Leadership Tips from Entrepreneur and Sports Legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson
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A legend on the basketball court and in the business world, Earvin “Magic” Johnson understands how to build all-star teams.
“You’ve got to know every teammate. I know the strengths and weaknesses of everybody that works with me — what they can and can’t handle,” said Mr. Johnson, who kicked off PMI® Global Congress — North America in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. “It’s about understanding how they can get to the next level. When they believe that you’re for them, then you can lead them.”
Mr. Johnson knows how to get teams to play at the top of their game: After leading the Los Angeles Lakers to five National Basketball Association championships, the Hall of Famer went on to become the most successful African-American businessman in the United States. As CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, he operates subsidiaries spanning the entertainment, foodservice and healthcare industries, among others.
Despite that track record, he never rests on his laurels. “I’m still learning, I’m still growing, I still have room for growth—and I know you do too,” Mr. Johnson told the 2,200 attendees gathered from 60 countries around the world.
Without that commitment to learning, project practitioners and their organizations risk being left in the dust.
“The marketplace is moving so fast. If you can’t adapt and adjust, it’s going to move right past you,” he said.
He urged audience members to conduct biannual SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analyses — for themselves and their businesses.
And before they begin planning projects, organizations must understand the environment they operate in. When his company gets a new contract, Mr. Johnson said, “we have town hall meetings and listen to what people say. And then we deliver what they’re looking for.”
To get the right results, organizations must go in with the right strategy — and then make sure team members are on board and have the right skills to get the job done.
“You have to sell your team on the strategy so they can be successful,” he said. “The best basketball players I know made their teammates better. Ask yourself, how can you make the people you work with better?”
Congress attendees appreciated the “magic tricks.”
"There's a lot of truth in his approach to life — of the importance of hard work and relying on the right people for the job,” says Harold Mosley Jr., PMP, director, project management processes, Zachry Industrial Inc., San Antonio, Texas, USA. “You have to set high expectations and get the right people to fulfill them.”
Posted
by
cyndee miller
on: October 27, 2014 03:25 PM |
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Comments (1)
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Michael Adams
Solutions Architect| LANL
Los Alamos, Nm, United States
Exactly! I always feel that if I can't trust my team, then they aren't actually a team. This means that either we've got the wrong people involved, or I have stepped over something important. It could be team building, or clearly articulating expectations and getting confirmation that the team is on board with those expectations. Maybe I failed to include them in the planning and scheduling process, or didn't ensure they knew I heard concerns. If I don't trust the team, its time to stop and look. To ask what is missing, what did I step over, how do I bring the team into alignment with the project goals, and proceed, with an eye to success?
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