US President
John Wooden
- Use aphorisms, guiding principles, feedback, and authenticity to mentor others.
Background
John Wooden is one of the few American sports figures to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. He is considered by many in the United States to be the greatest sports coach of all time. His success as coach remains unmatched as his teams won ten college basketball national championships within a 12-year period. Although exclusively a college basketball coach, his counsel was sought out by coaches and athletes from all levels and types of sports. His players remember him not for the championships that he led them to but rather the life lessons he imparted. Because of this, his bond with his players continued as lifelong friendships – an amazing feat given the cultural gulf that existed between a grandfatherly man from small town Indiana and college students from the unrest of the 1960s and 1970s in Los Angeles, California.
Goals: Help others perform their best at work and daily life; always work towards improvement; impart wisdom.
Governing Principle: The principles to living the right way are the same as succeeding at work.
Values
Doing and becoming your best is more important than results and competition. Teaching contributes more to society than any other profession. Life depends on teamwork, community and compassion. Believe in a well-rounded life. Success depends on intensity and mindfulness while engaged in activity, not on outworking others.
Learning Objectives
Creating good habits
Inculcating others with guiding principles and aphorisms that apply to work and life
Being highly observant of direct reports’ strengths and weaknesses
Providing ample, factual feedback that is neutral, not positive or negative
Using a fatherly (not necessarily friendly) approach
Getting people to focus on their own actions and accountability, not blaming others
Being authentic and trustworthy
Traits
(Grand)fatherly, philosophical, teacher-like, thoughtful, observant, detail-oriented, demanding, compassionate, self-improving
Biography
John Wooden was born in 1910 and raised in rural Indiana. His parents had a profound impact on his life, teaching him the value of hard work, trustworthiness, and doing your best. He was a good student and an even better basketball player. In high school, he was a three time All-State selection, and his team won the state tournament. At Purdue University, he led his team to a national championship. There, he became college’s first three-time consensus All-American. He graduated with a degree in English, intending to become a school teacher. After college, he played professional basketball while teaching and coaching at local high schools. (This was during a time when professional basketball paid little money.) He went on to complete his master’s degree in education.
While pursuing his master’s degree, Wooden coached baseball and basketball and served as the athletic director at the college that would later become Indiana State University. His basketball teams were successful – one team even made it to the NAIB National tournament final. The year before, Wooden’s team was invited to the NAIB on the condition that he exclude an African-American player. Wooden turned it down, earning him credibility with African-American players.
From ISU, Wooden went on to coach UCLA where he took over a lackluster team that had only two winning seasons in its 18 year history. What he then accomplished at UCLA is legendary, leaving a legacy that remains unmatched in sports history – ten NCAA championships, a record-breaking 88-game winning streak, four undefeated seasons. Championships did not come immediately however, not until his team’s unsuccessful tournament play made him pay more attention to an assistant coach’s dissenting views. From that point on, Wooden felt success required hearing different perspectives – yes men could not help you improve.
Wooden owed much of his success to his father’s seven point creed (see below) which Wooden later elaborated on to make his own Pyramid of Success (appended). The creed was a set of guiding principles which Wooden used to teach not only basketball but life. While his players shrugged off many of these principles as quaint sounding, they remembered them when they played. Curiously, as his players grew older, raising families and developing professional activities after their basketball careers ended, they embraced these principles, discovering their wisdom. Their bond with Wooden also grew, becoming closer than they were when they were at UCLA. Wooden hated being referred to as coach; he preferred teacher, a view probably shared by his players.
Questions:
- What are my guiding principles that I want to live by?
- How well do I live up to my words and my principles?
- What’s the best way to impart my principles to others?
- What adages or words of wisdom inspire me so I can share them?
- What are my team’s strengths, weaknesses, and psychological makeups?
- What’s the best position for each member?
- What interventions can I make to improve teamwork?
- What do we need to focus on in order to improve?
- What coaching or feedback do people need to hear?
- Have we given it our best effort? And, if not, why not? What’s holding us back?
- What have we learned today?
Behaviors
Show empathy while being directive – While Wooden’s life experience did not prepare him for dealing with players from the 1960s/70s counter culture, his empathy and sense of decency did. Wooden was perceptive and understood his players as human beings. For example, he sensed the abuse that Abdul-Jabbar endured as a result of his unusual height. He got to know his players personally, many becoming lifelong friends. While he was empathetic, he was not a players’ coach. Ultimately, players had to comply.
Be authentic – Wooden was a man of integrity. His behavior was consistent with his principles, his appearance, and his words, which contrasted sharply with the student counter-culture. Yet, his players trusted him implicitly. There was nothing phony or a hypocritical about Wooden. When you play Wooden, be yourself. Be sure that your actions match your words and philosophies. Your direct reports will always magnify any dichotomies.
Lead by example – Wooden was a man of lofty principles man, and his deeds often lived up to those principles. Sportswriters have compared Wooden to “the best man I know,” a Methodist minister, Lincoln, a Saint, an almost biblical figure and a living father’s day card! Wooden worked hard at self-improvement and tried to live up to one of his most often used adages: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” Wooden was the kind of man that his players did not want to disappoint.
