Page 106 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
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could hurt the team. Allowing him to skip steak and eat beans and
yogurt was, in my opinion, acceptable even though some viewed it
as favoritism. Had you been in my position you may have come to
the opposite conclusions, but they made sense to me. These issues
may seem trivial; however, I think they have great bearing on a
leader’s effectiveness.
I tried hard to avoid giving special treatment, or the appearance
of it, on important matters while remaining flexible on lesser is-
sues. If others wanted to skip the steak, I would have evaluated each
request individually. If others had arrived at the team bus looking
unkempt, they would have received exactly the same treatment that
Bill got.
Unlike my earlier years, I had gotten smarter when it came to
creating and enforcing rules—just like a good parent who loves his
children. When to be flexible? When to be firm? There’s the
challenge.
Over and over in my years of coaching I found the complicated
questions and answers of raising a family much the same as those
presented in leadership. 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.
Love is so important because it moves you to do the right things
in all areas of life, including leadership. As a former English teacher,
I pay particular attention to the meaning of words. What is love?
Let me offer the following definition:
“Love is patient; love is kind. It is not jealous; it is not pompous;
it is not inflated; it is not rude; it does not seek its own interests; it
is not quick-tempered; it does not brood over injury; it does not
rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”
A leader filled with this kind of love is a powerful force and has
the potential for creating a forceful organization. As you may have