As leaders, our job is to determine the “what” and the “why.” When we let our team figure out the “how,” we can create a context where they’re able to perform at their best. Sometimes this can feel risky, but it can give us far better outcomes than we could have expected if we had imposed our way.
Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman
In the late 90s, Dennis Rodman was one of the top three basketball players on the Chicago Bulls, right behind Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. Known for his aggressive on-court antics and his bombastic off-court personality, Rodman was essential in helping the Bulls get into the 1998 playoffs after Pippen had to take a break to recover from foot surgery. With Pippen out of the game, the 38-year-old power forward was forced to buckle down and become Jordan’s right-hand man. This wasn’t easy for Rodman, who was used to having more freedom and less responsibility than Pippen and Jordan.
After Pippen’s return, Rodman needed a break. He requested time off for a trip to Las Vegas, right before the playoffs.
Letting Rodman take a Vegas vacation right before some of the most important games of the season seemed foolhardy on the surface (Michael Jordan was vocally opposed to the idea), but coach Phil Jackson, who had already led the Bulls to five championship titles, knew Rodman and understood that he needed time to blow off steam and recharge in his own way.
Jackson decided that Rodman’s “mental health” was worth him missing training, overindulging, and possibly getting into serious trouble just as the post-season was getting underway. He gave Rodman the benefit of the doubt and let him cut loose before the big games.
Valve
Some modern business models take these kinds of risks with their employees as well. Valve, the company that develops and manages Steam (arguably the most successful video game distribution platform) allows employees to choose the projects they work on. This freedom and flexibility keeps employees happy, motivated, and invested.
Valve also encourages employees to manage their own work hours and trusts them to track their own vacation time and sick days. The approach works with the attitude that incredibly talented people often don’t fit into a prepackaged mold. To make the most of their gifts, they need room to stretch and move.
This might seem like a big risk, but Gabe Newell, president of Valve, has demonstrated that it works. Valve is one of the most successful video game companies on the planet, and they are often ranked as one of the best companies to work for, thanks in large part to the company’s flat management hierarchy and the freedom and flexibility it affords employees.
Self-Managing Medics
Another example of a system that allows workers to take more charge of their own productivity and resource commitment is the Buurtzorg Model of medicine, which allows nurses to operate in communities without management and oversight from afar.
Under the Buurtzorg Model, a team of twelve nurses goes to work, tending to patients and managing their own team’s work process at the same time. A new team gets to know the needs of the community and those of local general practitioners, therapists, and other medical professionals. They then decide how to best organize tasks, share responsibilities, and make tough choices without the oversight of a medical board.
Using the Buurtzog Model, innovations happen because individuals and teams have the freedom to try new ideas. When these ideas are successful in small areas, the practice can then be expanded to encompass the whole.
Game Time
So what happened to Dennis Rodman? Was Phil Jackson’s choice to let him go wild in Vegas a good decision, or was it a big mistake?
Rodman’s trip to Vegas and the things that happened while he was there is its own story. He didn’t make it back on time, instead turning a 48-hour Vegas vacation into a 4-day adventure that is soon to be the subject of its own movie.
However, despite missing a few practices and being exhausted from his bender, Rodman returned to play some of the best games of his entire life, helping the Bulls win their sixth championship under Phil Jackson’s leadership.
Final Thought
I am not advocating that we all work in decentralized, self-managed organizations, nor that we send employees away for benders. But, when leaders are curious about how their team members can do their best work, they’re more likely to create the conditions that allow just that.
Share your “why,” and be clear about your “what,” the available resources, and the constraints. Then, let your people create the “how.”
Step back, and see what they can do.
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