- 40 + Years of Coaching - 1 losing season
- 4 undefeated seasons at UCLA
- 10 national championships - 7 of these came in successive seasons!!!
- More all-americans than you can count - what (or, who) attracted them?
But an interesting thing happens when you read stories about John Wooden. As you're reading about basketball and coaching philosophy, something else overruns the story. You don't realize it until you get to the end and find yourself considering much more than basketball. You look at the pictures of him and wonder what it must have been like to spend time with such a person.
Then you see it. Even for a person as decorated professionally has he was, it turns out the personal impact of the man was far more pronounced than the basketball impact of the coach. With his resume' that is saying something! The people who talk and write about him cannot help but discuss the person and how profound a difference he made in their full lives - not just on the basketball court.
So, What About Us?
What will people say about you and I? Will they remember the sales goals you made, or the businesses we've successfully run? How about the number of days you went without being absent or the vacation days you gave back to the company because you were just 'too busy to take time off.' What about all the years you met your operating goals and stayed within budget? No? No. 10 years after you are gone - who am I kidding, maybe 5 - no one will talk about those things.
Those accomplishments are meaningful but mostly in the right now. The difference we'll make in people's lives isn't there in what we do, but in the person we are while we're doing them and the investment we make in helping others. As I look in back on my career I do not see figures, goals accomplished: I see people's faces that I have worked with and for as well as those I have tried to help along the way. What do you see?
Decide to be Remembered for You.
Whether you manage others or wish to impact people through your leadership, here are three habits (See. Think. Act.) you can begin building that will help you down the path. This is a decision that must be made for the right reason. Don't do them because someone thinks you should, but rather because they match with who you want to be.
1. See! - Listen and Pay Attention To People. If you get really good at observing others and listening to them you will pick up all kinds of things you can help them with. Little self-deceptions about why X didn't go so well or how Y is stuck with the IT folks (isn't everything IT's fault :). You can help people see their own limitations - or how they are limiting themselves - often come from inside themselves and the poor self-talk they've learned from too many managers only talking to them about their faults. Help them talk to themselves - and others - differently.
2. Think! - Develop a Plan. Once you've got a full picture of the person, what they're trying to accomplish and how they're going about it you are in a great position to offer developmental guidance. A special assignment in another department, improved speaking skills, leadership presence and in-job skills development are all examples of development you can offer. You might say, rightly, that you have all these things in place in your organization and people are free go to the classes or seminars at anytime. Key Insight: Without your help, people may assume they are fine or work on the wrong things.
3. Act! - Challenge People. It is the cowardly and selfish person, interested only in their own comfort who fails to push others to their best. This challenging ought not be out of anger or in rash response to a single event. What I am talking about is done thoughtfully and with genuine caring for the betterment of the other person. When you invest time challenging people - whether in their work habits, their communications or their performance - you are telling them that you have faith in them. After all, who urges someone on in something they know cannot be accomplished? It is the difference between saying "Get it done, or else..." and "I need you to do this and I know you can" and the gap is HUGE!!
John Wooden is known for many wise sayings, but one of my favorites is a call to action: "Make today your masterpiece." I've got nothing to add to that.
