Are You In the Game Or Just Riding the Pine?

Well, football season is over – hats off to the Saints for a great year and a strong, determined effort from start to finish. Now we can focus on college basketball. If you're a basketball fan, or just love March Madness, this time of year is great.

One of my favorite leaders of all time is legendary coach, John Wooden. His 10 NCAA National Championships in a 12-year period while at UCLA are unmatched by any other college basketball coach. What's more remarkable to me is the focus and diligence Coach Wooden put into leadership and the management of his teams. Even if you're not a sports fan, his lessons about leadership and successfully managing teams are quite valuable. If you have a few moments, take a look at his website, www.coachwooden.com.

Coach Wooden has published several books – within them, he often refers to his “Pyramid of Success,” which correlates just as well to leading business teams as it does to coaching college athletes.

The base of this pyramid contains key components you must exemplify and ingrain within your team to begin building momentum and establishing open lines of communication: things like loyalty, cooperation, and enthusiasm. If your team members (and your peers) don’t sense your urgency or the importance of your goals, they may not participate at the level you need, so these things form a critical foundation.

The next row on the pyramid focuses on action and control. Not control in the sense of being a control freak, but controlling yourself (displaying disciplined emotions), staying focused, and helping others stay focused.

On this blog, we talk about the many benefits of scorecards and the role they can play in improving overall organizational performance. One of the chief benefits is actually the dialogue that occurs when organizations begin to really use scorecards. They provide a fantastic framework that puts intense focus on solving the the most important issues. Coach Wooden would describe this as having "alertness,"  "initiative," and "intentness." Keeping your eye on the ball, having the attitude that you can and should make positive change, and being firmly focused on your goals. Do your scorecards and your approach help instill an attitude and approach like this?

The next row of blocks on the pyramid speaks to your mental and physical character. Many successful leaders will point out that they take care of themselves (exercise, diet, sleep) in order to continuously lead at a high level. Coach Wooden also points out the importance of life-long learning and “team spirit.” Successful strategy execution is a journey, and many times it's a hard journey. Imagine how much better you and your teams can approach that journey if they have focus on the Wooden pyramid blocks of “condition, skill, and team spirit.”

Near the top of the pyramid, Coach Wooden places “poise” and “confidence,” attributes that are critical to any successful team member or leader. I'm sure Coach was an expert at recognizing false confidence, arrogance, and players who didn't fit in with his program, just as good business leaders must be able to do. As you look to deliver on your strategy, ask yourself if you have the right players on your team. Do your tools and your approach bring out a higher level of accountability, rewarding those who successfully carry out your chosen strategic goals? Or do initiatives and the great ideas from your planning sessions always seem to fall through the cracks because teams don't deliver and aren't being held responsible when they fail?

For Coach Wooden, each block in the pyramid supported the ultimate goal of achieving “competitive greatness.” His quote within the uppermost block of his pyramid says “Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day." 10 NCAA National Championships in 12 years. It goes to show that when you expect the best and build the right  foundation for achievement, amazing things can happen.

Comments

[Tim Mueller]

Thanks Mike! Yes- the pyramid model from Coach Wooden has many applications--
Have a great week!

[Mike]

Awesome post! Thanks for sharing the pyramid. It truly goes to show that when you expect the best and build the right foundation for achievement, amazing things can happen.
I like how this pyramid can be applied to the business world. Such strategies are required in today’s business world. For building new strategies, one needs to master new challenges. The IMD OWP 2010 addresses these challenges.

[Tim Mueller]

Thanks for the comments JD! Coach Wooden has some great advice and tools for leading teams and managing performance.

[JD Biggs]

Thanks for sharing the pyramid and the Wooden gems Tim. March madness right around the corner reminds me of my favorite Wooden quote..."be quick, but don't hurry". In business we often hurry to make decisions on incomplete data or fail to engage enough perspectives before acting on compelling information. This advice from Coach Wooden has helped remind me countless times of the value of due dilligence while not missing the opportunity. JD Biggs