House Cats or Barn Cats…

While the strong mentors Jordan had helped him maintain a strong public image, there were still areas where he led teammates in a less than positive direction… I’ve referenced the difference between the influence Michael Jordan earned and the positional authority Jerry Krause relied on several times to this point. Early in The Last Dance, someone mentioned Jerry being the short, fat kid growing up and related that to his “little man syndrome.” As Jordan’s fame and influence grew, especially as that influence grew within the Bulls organization, there’s no doubt Krause felt at least some pressure or even animosity. After all, he was the General Manager of the franchise and Michael was just a player…

While likely not to that same degree, I’d guess we’ve all experienced situations similar to that. The supervisor, manager, or even owner of the company hires an extremely talented employee and there’s a tremendous buzz around that employee early on. In many cases, the technical expertise of the employee ends up getting them a pass in other areas. Over time, just like our kids tend to do when testing the boundaries we’ve set for them, those employees push the limits. Whether that’s with policies and procedures or even bad mouthing their boss and/or company, addressing the behavior can feel very threatening… What if they blow up and quit? What if they start their own business and take other team members with them? What if…? 

As I re-watched The Last Dance, I noticed that not long after Pippen joined the team, giving Jordan a talented teammate to rely on, the jabs directed at Krause became more open. I don’t know that this ever really subsided, but there were several specific instances that were highlighted through the series. All of that culminated during the ‘97-’98 season, the last dance for that particular group of players with the Chicago Bulls organization. Michael’s father was no longer living to be a voice of reason. Phil Jackson appeared to be the scapegoat for Krause to use to break up the team, and I don’t recall any mention of Dean Smith around that time-frame or issue. In any case, even Jordan’s mentors didn’t seem to be providing him with much input on how to take the high road with Krause…

When any organization has extremely talented “players” who are at odds with members of management, there’s certainly reason for concern. But allowing it to go on unaddressed is something Simon Sinek comments on in The Infinite Game, calling it “an infection that festers over time.” Not only does it allow the working relationship between the specific team member and the particular management adversary to spiral out of control, it definitely takes a toll on that team member’s performance but it also impacts the performance and buy-in of every other team member who sees this lingering on.

I saw this happen first hand several years ago. An organization I was working with had hired a brilliant young man who was as good with customers as he was strong technically. He gained more and more influence with his coworkers and he took on a significant amount of responsibility for bringing in new business. However, there were a few things he struggled with - mainly the paperwork and accountability tied to his new supervisory role. While I was working with him directly, I was able to schedule time with him periodically to make sure those things got done (albeit through an occasional heated discussion). When I no longer had that direct working relationship with him, he was given a bit more leeway and eventually just allowed to shirk that part of his job completely. When his direct manager attempted to address it, ownership didn’t back the manager out of concern that it would drive the talented young man away. Although it didn’t push him out immediately, it also didn’t give him any reason to respect them. The owner’s approach caused the manager to leave the organization soon after. Eventually though, the brilliant young man had lost enough respect - which I believe stemmed from not being held accountable - and decided to start his own business as a direct competitor. In doing that, he took some of the most talented team members with him as well as a significant number of the customers he was serving…

In talking with a friend who was even closer to all that when it happened that I was, he compared it to having a house cat that’s as happy as it can be inside - until it gets a taste of hunting and is allowed to come and go as it pleases. It’s not long until that house cat becomes a barn cat, and the odds of it ever being a house cat again are pretty slim!

With regards to Jordan’s relationship with Krause, it sure seems like the folks who could have addressed his jabs early on allowed it to grow into barn cat behavior. I certainly can’t see where he ever came back inside on that issue… When someone with a lot of influence, primarily due to their technical expertise, isn’t held to the same standards we would expect from every other member of the team, we may never earn their respect again and we’ll likely lose the respect of many other team members in the process.

In closing this look at the leadership lessons we can learn from the greatest basketball player of all time, I’ll stress once more that I’m not making a case for him being a good or a bad leader - but you won’t convince me that anyone else has ever been better at the game of basketball and I’m not seeing where anyone will be any time soon! Hopefully though, this has provided you with some things to consider in your own leadership role and with your teams!