Final Paper: Great Leader Profile and Evaluation

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Leadership Like Mike

One of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in

Brooklyn New York and the game of basketball has never been the same. According to the

National Basketball Association, “Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball of all time. Jordan

was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered

instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.”

Jordan and his family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where he began his sports

career. While attending High School in Wilmington, Michael played baseball, football, and

basketball. But when Jordan tried out for varsity basketball, during his sophomore year, he was

denied. He was viewed as being too short to play basketball on the team. He was only 5’11 at the

time, but this is what made Jordan the way he is today. Michael never took no for an answer and

would always thrive to be the best he could be. He showed great determination and work ethic,

as he dominated junior varsity by tallying several forty point games. The following summer,

Jordan grew four more inches and worked more at his game. The following year he made the

varsity team and as a senior he was selected to the McDonald’s All American Team after

averaging a triple double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 10.1 assists. Michael was later quoted

about overcoming failure by saying, “If it turns out that my best wasn't good enough, at least I

won't look back and say that I was afraid to try; failure makes me work even harder.” But to gage

Jordan by his statistics and his height would be an understatement. His heart and dedication

towards thriving for what he wanted, no one could match it. Jordan always wanted to turn a

negative situation into a positive situation. That is one way he was so successful.

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Jordan’s mindset was so focused on what he wanted that it made him easier to visualize

himself succeeding. Jordan once said, “I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I

had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it... I know fear is an obstacle for some

people, but it's an illusion to me.” That is how he got through the younger stages in his live,

never settling for second place. In 1981, Jordan received a scholarship to play as a Tar Heel at

North Carolina. During his three seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0%

shooting, and added 5.0 rebounds per game. He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All

American First team in both his sophomore and junior seasons in 1983 and 1984. After winning

the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North

Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA Draft. The Chicago

Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick, and it is history from there.

Jordan’s career highlights and awards are remarkable; the list goes on and on. Michael is

a six time NBA champion, winning titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998. He won

five NBA most valuable player awards, fourteen time NBA all star, six time finals MVP, ten

time scoring champion, three time steals champion, and one NBA defensive player of the year.

But the list continues, as he was a ten time winner of the NBA all star first team, nine time NBA

all defensive first team, won the rookie of the year award, and all rookie first team. He also was a

tree time all star game MVP, two time dunk contest champion, and was on the NBA’s 50th

anniversary all time team. His famous trademark jersey number 23 is now retired by the Chicago

Bulls. In his college career at North Carolina, he won the NCAA Championship in 1984, the

Oscar Robertson Trophy, the Naismith College player of the year award, the John Wooden

award, and Adolph Rupp Trophy. Michael Jordan professional career finished with 32,292 points

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scored, 6,662 rebounds, and 5,633 assists. These numbers are off the charts as Jordan went on to

have one of the best careers in NBA history.

Michael Jordan’s life is best credited to some very important traits that made Michael the

person he is today. The way he achieved his goals, overcame failure, ran his business, displayed

determination and confidence were remarkable assets that helped him become the leader he is

today, and how he accomplished all of his remarkable achievements. Michael displayed the

importance of the attitude that he showed towards discipline and leadership. Discipline means

doing the right thing at the right time, doing it as good as it can be and doing it consistently. MJ

was the perfect example of self-discipline, not just some times, but most of the time. In 1998, for

the first time, MJ was chosen to be the MVP All Star. He had stepped his career to a higher level,

to the level of stars, yet his life journey was incomplete compared to the others NBA legends. He

hadn’t made his team a winner. He once said to the reporter after getting the MVP title, “What

separate me with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson is they got the winner title for their team and a

personal achievement at the same time, and this what motivates me to do things better.” One of

the most important quotes of Michael Jordan’s life sums up his whole life. “I have missed more

than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been

entrusted to take the game winning shot... and missed. And I have failed over and over and over

again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael used this motivation to thrive for more in

life. Never would you see Michael take off plays or slack off and it showed. One of the most

regarded coaches in NBA history and Michael’s coach for eight seasons had this to say about

Michael, “After coaching him for eight seasons, I still marvel at how much Michael's enthusiasm

energizes us, even at practice. I mean he never takes a day off. As a player, I had only modest

skills, so I always had to operate at a maximum effort to compete. His work ethic is an important

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personal bond between us. The thing about Michael is he takes nothing about his game for

granted. Nowadays, so many kids come into the league with arrogant attitudes, thinking that their

talent is all they need to succeed. By contrast, there's a certain humility in Michael's willingness

to take on the difficult work of making himself a more complete player. For me, one of the signs

of Michael's greatness is that he turned his weaknesses into strengths. Another of the qualities I

most respect in Michael is his demeanor on the court. There are so many young players who play

with anger, taunting one another and beating their chests after a dunk. These guys are chiefly

interested in ego gratification. Every season, he makes himself available to dozens of children

who belong to the Make-A-Wish foundation - children with fatal diseases. Imagine how difficult

it is to approach these kids with cheer and goodwill. Yet in a totally sincere way, Michael puts

them at ease, lets them have a laugh and makes it possible for them to enjoy basketball (Bleacher

Report).

