Thursday, June 01, 2017

Lessons in Leadership - Part 2

12 Lessons in Leadership

In this part, I will share the quotes and thinking behind Coach Wooden's leadership qualities. I feel it is best learnt quotes as that provides a context for understanding. No point going through theoretical points.

Lesson 1: Good Values Attract Good People

John Wooden built his basketball program a certain way - athletically, ethically, morally - because he believed it would attract a certain type of person, the kind of individual he wanted on the team. He was right.

“Build it and they will come.”

Character—doing the right thing—is fundamental to successful leadership.

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” He was referring to character—the habits of our daily behavior that reveal who and what we are. I wanted to create good habits in those under my leadership. Standards, values, and attitudes were important to me. I wanted them to matter to those I taught.

Select people who are seeking you and your organization. Perhaps they recognize shared values, standards, and attitudes.

Lesson 2: Use the most powerful four-letter word (LOVE)

Be more concerned with what you can do for others than what others can do for you. You’ll be surprised at the result.

The smallest good deed is better than the best intention.

Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. The individuals on our UCLA teams became true members of my extended family.

“I will not like you all the same, but I will love you all the same. Furthermore, I will try very hard not to let my feelings interfere with my judgment of your performance. You receive the treatment you earn and deserve.”

And while I could have great love in my heart for those under my supervision, I would not tolerate behavior from anyone that was detrimental, or potentially detrimental, to the welfare of our group.

Lesson 3: Call Yourself a Teacher

Each member of your team has the potential for personal greatness; a leader’s job is to teach them how to do it.

In the eyes of many observers, John Wooden’s business card should say “Coach,” but this is not what he would choose. From the earliest years he has called himself a teacher.

Four Laws of Learning: Explanation, Demonstration, Imitation—correction when necessary—and Repetition.

An effective leader is very good at listening. It’s difficult to listen when you are talking.

All won’t follow; some need a push. Some you drive, others you lead. Recognizing the difference requires a knowledge of human nature. That’s where being a good student helps you in your leadership.

Lesson 4: Emotion is Your Enemy

There were four or five games in my career when we started out way behind like, 18–2—just getting killed. I’d look over at Coach Wooden, and there he’d sit on the bench with his program rolled up in his hand—totally unaffected, almost like we were ahead. And I’d think to myself, “Hey, if he’s not worried, why should I be worried?”

  - Fred Slaughter, UCLA 1962-1964.

Emotionalism—temperamental flareups and drop-offs—makes consistent high performance impossible.

If you let your emotions take over, you will be outplayed.

Ideally John Wooden wanted the team to improve during each practice and game—every day, each week—throughout the season until they were at their finest on the final day of the year.

Intensity makes you stronger. Emotionalism makes you weaker.

I came to understand that if my own behavior was filled with outbursts, peaks and valleys of emotion and moods, I was sanctioning it for others. As the leader, my own behavior set the bounds of acceptability.

Lesson 5: It Takes 10 Hands To Score a Basket

Be sure you acknowledge and give credit to a teammate who hits you with a scoring pass or for any fine play he may make.

In basketball, a field goal is scored only after several hands have touched the ball. In business, the “ball” is knowledge, experience, ideas, and information. Whether on the court or off, that “ball” must be shared quickly and efficiently to achieve success.

Have one team, not starters and substitutes. No one feels good being a “substitute.”

Each must feel valued, from the secretary to the salesperson to the senior manager. When they understand that they are contributing members of the team and that their role has value, good things will occur.

No matter how great your product, if one of your departments doesn’t produce, you won’t get the results you want. Everybody must do their job.

I told players that we, as a team, are like a powerful race car. Maybe a Bill Walton or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the big engine, but if one wheel is flat, we’re going no place. And if we have brand new tires but the lug nuts are missing, the wheels come off. What good is the powerful engine then, when the wheels come off? Every part, big or small, on that race car matters. Everything contributes to the running of the race. And, of course, a car needs a driver. I was the driver.

Acquire peace of mind by making the effort to become the best of which you are capable.

Lesson 6: Little Things Make Big Things Happen

There was logic to every move. Details of socks, shoelaces, and hair length led to details of running plays, handling the ball, and scoring points—hundreds of small things done exactly as Coach Wooden wanted them done.

Coach Wooden taught that great things can only be accomplished by doing the little things right. Doing things right became a habit with us. Habits stand up under pressure.

Big things are accomplished only through the perfection of minor details.

High performance is achieved only through the identification and perfection of the small but relevant details, little things done well.

Minor details, like pennies, add up. A good banker isn’t careless with pennies; a good leader isn’t careless with details.

Most observers saw only the trophy. Few comprehended the magnitude of perfected details preceding the trophy.

Talent must be nourished in an environment of high performance standards. Sloppiness breeds sloppiness. When it comes to details, teach good habits.



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