One of the most powerful leadership stories is how Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson managed to get ‘rebel’ basketball players Dennis Rodman on his team. For the Bulls it was such a crucial moment: the team was struggling and with hindsight Rodman proved to be the perfect 3rd star. Rodman was like an enfant terrible – doing his own thing, his own approach, as if he didn’t care about others.
Phil Jackson’s leadership was challenged, I mean how could he get Dennis Roman his trust, loyalty, and collaborative spirit. Even more so because high performance requires intrinsic motivation it cannot be bought. He knew he had to tap into the ‘wisdom’ of the Heyoka Indians – part of the Sioux Tribe in the United States – to get it done and Rodman aboard. If you’re in a leadership position – it doesn’t matter big or small – and you’re confronted with a challenge regarding your team or stakeholders, the Heyoka Indians can show you a way.
The Challenge of the Chicago Bulls
It’s quite some time ago and maybe you’re not so much into basketball, so let’s recap a bit: the Chicago Bulls were an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. They were known for having one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six of their championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls were the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships while never losing an NBA Finals series in their history. The Bulls won 72 games during the 1995–96 season, setting an NBA record that stood until the Golden State Warriors won 73 games during the 2015–16 season. [1]
In 1994 things were different: Chicago failed to reach the NBA Finals in 1994 with star player Michael Jordan playing minor league baseball, and Jordan’s return could not save them in 1995. Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause knew the Bulls needed toughness and defense in the frontcourt, and he made a deal to send basketball player Will Perdue to the Spurs in exchange for Rodman.[2] The move would be one of the best in franchise history. But getting him aboard – with spirit, motivation and willpower – and even more so keeping him aboard wasn’t probably easy.
In the third episode of “The Last Dance, a documentary on Netflix about the Chicago Bulls,” Phil Jackson and Rodman recall the first time they met, and from the sound of it, the only way things could’ve gone worse is if a fight had somehow broken out. “It was awful,” Basketbal coach Jackson said. “I walk into Jerry Krause’s house. (Rodman’s) sitting on the couch. He’s got a pool boy hat over his eyes. He’s got the rings in his nose and his mouth, and he doesn’t stand up to greet me. I said, ‘Stand up Dennis, take your hat off, shake hands. Let’s go outside and talk.”
In hindsight Rodman was the perfect “third star” in Chicago. He knew his role and played it to perfection, feeding off basketball players Jordan and Pippen while bringing unmatched desire to a team looking to reclaim their place at the top of the NBA. The Bulls would win the 1995-96 NBA championship after a historic 72-10 season and, though Rodman was in the final year of his contract, he would return for two more seasons and a three-peat. Rodman became an icon in Chicago; his larger-than-life persona seemed to resonate with Bulls fans.[3]
The challenge for Phil Jackson was that Rodman was an ‘enfant terrible’ although leadership managed to work with him, have a strong bond with him and the success that ensued was self-explanatory. But what has an a part of an Indian tribe called the Heyoka to do with this Leadership success?
The Heyoka Indians: how to break behavioural patterns
The Heyoka are part of an indigenous American Indian tribes whose job is to ensure that people don’t operate too much in that fixed routine – and thus lose their power. If we do things in a habitual way, we are less in touch with what’s effective. If you observe the Heyoka, you will see that they thus do everything backwards and upside down with the aim of demonstrating that nothing needs to be done in just one fixed way. They walk backwards, stand when others are sitting and sit when others are standing. Cry when they are happy and laugh when they are sad. This destroys their habits and patterns that keep them asleep. Second, they make people laugh, a process that breaks up old patterns of behaviour and people’s ingrained ways.
Why is leadership and breaking habits so important?
Leaders, directors, or professionals who have worked on themselves understand how strong automatic behaviour is. Research estimates that between 40 – 95% is habitual.[4][5] That means that we start conversations, collaborate, formulate strategies in a fixed way, while reality might ask for a different response.
In such a way, we are losing our power. Power might sound dirty although it means the capability to influence or get results. People have an automatic tendency to re-act. A tendency to be confrontative, diplomatic, relationship oriented, analytic, and observant, spontaneous and improving, emotional expressive.
