Earlier this week I had an unexpected privilege thanks to our friends, colleagues, and sponsors of InsideWork, Jim Roberson and Dave Roberson of TRC Financial. The guest speaker for their business reception was none other than a hero of mine, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden. Wow! Thanks, Jim and Dave!
Coach Wooden is now 96 years old. His body is frail, but his heart and mind are incredibly sharp. He engaged us completely as he spoke and responded to our questions with sharpness, wit, and insight. And through it all he exuded the peace and humility of a man who lived life fully with no regrets and with great joy. I watched him, marveled, and hoped that I would be as vital at 96.
Growing up in Japan, my favorite sport and passion was basketball. And though I wasn’t able to see any televised UCLA games, I devoured everything I could read in the papers and Sports Illustrated, as well as hear on radio. The UCLA teams of that era were phenomenal and the reason was John Wooden.
When I arrived in the U.S. to begin college, one of my first stops was to the UCLA campus to complete my pilgrimage to Pauley Pavilion. It was awe inspiring to me to just walk on the same hardwood as this coach and those teams.
Over the years I’ve referred to Coach Wooden in my teaching on coaching and mentoring, especially his emphasis on the superlative execution of the basics and on character. His coaching was not a matter of technique but an outflow of his profoundly clear worldview and values, infused with faith, developed in his family life, and sharpened by his own persistent reflection and commitment to practice what he believed.
Much has been written about his Pyramid of Success and his many coaching maxims. I don’t intend to review those here, but would encourage you to at least read Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court or Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success.
What I would like to point out is that foundational to his coaching philosophy and techniques are three commitments that make it all come together.
The first commitment was to be INTENTIONAL in his coaching, teaching, and mentoring. Coach brought alertness to every practice and every game. But as I listened this week, I realized that he brought that alertness to his interactions even off the court. When he interacted with others he was always intent on serving the other through teaching, coaching, and mentoring.
Much of what I see that passes for coaching and people development in organizations and in families is not intentional. If any coaching or teaching or development happens, it is often haphazard, off the cuff, out of the hip pocket stuff. Training programs and seminars are scheduled for no rhyme or reason than that the boss thought we needed to “do some training around here.” We teach because we just happened to think about it at the moment. But our day in and day out relationship with colleagues, direct reports, players, and even our kids is not one in which we are there, intentionally, in the moment, seeking ways to build others up. Every day and every encounter is a possible opportunity to teach and coach. Are we so intentional in our commitment to develop others at work and at home that we capture those moments?
The second commitment was to be PURPOSEFUL in his coaching, teaching, and mentoring. Again, Coach Wooden did not teach random maxims and lessons, but taught with the purpose of helping young men become outstanding men and outstanding basketball players. Much of corporate training and people development activity is wasted because it does not connect to and advance the purpose and strategy of the organization. Often programs and training are selected based on a snap judgment that we “need to improve our people skills” or “improve our teamwork.” There is not an overarching purpose that everything is building toward. When you study Wooden’s Pyramid of Success or his coaching methods, you see that every step is carefully crafted to help accomplish a clear purpose.
Think about the coaching, teaching and training activity in your organization. Does each module, program, activity have a clear role in advancing the purpose of your organization? Come to think of it, do you know the purpose of your organization?
Apply this to your family and raising kids. For what purpose are you teaching the lessons you do teach, if and when you teach them?
And the last commitment I see is that Coach Wooden was PERSONAL in his coaching. In other words, he knew what he wanted to teach, but he also understood that each player was a unique individual. Listen to him talk about his players – Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Coach still calls him Lewis as in Lew Alcindor), and you get insight into how he took his principles and values and methods then personalized his approach to teaching each player. He saw unique and talented individuals, not generic players.
Do you see generic employees and colleagues? Do you take a one size fits all approach to people development? Or do you recognize the uniqueness of people and endeavor to develop their unique gifts, abilities, and potential?
Work to clarify and sharpen your core worldview and values and then seek to live them out. Then interact with those to whom you are responsible for developing with a commitment to be intentional, purposeful, and personal. I believe that the result of that will not only be more successful teams and organizations, but “players’ who decades later will testify that you did more to shape their lives than anyone else.
Just ask Kareem or Bill.
Remember: Intentional. Purposeful. Personal.
