Page 104 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
86
APARTNESS IS A PART OF THE JOB
Over the years my thinking had also evolved to understand that
while a quality leader has love and genuine concern for the people
within the organization, there is an “apartness” necessary in lead-
ership. The aim is not to make new friends but to do what is best
for the team without carelessly damaging its members in the pro-
cess. When I understood that objectivity—“apartness”—could
exist in the context of love, it made my decision making much eas-
ier as head coach at UCLA, especially those decisions that would
cause hard feelings and resentment.
At one point in my career, I also told players I would treat them
all the same way. This is what I told my own two children. I thought
treating everyone the same was being fair and impartial. Gradually I
began to suspect that it was neither fair nor impartial. In fact, it was
just the opposite. That’s when I began announcing that team mem-
bers wouldn’t be treated the same or alike; rather, each one would re-
ceive the treatment they earned and deserved. This practice may
sound discriminatory or suggest partiality, but it is neither.
A player who is working hard and productively for the group
shouldn’t receive the same treatment as someone who is offering
less. And while each and every person on your team fills a role and
performs a function, some of those roles and functions are filled by
people much harder to replace than others.
It would be naïve to suggest that a superstar in your organi-
zation—a top producer—won’t receive some accommodations not
afforded others. This is not a double standard but rather a fact of
life. Those small accommodations, however, must not apply in
areas of your basic principles and values or they will soon be re-
placed by the perception that favoritism and special treatment are
the norm.
One of my players joked that when he wanted to break curfew,
he did it with an All-American. That way, if they got caught, he’d