In Frankl’s words, “Between the stimulus and response, there is a space. And in that space lies our freedom and power to choose our responses
Often people think knowledge is power. But I rather say: the ability to act is power. Can you do the opposite of your automatic behaviour to achieve different results? That’s were your power lies and results. You can adjust to a situation, read a situation, and do what needs to be done. In the case of Phil Jackson, getting Rodman aboard it led to 3 additional titles in the NBA.
How did Phil Jackson use the Heyoka approach?
It’s very likely that in this first meeting with Roman discussing about him coming to Chicago Bulls Coach Phil Jackson used a Heyoka approach, meaning doing something radically opposite of the normal to bond with Roman and ‘break’ his automatic defence. This isn’t unfortunately disclosed but Jackson used Indian wisdom in his leadership.
What he did do was seeing the world through an Heyoka perspective. He called Rodman the Heyoka of the team – it was accepted that Rodman was going against mass habitual behaviour. Appealing to Rodman’s desire to be different and at the same time recognizing the importance of a Heyoka at the team – challenging conventional approaches.
At the same time, went they first met, you recall when Rodman was sitting on the coach with his pool boy cap, he didn’t play along with Rodman’s game of enfant terrible and appearing not interested. He challenged him, respected him at the same time and and perhaps started talking about the Heyoka Indians. As a results, a strong bond emerged between the coach and Rodman. They shared a common interest in Indian tribes, there was a l
The Heyoka wisdom perfectly works any leader in corporate life.
There is this great example of a heyoka tactic used by a senior partner of an investment firm. The investment firm had hired unintentionally one of the employees of an important client. The client of the firm wasn’t amused and requested a meeting.
The partner of the investment firm wanted to preserve his client relationship and by now he was aware that his habitual response of confronting, arguing, and trying to convince someone might not work in this case. During a workshop he had learned to be able to do the opposite: connect with people even more, listen to their story and show understanding. It paid of marvellously in this case by retaining a highly skilled employee and retaining a major customer.
How can you act upon this as a leader?
For you as a leader, lets summarize and give you concrete examples how to increase your leadership power as a Heyoka. We talked about we are losing power because between 40 -95% of our behaviour is habitual. Then, quite some of our actions are habitual and not really in touch with the situation or the other. We are excluding people, ideas, and results. Basically, we are doing the same thing with the same results.
A basic approach of changing habitual behaviour is how you relate and communicate to different people. A basic approach that works, even do it seems so simple, is to adjust to the 3 different types of human beings: analytical, relationship oriented and action oriented.If you know what your inclination is and you can adjust to the others, you start to reap different results.
Analytical
- Allow them for some talking in an initial meeting. It will make them feel better. Listen up to a certain point and help them to decision or conclusion.
- Help them by moving from theory to actual experience – if we know this, what could we do with it?
- Be patient. Analytical people tend to process things slower and linearly. They think in words and concepts and that takes time.
- Analytical are proud of their ideas, insights, and visions. Compliment them on these skills. They will like it. Also, give them instructions and structure.
- They get excited by learning and having new insights. For them knowledge is power. Provide space for reflection and (deeper) learning in a meeting.
Relationship oriented people
- Allow them to express their feelings, it doesn’t matter if they make sense to you. Then, help them move towards objectivity by creating asking related questions.
- Take the time to show personal interest and ask them personal questions about their life and career. For them it goes a long way. Between the lines they are reading a meeting: can I work with you is the question on their mind.
- Spend time being with time – talking, dining, lunching – they like to spend in general time with people and that’s how they achieve results.
- Balance critical feedback with appreciation. They tend to take feedback personal; it works best when balanced with a sense of appreciation for what they do. Compliment them on their people skills. They appreciate it.
Action oriented people
- Action orientally peopled like to move and need space to move in. Give them tasks that allow them to move, walk, drive, fly and generally move.
- Be direct with them and talk in terms of actions, goals, and tasks. They are interested in practicalities and direct results.
- Give them autonomy and respect their boundaries. Don’t give them instructions, ask for their perspective and ways of doing things. If they overstep your boundaries, be direct and let them know, it will put them at ease. You’re strong and direct, so can be trusted.
- Give them a healthy challenge of achieving or doing something relevant. It will give them energy.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bulls
[2] https://clutchpoints.com/how-dennis-rodman-went-from-a-bad-boy-piston-to-a-bulls-legend/
[3] https://clutchpoints.com/how-dennis-rodman-went-from-a-bad-boy-piston-to-a-bulls-legend/