{"id":75548,"date":"2020-06-24T19:56:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T19:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interac1.wpengine.com\/content\/%content-category%\/toronto-raptors-president-masai-ujiri-shares-five-leadership-lessons-with-interac\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T12:42:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:42:33","slug":"toronto-raptors-president-masai-ujiri-shares-five-leadership-lessons-with-interac","status":"publish","type":"content","link":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/en\/content\/working-at-interac\/toronto-raptors-president-masai-ujiri-shares-five-leadership-lessons-with-interac\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri shares five leadership lessons with Interac"},"content":{"rendered":"

Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors President and Alternate NBA Governor, made history in 2019 when he led the Toronto Raptors to victory, bringing the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy home to Canada for the first time. However, his leadership journey started long before, and stretches far beyond, his time in Toronto.<\/p>\n

Masai sat down with Kikelomo Lawal, Chief Legal Officer, Ombudsman & Corporate Secretary, Interac, at the 2020 Interac Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM)<\/a> for a fireside chat about leadership, diversity, building authentic relationships and corporate citizenship<\/p>\n

Kikelomo introduced Masai as \u201cstrategic, cerebral, a student of the game and architect of some brilliant trades, a gentleman, an upstanding person, and a proud Nigerian.\u201d She would also add \u201chumble\u201d, as Masai doesn\u2019t attribute his successes to anything special about himself. As he shared with Interac, his recipe for leadership is one that anyone can follow \u2014 with the right commitment.<\/p>\n

Here are five leadership lessons from Masai Ujiri:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Lead by example<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Masai spends time sharing knowledge about sports and life at Basketball Without Borders<\/a> camps where young people learn not just the game, but how to win in other areas of life. Masai said he embodies leadership at Basketball Without Borders by following the schedule and participating in activities just like anyone else.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI wake up with everybody at seven in the morning, go spend all day in camp, and come back. It burns you out, but that’s life,\u201d Masai said. \u201cI have to show it by example. I would never be one of those [famous] people that’s going to show up, take pictures for an hour, and then leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Nor would Masai feel right about participating through donations alone. \u201cGiving money does not find a pathway for [the young people],\u201d he said. You can only show leadership by showing up.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Assemble your dream team <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Masai joined the Toronto Raptors as general manager and executive vice president in May 2013. Since then he\u2019s had the opportunity to shape the organization and build its team for the future \u2014 on and off the court.<\/p>\n

      \u201cThe only thing I would say that I micromanage, ever, as a leader, is hiring people \u2014 those key leaders in the organization,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

      Masai insists that anyone joining his team meet one criterion: They must be smarter than him. That may sound like a slightly tongue-in-cheek rule, but Masai insists it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

      \u201cLeaders are scared of hiring people that are smarter than them. To me, it’s the best thing that could ever happen to you because those positions are going to be filled so well,\u201d Masai said. \u201cAnd they are so smart they are going to hire smart people too. It trickles down, and it elevates everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Make sure your team is an inclusive one<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Masai noted, traditionally speaking, women haven\u2019t held many key positions within NBA clubs.<\/p>\n

        \u201cIf you entered an NBA practice facility or training facility, all you saw were men,\u201d Masai said, reflecting on his experience in the industry. \u201cI know, because I worked in that environment for a long time before it began to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

        However, Masai leads his team differently. \u201cThere are many [women] who are very, very smart and have input in everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Hiring more women brought new levels of creativity, problem solving, and new styles of leadership to the Toronto Raptors. \u201c[Women] can be leaders. Big leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

        The Raptors have more women during his time at the helm, he said, and that has opened the door to more talent.<\/p>\n

        \u201cWe hired 14 women,\u201d Masai said, \u201cand we won a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Finally, rally your people …<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Early in his tenure as GM, Masai recalled saying to his staff: \u201cGet me a campaign. Find me a campaign that is going to really resonate.\u201d<\/p>\n

          \u201cHow do we become Canada’s team? We started to think of all the different strategies, and plans, and things that you can do to start to build that.\u201d<\/p>\n

          That\u2019s how the Raptors\u2019 famous We the North<\/em> rallying cry came to be: Masai\u2019s goal was to bring people together. He wanted to unite not just the Raptors organization in the hunger for an NBA Championship, but all Canadian basketball fans.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \u2026 and together, you will do something extraordinary <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            \u201cYou can’t be ordinary,\u201d Masai said. \u201cIf you want to stand out, and you want to make an example for the youth, and for the future of whatever we’re doing, you have to push the envelope. You have to make the difficult decisions. You have to hire the right people. All those things are going to really elevate your culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

            And what is the ultimate purpose of this refusal to be ordinary? \u201cIt’s simple. Win,\u201d Masai said. \u201cI’m telling you, that’s what it comes down to.\u201d<\/p>\n

            Masai\u2019s focus on success permeates his whole life, whether sports, philanthropy or supporting future generations. \u201cWhen you\u2019ve won on the court and you\u2019ve won off the court, then you can start to bring people along and you start to teach winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

            The Toronto Raptors\u2019 victory was felt coast-to-coast. Like Interac, a 100 per cent Canadian-owned organization, Masai understands the value of Canada.<\/p>\n

            \u201cWe have to take advantage of the people we have, the diversity we have, how big it is, and how kind people are,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to work in this country and feel that you can push, and you will be supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

            Click here<\/a> to read what Interac employees learned from Masai and how they will use those lessons in their careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors President and Alternate NBA Governor, made history in 2019 when he led the Toronto Raptors to victory, bringing the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy home to Canada for the first time. However, his leadership journey started long before, and stretches far beyond, his time in Toronto. Masai sat down with Kikelomo Lawal,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75549,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"content-tags":[958],"content-category":[956],"spokespeople":[],"in_the_know_post_format":[169],"class_list":["post-75548","content","type-content","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","content-tags-culture-community","content-category-working-at-interac","in_the_know_post_format-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeadership Lessons from Toronto Raptors President<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Toronto Raptors President, Masai Ujiri, discusses leadership, diversity, and corporate citizenship at the Interac Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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