“Brady and Jordan are both considered to be the best athletes in their respective sports. Both have led their teams to multiple championship victories and are superstars in their own right, but they have vastly different leadership styles.”
1989 NBA Playoffs: Game 5
Bulls vs. Cavaliers
The Bulls and the Cavaliers are tied for victories 2-2. Game 5 will decide who goes home and who moves on to the next round. The game is close, with both teams trading the leading position over and over as the clock winds down. With three seconds left the score is 100-99, with the Cavaliers in the lead, but Jordan takes the ball and throws a legendary foul-line buzzer-beater known in sports history as “The Shot.” Bulls win 101-100.
After the game Bulls coach Doug Collins commented that the only plan at the end was “get the ball to Michael and everybody get the [@#%!] out of the way!”
2017 Super Bowl LI
Patriots vs. Falcons
The Patriots are down 28-3 in the third quarter. Things look grim, but Brady rallies the team and executes four scoring drives in a row, including two 2-point conversions, tying the game and taking the Super Bowl into overtime for the first time in NFL history. Brady then leads another drive down the field and throws the ball to running back James White, who runs it across the goal line amid a cluster of frustrated Falcons.
When asked about his 25-point comeback, the largest in Super Bowl history and a record that might never be broken, Brady gave credit to his teammates, saying, “We all brought each other back.”
Brady and Jordan are both considered to be the best athletes in their respective sports. Both have led their teams to multiple championship victories and are superstars in their own right, but they have vastly different leadership styles.
Jordan was a strategic leader who set the pace and expected others to keep up with him. He got things done, leading the Bulls to six championship titles and scoring a record-setting 63 points in a playoff game. If his teammates couldn’t keep up, they knew the best way to support him was to make sure he got the ball and had a path to the basket.
Tom Brady, a 20-season NFL team captain, let his team get things done. His supportive guidance, encouragement, and ability to let his teammates take the spotlight led his teams to the Super Bowl nine times, and to seven Super Bowl victories. Brady cared about the strengths, feelings, and personal needs of his teammates and knew when to give one of them a chance to shine.
A lot of leaders are strategic drivers like Jordan. They set the pace and push people forward. Their relationships with teammates tend to be transactional and focused on getting the task done. There are contexts in which driving works, particularly when the task is clear and straightforward, like an emergency situation or an opportunity that will expire, but this leadership style can lead to a lack of team unity. When the group functions solely as support for a superstar individual, members may feel more like cogs in a wheel than part of an organic system.
Leaders like Brady primarily focus on relationships, caring deeply about their team’s experience. Intimate leaders know that the most challenging problems we work on require co-creation; a team that knows their contributions are valued—and feels they are valued as individuals—will set aside ego and work hard to get tasks done at crunch time.
At its best, leadership is a mix of focusing on the task and building relationships. Intimate leadership can only be effective if you can also flex your strategic muscles by, for example, giving someone feedback when they don’t perform to the level you expect.
At the same time, strategic leadership doesn’t work if people are scared of you. If they don’t have trust in you, people will worry that they’ll get shot down.
No one would say that Brady couldn’t get things done. He’s a superstar athlete. But what makes him special is that he balances the need for strategic driving with the need for team trust.
A leader who is only willing to lead through force will fail as soon as the need for a change is beyond their span of control. Pressure only works when you can apply it relentlessly. That’s what Jordan did.
But people are social creatures who have evolved to survive through collaboration. Sometimes it isn’t enough to have someone pushing us to succeed, we need someone who knows our needs and our talents and how to work with those to help everyone win.
Leaders who can only drive will not unlock the talent and creativity that their companies need to thrive. When one person is in charge of leading everything it can lead to blind spots and weak points. Insights bubble up and you need to tend to people’s responses.
Watching the Netflix documentary The Last Dance, I was struck by the cost that Jordan’s approach imposed. Yes, the Bulls were an incredible franchise. They won — a lot. But when you hear Jordan’s peers talk about the experience, it’s heartbreaking.
This group of ultra-capable athletes, performing at the top of their game, didn’t seem to like their de facto leader. Jordan could lead them to victory. But he couldn’t lead them together.
Do you remember the Gatorade ads that suggested we “Be like Mike?”
It’s not a bad approach.
But as the world gets more complex, the contributions of your team matter more and more. Trust and relationships matter.
Instead of being like Mike, try being like Brady.
If you want to read more of my thoughts about leadership strategies and the 90s Bulls dynasty, check out my article about Dennis Rodman’s legendary post-season Vegas vacation, and Phil Jackson, the Hall-of-Fame coach who took a big risk on his most controversial player.
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