For me after reading on what Phil Jackson had to say about Michael Jordan, I found and

grew even more respect for him. You think you know Michael, but you can never put it into

perspective on how much of a leader and icon he really was. Michael’s philosophy was simple,

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.” His determination and confidence was remarkable, and

that is how he got through life, and how he accomplished all of his achievements. This is

Michael’s view on how he had to be aggressive. “I realized that if I was going to achieve

anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it... I know fear is an

obstacle for some people, but it's an illusion to me.” That is how he played the game, with no

fear. Jordan always wanted the ball in his hands at the end of the game and wanted to always hit

the game winning shot, but not in the selfish way it comes across, but because he was so fearless

and had great determination towards winning the game, he wanted something to say about it.

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Michael put Chicago on the map and changed to whole attitude towards basketball and towards

winning now Chicago is looked at as a basketball powerhouse. Like he was quoted saying

earlier, how he had missed 26 game winning shots, but he stayed confident and overcame his

failures. He always learned for his mistakes and his mistakes propelled him to work harder as an

individual and thrive for the goals he wanted to accomplish. “Obstacles don't have to stop you. If

you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or

work around it.” This was Jordan’s view on how he became so determined. Jordan expected

things from himself before he actually did them. He had a vision of what he wanted to

accomplish, and he was never satisfied when accomplishing his goals. By then he was already on

to the next goal.

It seems like Michael Jordan was a story book of quotes that the list goes on and on. But

as I have read more about Jordan and have read these quotes, it makes me realize how much his

words were so meaningful to not only his life but impacting several other people’s lives as well.

Jordan was portrayed as such a prestigious athlete and it defiantly had its benefits. For example,

Michael does not have to have the demanding personality on the court and with his teammates.

Every time he was on the court, whether or not it was a game or just in practice, his teammates

felt like they had to match the intensity and play up to Jordan’s level in order to stay on the same

page with Michael on the court. Players like Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Luke Longonly, Scottie

Pippen, and Dennis Rodman were all great examples of this. Not all these athletes were the most

physically gifted, or athletically talented but they worked extremely hard to succeed and Jordan’s

work ethic and determination wore off on these players and they became to grow as a team. This

is what made Jordan into a leader. Michael instilled confidence in his teammates and was not

afraid to call on them in important situations in games. Where ever Michael went, he instilled a

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certain swagger and confidence in not only his teammates but the whole town of Chicago. He put

this city on the map and even today is looked at as one of the more prestigious basketball

organizations in NBA history.

Celtic and NBA legend Larry Bird was quoted describing Jordan as “God disguised as

Michael Jordan” after Michael dropped 63 points against the Celtics and set a playoff record.

The height of Jordan’s talent was through the roof. By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning

shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the

regular season, Jordan was the Bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in

the playoffs, Jordan would always demand the ball at crunch time. Jordan's total of 5,987 points

in the playoffs is the highest in NBA history. He retired with 32,292 points in regular season

play, placing him third on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl

Malone. “Many of Jordan's contemporaries label Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all

time. An ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest

North American athlete of the 20th century, above icons such as Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.

Jordan placed second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press's list of 20th century athletes. In

addition, the Associated Press voted him as the basketball player of the 20th century. Jordan has

also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 49 times. In the September 1996

issue of Sport, which was the publication's 50th anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest

athlete of the past 50 years (sports illustrated).”

“I think it was the exposure of Michael Jordan; the marketing of Michael Jordan.

Everything was marketed towards the things that people wanted to see, which was scoring and

dunking. That Michael Jordan still played defense and an all-around game, but it was never

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really publicized.” This is how publicists viewed Michael Jordan and respected Jordan as more

than just a superstar but as a well polished all around athlete. In August 2009, Michael Jordan

was rewarded by the NBA and was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in

Springfield MA. There at the museum they also dedicated Michael’s own section where they

have an exhibit for the 1992 dream team and another exhibit just on the career of Michael

Jordan. Even though Michael is past his career in the world of basketball, he still succeeds and

thrives for more in life. Right now he is Chairman of the charlotte Bobcats, and it taking his post

life business career to the next level. His Jordan brand of clothing and shoes will continue to

evolve and it s becoming a global market for Jordan. Ever where you go Michael Jordan’s legacy

is well known and he is viewed as a basketball icon still to this day. Michael Jordan is still

viewed as if not the best but one of the best players to play the game of basketball even to this

day. People compare players in today’s game like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, but no

disrespect to these players, no one will ever be able to fill the shoes that Michael Jordan wore.

Michael Jordan is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, having earned six

world championships during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls and setting a slew of records in

the process. His leadership qualities stem from more than his skills on the court, however.

Michael Jordon is a leader due to his character as well as his accomplishments (Vaux). In the

words of Michael himself, “just play, have fun, and enjoy the game.”

Works Cited

"English_netbook." Attitude of a Leader by Michael Jordan (MJ). Web. 28 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.englishnetbook.com/attitude-of-a-leader-by-michael-jordan-mj.html>.

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"Chicago Bulls." Bleacher Report. Web. 28 Apr. 2012.

<http://bleacherreport.com/articles/823073-michael-jordan-a-player-who-changed-the-culture-

of-an-entire-city>.

http://www.nba.com/jordan/is_philonmj.html\

"Michael Jordan Quotes." Michael Jordan Quotes (Author of Driven from Within). Web. 28 Apr.

2012. <http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/16823.Michael_Jordan>.

Vaux, Robert. "Why Is Michael Jordan Considered a Leader?" EHow. Demand Media, 12 Mar.

2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/about_6068727_michael-jordan-considered-

leader_.html>.