At the start of each basketball season at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Coach John Wooden used to personally demonstrate for his players “how to correctly put on sweat socks to avoid folds, wrinkles, or creases that cause blisters,” he recently told BLR®. Such attention to detail, he says, is critical for success on and off the court.
What do sweat socks and blisters have to do with success? “A blister can cause distraction; a distraction can cause a turnover; a turnover in the last seconds of a game can cause you to be outscored,” he said.
“What if that game is for a national championship? I ask executives, ‘What is your version of putting on socks correctly?’ And that’s just the start of looking for relevant details.”
Wooden led the UCLA Bruins to 10 NCAA basketball championships in 12 years and, among other accomplishments, has been named America’s “Greatest Coach of the 20th Century” by ESPN.
He also co-authored a successful book, Coach Wooden’s Game Plan for Success: 12 Lessons for Extraordinary Performance and Personal Excellence (McGraw-Hill, 2009), with Steven Jamison. Wooden’s leadership advice provides insight for HR executives and other leaders in any organization.
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Demonstrate Your Values
Wooden says leaders need to demonstrate the values they expect others to have.
As a leader, you “can talk about ‘values’ until you’re blue in the face, but whatever you say pales in comparison to the power of what you do—your own example.
“… It’s important to ‘demonstrate’ your values because it gives those under your supervision an important message: ‘This is how we do things here; this is what I expect from you,’” he explained. “How a leader behaves is generally how your organization behaves. Work ethic? Enthusiasm? Courage under fire? Fairness? Integrity? Quality of execution? Even being on time for meetings? The leader sets the standard with his or her own example.”
Let the Team Know You Care
“A great organization in business or basketball is an extended family. At least that’s how it is for me. Strong bonds exist and positive relationships are developed. Not always, but ideally,” Wooden said.
The coach, manager, CEO, or other person in charge “must find appropriate ways to show individuals under his or her supervision” that he or she cares about those individuals.
“Sincere care and consideration for an employee—or player—must be expressed. Otherwise, how will they ever know they’re not considered just a cog in the wheel, expendable?
“People will work harder and better if they know they are valued as a person, part of an extended family, a member of an organization that cares about them.
“… For example, in the minutes before our practice would begin, I’d seek out players and talk to them about something in their lives beyond basketball. ‘How’s Mom? Is she feeling better?’; ‘Are you doing OK in that history class?’
“You can’t fake your interest, but when you have genuine interest you must look for ways to show it that are appropriate … There are many little ways you can show that you care.”
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Good Leaders Teach
When asked what makes a leader a good teacher, Wooden pointed to the “Four Laws of Learning,” which are the same as the “Four Laws of Teaching” (i.e., Explanation, Demonstration, Imitation, and Repetition).
“Assuming you know what your subject matter is, it’s also good to remember a few other fundamentals,” he said.
“Offer information in bite-size pieces; be patient; recognize the different levels of learning ability within your group.
“And, as important as anything, remember that a teacher—the leader—must never stop learning. When you’re through learning, you’re through. I am still learning, and I’m almost a hundred years old. You must never stop learning.”
For more on Coach Wooden, who died in 2010, visit http://www.coachwooden.com/.
In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll continue learning leadership lessons from Coach Wooden, and we’ll showcase an interactive online resource of ready-to-use courses on valuable leadership qualities for all employees.