Wooden On Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization

The four-letter word that Wooden refers to in this title is “love.” He explains that “the most productive model for good leadership is a good parent” because a coach, teacher, and leader “are all basic variations of being a parent” (80). All the qualities inherent in a good parent—character, consistency, dependability, accountability, knowledge, good judgment, selflessness, respect, courage, discipline, fairness, and structure—will make one a good leader, but only adding the quality of love will make one a great leader. While Wooden acknowledges that he did not like all of the players on his teams equally, he did love them all equally. Wooden also makes the unique admission that he violated NCAA rules at times, “but only in extending a kindness—love and concern—to those under [his] leadership” (83). One example that he provides is that he would invite players to his home for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner if they were not able to make it home.

Wooden writes about “apartness” being part of the job. What he means by this is that while all players should be treated fairly, they should not be treated the same. Rather, they receive the treatment they “earn[] and deserve[]” (86). He provides two anecdotes concerning three-time All-American and National Player of the Year Award winner Bill Walton to make his point. Walton, who was a notorious countercultural figure and “consistently tested the limits of what was acceptable behavior,” broke the rule of arriving with “a clean and neat appearance” for an away game and was sent home (87). On another occasion, however, after Walton became a vegetarian, Wooden allowed him to alter his planned pregame meal of steak to beans and yogurt. Wooden argues that “success is much more likely when love is present in your heart for the people who make your organization a real team, that is, a family” (88).

Wooden argues that effective leaders “are, first and foremost, good teachers” (92). He points out that when he first began his coaching career in 1933, his basketball knowledge and skills were top-notch, but he had not yet learned how to teach them. Learning to teach required understanding the laws of learning: explanation, demonstration, imitation, correction when necessary, and repetition (95-96). According to Wooden, he also had to learn to understand that “patience is an integral part of good teaching” (96). In closing the chapter, Wooden explains that regardless of how much knowledge one has, it is never complete. He argues that “a leader who is through learning is through. You must never become satisfied with your ability or level of knowledge” (100). As an example, he points out that even with his success at UCLA, he chose a particular aspect of basketball to study each year after the season concluded. He would then contact and study other coaches who excelled at that facet of the game.

Wooden writes that he prizes intensity but fears emotionalism. He argues that “emotionalism destroys consistency. A leader who is ruled by emotions, whose temperament is mercurial, produces a team whose trademark is the roller coaster—ups and downs in performance; unpredictability in effort and concentration; one day good, the next day bad” (107). Wooden also explains that he had to work hard over the years to learn to control his emotions and provides anecdotes of times, very early in his coaching career, when he lost control of his emotions. On one occasion, Wooden challenged a player’s father to a fight when he was threatened by the man, and on another, he had a physical altercation with an opposing coach. As an example of how far Wooden has come in controlling his emotions since his early coaching years, he points out that he can recall only one technical foul being called against him.

This chapter focuses on teamwork. He begins the chapter by explaining that the reason the US men’s basketball team failed to win the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, a result that many found shocking given the US’s dominance in the sport, was that Team USA consisted of great players. On the other hand, Argentina, Lithuania, and Puerto Rico, the three teams that Team USA lost to in the tournament, sent great teams. Wooden’s point is that modern professional basketball is more about individual performance rather than team play, which may be entertaining for fans but “has little to do with creating the most effective, productive, and successful team” (118). He argues that “managing egos—the over- and underinflated, the forceful and the fragile—is one of the great challenges facing any leader” (119). To do this, a leader must get individuals to think in terms of “we” rather than “me” (119).

According to Wooden, a key component of managing egos and cultivating a “team first” attitude is to make everyone “feel connected to the team’s efforts, productivity, and ultimate success” (120). He points out the importance of acknowledging the unacknowledged and coaxing those who need it. Team members who do not typically get noticed but still play a vital role should be acknowledged, while team members who get more attention and accolades should be acknowledged more privately by the leader. Wooden provides an example of a player who needed to be coaxed with an anecdote about former UCLA All-American forward Sideny Wicks. He explains that in Wicks’s first season with the Bruins, he kept him out of the starting rotation despite his talent because Wicks was too concerned about his own statistics. In his second season, however, Wicks emerged as a star for the Bruins because he “embraced the philosophy that it takes 10 hands to make a basket” (127).

Wooden states that “high performance and production are achieved only through the identification and perfection of small but relevant details—little things done well” (135). “Little things make big things happen” was more than just a maxim for Wooden; it was something that he faithfully practiced with his teams. An example of this is the emphasis he placed on teaching his players how to properly put socks on their feet and lace their shoes. His belief was that this tiny aspect gave them a competitive advantage because socks not worn properly, shoes not fitted properly, and loose shoestrings can lead to poor performance. The same was true for how his players dressed, both in practice sessions and when traveling for away games. He argues that “eliminating sloppiness and creating unity were very important to [him] and were effectively instilled by attending to such details” (137).

While such details were extremely important to him, Wooden also stresses that balance and moderation are important. For example, he provides an anecdote about a coach who was obsessed with his team successfully converting free throws. While the team was indeed one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the nations, they had not worked enough on other areas of the game and ultimately were not successful. Wooden argues that “when balance is lost, an organization grows weaker and is made vulnerable” (141). In closing the chapter, Wooden explains that how a leader defines “average” is how his team will define it. Therefore, a leader should define “average” as above average, and that begins with identifying the details that are important and setting a high standard in executing those details.