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1-Page Summary of Wooden On Leadership
A Fond Farewell
Former basketball coach John Wooden knew it was time to retire when he became a celebrity. He had joined other coaches in speaking before an audience, and the emcee asked him to wait outside the room because his presence would distract from the other speakers. Coach Wooden didn’t want that kind of attention; he just wanted to be known as a humble farmer’s son who loved coaching basketball.
John Wooden believed in keeping a balance between mind, body, spirit and career. He also loved basketball and coached UCLA (the University of California at Los Angeles) to 10 national championships. However, he retired after winning all those titles because being famous wasn’t for him.
However, Wooden’s retirement was also a new beginning for him. He could now share the leadership secrets that made him such a successful coach.
Humble Beginnings
John Wooden got his first coaching job at Dayton High School in Kentucky. He had recently gotten married and was a three-time All American basketball player on a national championship squad at Purdue University. His salary was $1,500 per year, which he considers to be a pretty good sum of money for those days.
John Wooden learned as a young man that success comes from doing your best. The real competition is with yourself, not others. Successful people are those who have mastered the “Four P’s:” planning, preparation, practice and performance.
“The Pyramid of Success”
John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach at UCLA, urged his coaches to write down what each player needed to do in order to succeed. He wanted them to list specific activities that would lead players toward success. For example, a player might know that he is supposed to shoot more three-pointers if he wants to be successful on the court. However, writing it down makes this goal real and concrete for him because there is an action attached—he must take 10 three-point shots every day during practice. If you want your employees or team members to achieve great things together as a group, make sure you are clear about exactly what they need to do in order not only their goals but also yours.
When John Wooden was coaching at UCLA, he noticed that families were often upset when their children didn’t get the grades they wanted. He realized that parents and students alike should focus more on the process of learning rather than just results. Therefore, he developed a new way to measure success based on 15 categories:
John Wooden was a very hard worker who instilled these values in his players. He learned them from growing up on a farm, and he always made sure to enjoy what he did. A leader must have teamwork and esprit de corps (a sense of team spirit), because it takes many hands to make something happen; you can’t do it alone. It also requires loyalty sometimes, even when that means taking risks or standing up for your beliefs. You should never be selfish, but rather work together with others as part of a team.
The author of the passage says that alertness is being prepared to take advantage of opportunities. Initiative is having a commitment to act despite your fear of making mistakes. Intentness is persisting in the face of adversity, and conditioning means physically preparing yourself for success by loving hard work and pushing others to do so as well.
When developing your skills, don’t be satisfied with just one. Develop all of them. When working as a team, the star must be the team itself and not any individual member. Promote teamwork at all times by encouraging others to work together to achieve common goals. Be yourself no matter what circumstances surround you; this will make you successful in the end because it shows confidence that you can do anything if you set your mind to it.
