Competetive Leadership

Can your leadership style be enhanced by competition?

I am not a competitive person by nature, mainly because I find competition can quickly escalate to cutthroat behavior. In an earlier post I mentioned a statement I can relate to, but I don't necessarily want to adhere to:  'As Margaret Thatcher, one famous ENTJ leader proclaimed: "If you want to cut your own throat, don't come to me for a bandage."' Competition has inherent risks I choose not to engage in because it often turns into an unnecessary and devastating loss for someone and sometimes, for everyone. Competitors are motivated to win at all costs. 

I grew up playing basketball (more for pleasure than talent) and watching the amazing sportsmanship of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. When Larry Bird retired, I stopped watching sports altogether. It's possible a good game or two has been played since then, I wouldn't know. What I do remember were the riveting, heart-pounding Celtics-Lakers games. 

It was therefore a joy to discover Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. The first time I saw it, I was pushed back into the past--rooting for Bird. But the second time I saw it I focused on the leadership insights of each and then began to see how these two players organically reshaped the NBA structure simply for the love of the game--and a fierce need to win. Of course the media played a starring role, but these fresh leaders created a fascinating legend. 

In creating this shared story, as individuals Bryant Gumbel reminds us, "...they were polar opposites: one black, one white, one outgoing, one shy. That was the charm of the attraction." Yet each one loved basketball above all else; it was their life. Even as rookies they emerged in the same year and provided a uniqueness to their team.

Larry Bird

Sportswriter Jackie MacMullan captures the essence of Bird in Boston: "There was no frills about him. He came in, he threw elbows. There was nothing smooth about Larry. New Englanders like that. They are hardworking people, they like that's how people view them and that's what Larry was."

Magic Johnson

Magic in LA is described by former head coach Pat Riley as: "He had it. What is it? As far as I was concerned the it was not his ability or his size. The it was his attitude, was his leadership, was his mind."


 


As competitors, there could be only one winner. In an appropriately omniscient voice over we hear, "Their competitive dislike emerged from a greater truth: that on the court they were doppelgangers, team-oriented stars who cared about winning above all else. Basketball savants who fused the substance of the 60's with the style of the 70's to create a new and exciting, yet selfless way to play the game in the 1980's."

As individuals they were stunning. Bird says, "A lot of guys can just score, a lot of guys can rebound, a lot of guys can just make plays. We could do it all." When they played against each other the game evened out and the intensity increased to snapping point. The chance of winning became more dependent upon honed talent, mental toughness, and living 100% in the moment. As equals they knew exactly how the other felt; as competitors they knew how to inflict deep wounds. But it was never about annihilating the other player as a person and it was all about, as Magic says, "Playing the game the right way was everything."

And then, one day the game was over. When Magic was diagnosed HIV positive he says, "He [Bird] called me and we were talking, you know 'how are you doin,' I heard about it.' You can almost hear both of us, tears in our eyes. And I'm choked up because he did call me. You know when something happens to you and then you find out who really your friends are, and people who really care about you. You figure all those battles, all those things we had to go through as warriors, as competitors, then as men. Here's this man who says 'you know what, you're ok,' and so that was the greatest moment for me too, to have him check on me and to make sure I was ok."

I am humbled by the integrity and character of these two men and the way they played the game. It has led me to reconsider competition. Surely if it makes you a better leader, a better person, it isn't all bad. When the ball is in the court of a No Excuses leader, then an appropriate play is to consider how competition can enhance a relationship, an element of the organizational structure, and the surrounding community. This also means a No Excuses leader, like Larry Bird, will comfort the competitor in a time of devastation, acknowledging that together we are more.