John Wooden was the greatest basketball coach of all-time. He has been recognized by many publications as the greatest coach in any sport. His UCLA Bruins Men's Basketball team won 10 NCAA National Championships in 12 years. His team once compiled a winning streak of 88 games. He has created numerous sayings, lists and proverbs that are still widely used by an adoring coaching following. His legacy has been of winning games and living a life of character. He was an extremely wise, but humble man. Coach Wooden passed away in 2010 after living a long and full life.
One of Coach Wooden's most enduring contributions has been his "Pyramid of Success." Coach Wooden began to notice a disturbing trend as a High School teacher and Coach. He claimed "In the classroom I quickly became very uncomfortable- even distraught- with the standards many parents were imposing (unfairly, in my opinion) on their children, demanding top grades regardless of the youngster's raw ability, sincere effort, and good attendance. On the basketball court, I would see an irate father belittle his son for not making the starting lineup. 'What's wrong with the boy?' I would be asked. I had no answer. The boy was doing just fine, the best he could and yet was derided for it. There was nothing wrong with the boy; there was something wrong with the boy's father and his standard of success."
These observations drove Coach Wooden to compile his "Pyramid of Success." It took almost 15 years to develop in totality, but when complete Coach Wooden had created his definition and visualization of what it takes to be successful. Coach Wooden defined success as "The peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming."
Check out the full Pyramid of Success
Coach Wooden often encouraged his players to strive for excellence. To worry about the things that they can control, not the final score on the scoreboard. He hated comparison to others as a measuring stick of success. He implored his players to "Judge their success on the quality of their effort rather than how they stacked up in comparison to someone else in basketball, the classroom or life." What a valuable lesson.
As a leader/teacher/coach it is often easy for me to compare myself to others or my team to another coach's team. If we have a few more wins than someone else, I must be doing well, a few more losses and we must be struggling. Coach Wooden denounced the thought process of "Do our best and lose? You're a loser. Face a second-rate competitor or get lucky and win without giving your best? You're a winner." In his mind "both of these standards are wrong." He taught "Should I feel like a failure after having done my best? No. Should I feel like a winner when I fail to deliver my total effort and ability? No. Coach Wooden's standard was to know that you had done your best, with what you have been given to reach your potential.
As leaders we need to stop comparing. Quit looking around at other pastors, business leaders, directors and coaches to determine if we are successful. Put all your energy in reaching your potential. Your success is not determined by your standing amongst other leaders. Your success is determined by how you do with what you got. Results will follow process, but process is really hard to focus on when all you care about is results. Do the right things for long enough and great results will follow.
I have used many resources to compile this post. Here are the best resources I have found about Coach Wooden:
-The Essential Wooden: A lifetime of lessons on Leaders and Leadership. Wooden and Jamison (quotes from this blog were found in this book)
-They Call Me Coach. Wooden.
-Wooden. A Lifetime of Reflections on and Off the Court. Wooden
-Coach Wooden One on One. Wooden and Jay Carty
To learn more about Coach Wooden check out the link below.
Learn more about Coach Wooden
No comments:
Post a Comment