Be observant – Wooden was a keen observer of his players, noting everything about them: strengths, weaknesses, and their psychological makeup. Wooden kept his observations on 3 x 5 notecards in an extensive filing system. Pay close attention to your team’s work habits and products, writing down your observations of what you like and don’t like. Validate your observations with more observations. Keep good records and reflect on them often.
Provide lots of feedback – Use your observations to provide factual feedback. While giving feedback, provide model behaviors without judging current behavior as good or bad. You may use your aphorisms and guiding principles to remind your subordinates of exemplary behavior.
Role Play Situations
Your role in a meeting is to ensure that if matters concern you or your group that you behave with the dignity and concern of a very dedicated, teacher. You are to be prepared and statesman-like. In addition, to reflect Wooden’s sense of fairness, you will work to ensure every party has the opportunity to speak and be heard in a respectful but candid manner. Ask the quiet ones for their opinions and ask the dominant ones for their forbearance. You will also take on the role of pushing the group towards improvement so that it will accomplish meaningful things and do so efficiently. You view such things as matters of civic duty, a responsibility which you take seriously.
Your presentations are designed to meet the needs of your audience, reflecting thought, effort, and organization. It should also be efficient and to the point. If you wish to you may inject humor when appropriate or an aphorism to make your message clear. Your goal is to inform and to provide the audience with the information they seek without fluff or embellishment. Make sure your materials are adequate, but focus on telling a coherent, persuasive story that explains the why of your message. You are a teacher and coach, not a showman.
To method-act the persona
and circumvent the ego
To Get into Character
Dress – Wooden’s appearance and personal grooming reflect his good habits and his respect for others. He was always conservatively yet crisply dressed – dressing more like a teacher than an athletic coach. His dress reflected his personality and his values. Dress in the way that reflects who you are and shows respect for others. Wooden’s success with his players who were two generations and a culture apart comes from authenticity – he made no attempt to be like them.
Speech – Wooden used aphorisms to impart his wisdom and repeated them frequently. One of your first activities will be determine the aphorisms you’ll use as Wooden.
Activities to Conduct Alone
Wooden believed that success in life and career depends on guiding principles, good habits, self-awareness, and effort. To emulate John Wooden, you need to develop these.
Establish a set of principles – You should start your time as Wooden by writing down a set of principles that reflect what you aspire to. Review the seven principles below and the Pyramid of Success below and choose amongst those. Feel free to write your own, but limit your list to 10-12 maximum.
- Be true to yourself.
- Make each day your masterpiece.
- Help others.
- Drink deeply from good books.
- Make friendship a fine art.
- Build a shelter against a rainy day.
- Pray for guidance, and give thanks for your blessings every day.
After you write your principles, hang them on your wall.
Use aphorisms for simple, yet memorable, communication – Wooden loved poetry. He often recited it to his players. He appreciated poetry for its economy – it said so much with so few words. Wooden’s communication was intentionally simplified and repeated. His players remembered his sayings years after playing for him, resonating louder with life experiences long after their basketball careers ended. To be Wooden, you will have to find and adopt the use of aphorisms. Search the internet for adages that resonate with you, make some up or use some of Wooden’s:
- “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
- “Never mistake activity for achievement.”
- “Adversity is the state in which man most easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.”
- “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
- “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
- “It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.”
Know thyself – Wooden devoted his life to self-improvement, a devotion that he encouraged his players to develop. Wooden’s path to self-improvement required knowing and reflecting on the gaps between how he conducted himself and his life’s guiding principles. As you play Wooden, be observant of how you conduct yourself and determine how it measures up to your own principles. On a daily basis, reflect on your principles and what you do well and don’t do well. Think of ways and techniques that will enable you to better embody your ideals. Although you want to strive for perfection, remember that Wooden felt his best efforts met 80% of his ideal, anything higher was unrealistic. Be satisfied with yourself if you meet that 80%.
Develop a set of good habits – For Wooden, good habits provide the foundation for success. In his opinion, good habits enabled his players to do what is best without having to think. (To quote another coach: the best teams do the ordinary things the best.) More importantly, good habits free up the mind so that one can be more observant and responsive to the situation. So, to develop your own set of good habits, think about what can be routinized. They may include:
- work methods and practices,
- meeting management,
- feedback practices, and
- personal work schedules that maximize your productivity
Some examples are to create email templates for standard responses, set ground rules for meetings, and install internet blockers during certain hours. While Wooden believed in good habits, he was not rigid. He would modify them if experience proved them to be ineffective.
Activities to Conduct with Others
Impart your principles and habits – Wooden was first and foremost a teacher. Although known as a basketball coach, he intended to be an English teacher. He believed in providing his players with good examples and habits. Meet with your team to share the results of your activities above – your principles and new habits – and set the example that they should conduct the same exercises for themselves. Take time to brainstorm other work habits that can help your team be more effective.
Build teamwork and community – Wooden’s father’s seven point creed included “help others and make friendship a fine art.” He believed in community and teamwork. Teamwork was more important than winning: Wooden benched one of his best players for an entire season until he learned the importance of teamwork. Conduct a team building activity with either your peers or your direct reports while you are being John Wooden. This activity should require being dependent on each other in order to build trust. Some suggestions are the desert survival game, the human knot or human spring, or the minefield, all of which you can find on the internet.
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