If you are a Chicago Bulls fan or an NBA fan, you probably have heard or watched many commentators mention that the Chicago Bulls does not have a clear cut leader on the floor but no one has suggestions on how to become that leader. The Chicago Bulls have Derrick Rose the starting point guard and Jimmy Butler the starting shooting guard that are constantly being mentioned as a leaders but that between the two, one of them has to step up and emerge as the single leader of this team in order for this team to take it to the next level. By applying the small sample of leadership theory that we have learned so far in Psych485: Leadership in Work Settings, I will apply my decision on which of these two players should emerge as the clear cut leader of the Chicago Bulls. Using the skills approach and trait approach to leadership, I believe that one of these two players can become that single leader in order for the Chicago Bulls to become an effective organizational team. According to Northouse (2016), the skills approach states that there are three types of personal skills leaders need to achieve to be effective: technical skills, human skills, and conceptual skills.
Derrick was a first round overall first draft pick 2008 by the Chicago Bulls. When he was drafted, we started to hear that he “needs” to step up and become an instant leader. As I watched Derrick Rose over the years he has taken on that role in name but I am not sure if being a leader is a role that he wishes to take on. Rose definitely has the technical skills to be the leader of the Chicago Bulls. Some of Rose’s early career accolades consist of him winning the Rookie of the Year award as well as winning the Most Valuable Player award. After having a great start with accolades in his career, Rose was assigned the role of leader. Rose also has traits of leadership such as Self-confidence and integrity. Rose is very confident in his competencies and skills when it comes to his game play in basketball. Northouse (2016) According to Northouse (2016), Leadership involves some sort of influence over others, and self-confidence allows the leader to feel assured that his attempts to influence others are appropriate and right. Since Rose has been in the league, he has suffered major knee injuries that has caused him to miss whole seasons and partial seasons. Rose is also often seen as laid back and very soft spoken when it comes to his interviews with the press.
Jimmy Butler was a 30th pick in the first round by the Chicago Bulls in 2011. Butler’s late round draft pick did not automatically cast him as an eventual leader in Chicago as it was Rose who was already seen as the leader when Butler arrived to the team. Butler has won accolades such as Eastern conference player of the week, months and NBA All-star. The word around the league is that Butler is currently the best player from his draft season. We hear how some commentators are either torn between him and Rose being the clear cut leader or that he should be the clear cut leader. Butler’s emergence into the leadership talk has come from him gaining the respect of his colleagues and peers by constantly improving his overall game. Over the past four years, Butler has improved his game play making him technical inclined as he began to become a specialized player in the NBA. We often hear Butler touted as one of the best 2 way guards in the NBA which appears to be a rarity in the NBA in current years. Butler also has the appearance of being a people person as he is often seen interacting with the crowd at the home games, Butler also appears to have the human skills needed to get the Chicago Bulls as a team to function and work cooperatively to achieve a common goal of winning a championship. (Northouse (2016) When it comes to Butler’s traits, he also has self-confidence as he continues to grow into a strong overall NBA player. At the same time his self-confidence is not where it should be in order for him to be that clear cut leader of the Chicago Bulls. Butler also has the desire and characteristics of a leader as he displays his desire and drive to improve and win every year that he has been in the league.
If I was to settle the debate as to who at this stage of their career should be the floor leader of the Chicago Bulls, I would say that it would be in best interest of the Chicago Bulls to show support to Jimmy Butler as their clear cut floor leader. As I mentioned before that both players do have self-confidence but both do not have a certain level of self-confidence due to different factors. Rose’s level of self-confidence can be seen as a decline in the player that he once was due to him having major knee operations. Butler’s level of self-confidence to become the clear cut leader can be viewed as him not being drafted in an equal position of Rose and that Rose has seniority over him with the team. Butler has constantly improved his game and has been consistent with his improvement which is the reason why he has emerged as a candidate for leadership with the Chicago Bulls. Rose was given that title of leader or it was forced on him but overall I do not believe that Rose wants to be that clear cut leader. “Yet the person assigned to a leadership position does not always become a real leader in a particular setting.” (Northouse, p. 8 2016) In the case of Butler becoming an emergent leader, according to Northouse (2016) as cited in Smith and Foti (1998) found that certain personality traits were related to leadership emergence. “The leaders who were more dominant, more intelligent and more confident about their own performance were more likely to be identified as leaders by other members of their task group.” (Northouse, p. 8 2016) As I stated before Butler has emerged and Rose was more assigned the leadership role based off his high draft status and high expectations. Butler seems to be the more likely candidate to be the clear cut leader at the moment but he his self-confidence and respect level for Rose will not allow him to overtake that true role of leader unless Rose concede that title to Butler or the Bulls management anoints Butler as their floor leader. If the Chicago Bulls are to become an efficient team, they will need for the team to take on Butler’s personality to become efficient as Butler has proven that he can do that each year by making himself efficient year after year on s consistent basis.
Nicole Alexandra Dwyer says
I am not a huge sports fan and to be honest I had to look up what sport the Chicago Bulls played because I did not know off the top of my head. After reading your post along with a quick Google search, I discovered the Bulls are an NBA team. I enjoyed how your post incorporated something you find exciting with concepts of leadership. It was interesting to read and easy to connect with, even for someone who is not a huge sports person.
I like your focus on the skills approach, however, I wanted to provide you with some additional information about athletic teams, leadership and management besides the skills approach. According to Northouse (2016), Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Leadership Grid combines both a concern for production and also concern for people in a model that has two intersecting axes. The grid focuses on a leader’s concern for results and also the leader’s concern for people and breaks leadership up into five major styles. The style I think is most appropriate for athletic teams would be team management. Team management scores very high on both axes of the grid, being high 9’s in both the concern for people and the concern for results categories.
Team management “places a strong emphasis on both tasks and interpersonal relationships” , in this regard, a sports leader would weigh heavily on both the tasks such as lineups, sub-ins, breaks and game plays, as well as interpersonal relationships amongst the players, fans and coaches. The team management style promotes participation and teamwork that encourages employees to be both involved and committed to their work. This aspect of the leadership style could not be more true when thinking about athletic teams. It is important for players to be committed to the game, team they are playing for and the brand that they are representing. If players were to lose sight of this, then they wouldn’t play with the passion that they do. You mentioned that you believe Jimmy Butler would be the clear cut choice for the Chicago Bulls, with that statement said, I would like you to refer to (Northouse, 2016; p. 77) that mentions the phrases that could be used to describe a leader of a team management style: “stimulates participation, acts determined, gets issues into the open, makes priorities clear, follows through, behaves open-mindedly, and enjoys working”. If you think Jimmy Butler performs all of these tasks as a leader for the Chicago Bulls, then I think you made the right decision!
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los
Angeles: Sage Publications. ISBN 9781483317533