and in-season weight-lifting training exercises.
Michael Jordan Paid The Price Of Endless Competitive Stamina
I found the brief clip of Jordan winning windsprints in practice fascinating. In Episode 1, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said, “Michael Jordan is the only player who can turn it on and off and he never turned it off.” Jordan had to win in cards, golf, windsprints in practice, scrimmages, and of course, the game of basketball itself. As leaders, we must do an inventory on our competitive stamina. When have we “had enough”? Do we have the ability to turn it on and off and never turn it off?
Michael Jordan Paid The Price Of Conflict And Hard Conversations
Being transparent, this is my weakest area of leadership. For Jordan, not so at all. He held everyone accountable and confronted all challenges, on and off the court. This is even true when evaluating his career. He said, “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.”
Michael Jordan Paid The Price Needed To Never Celebrate As A Team
A leader who cannot celebrate is a leader not worth following. Leadership is a team sport. It is about taking a group people on a journey to a desired destination. This collectively requires resources, continual learning, overcoming obstacles, teambuilding, hard decisions, and much, much more. As the video shows above, when it comes time to celebrate, you want to have brought everyone with you and Jordan did. He said, “I wanted to win but I wanted them to win and be a part of that as well.”
Michael Jordan Paid The Very Costly Price Of Broken Relationships
Success isn’t free. Winning six championships required Jordan to pay to a high cost for his. Specifically, as you watch the documentary it cost him physical and emotional pain, privacy, and dozens and dozens of meaningful relationships. Tearfully, Jordan said, “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’s was my mentality. If you don’t want to play that way, don’t play that way… Break.”
Setting The Tone, Physical And Emotional Pain, Endless Competitive Stamina, Conflict and Hard Conversations, and Broken Relationships. Are you willing to pray these prices? If not, you may never approach the level of success in your profession Jordan had in his. But is it worth it?
If you missed it previously, check out 43 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Michael Jordan From The Last Dance Parts 1 & 2. What is one thing you have learned from Michael Jordan’s leadership during this documentary which will make you a better leader?
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