Recently at our company weekly seminar we invited a guest speaker who lead a conversation about ‘The Pros and Cons of Keeping Score’. The core of the presentation focused around the idea that keeping score is something we all do whether it is comparing ourselves to some ideal or to others around us. There are pros and cons of keeping score with a thin line between moving forward positively and moving forward at the expense of self and relationships with others. It was a solid message that and got me thinking about a leadership story I heard using the events of the 1994 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks. The topic was pride and leadership. I’m not talking about the pride that aspires us to become better people, I’m talking about that insidious thing inside of us that keeps us from: celebrating others, admitting when we’re wrong, acknowledging when we need help, opening up, fill in the blank _____.

Let’s roll the tape back to the year 1994 during the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks. The Bulls, already down two games of the best-of-seven series, were trying to prove that they could pull out a win without Michael Jordan, who had retired at the end of the previous season.

During game three, with less than two seconds left on the game clock, the score was tied up at 102. Chicago had the ball and called a time-out to strategize how they could make a final shot and win the game. Coach Phil Jackson’s plan called for Scottie Pippen, the Bulls’ new star, to make the pass to Toni Kukoc for the final shot. As play was about to resume, Scottie Pippen sat out because he was disgruntled that he wasn’t tapped to take the final shot.

With only four players on the floor, another time-out and the coach substituted reserve player Pete Myers to make the pass. Myers tossed a perfect pass to Kukoc, who made the seemingly impossible that shot to win the game.

As the Bulls made their way back to the locker room, their game winning euphoria was deflated by Pippen’s behavior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGAbgJ3RzwM

What was Scottie Pippen’s core issue? That’s right, pride!! The only score Scottie Pippen was keeping was for himself and not that of his team.

Pride diminishes us by making us small and we buy into the narrative that it somehow makes us bigger. Pride diminishes our ability to hear what needs to be heard and the life changing words we need to hear just bounce off us. Pride also diminishes our ability to give, to exercise humility and to be others oriented.

Scottie Pippen was the living embodiment of pride during that game and fell deeper into the shadow of Michael Jordan because of his pride. He now has an asterisk next to his name and it’s not a good footnote – it’s this one! Feeling snubbed, Pippen decided that he just wouldn’t play at all. It wasn’t what anyone would call the finest example of leadership. And guess what? Kukoc made the game-winner

Pride completely removes our capacity to look in the mirror and see that the problem is the person staring back at us. When you are full of you, it crowds others out.

How many people in your life are victims of your pride?