Page 197 - How to Create a Winning Organization

ATTAINABLE GREATNESS Make Greatness Attainable by All 179
I wanted the individuals under my leadership—players, assistant
coaches, student managers, the trainer—to know that the kind of
greatness I sought was available to each one of them. How? By per-
forming his specific job to the highest level of his ability. I wanted
every individual connected with the team to fully comprehend that
when this was being accomplished, he had achieved the kind of
greatness I valued most.
I didn’t ask our student manager, Les Friedman, to do Bill Wal-
ton’s job, and I didn’t ask Bill Walton to do my job. Each of us
needed to be concerned only with doing our specific job to the
very best of our ability. Therein lies our personal greatness.
As leader, my job was to do everything possible to help those I
allowed to join our team achieve this—to create an environment
and attitude that brought out the very best in each of them. Per-
sonal greatness for any leader is measured by effectiveness in bring-
ing out the greatness of those you lead. Thus, personal greatness is
within the grasp of each member of an organization, regardless of
role and responsibilities—whether a CEO or secretary, starter or
nonstarter, head manager or head coach.
I am not naïve. I knew that an All-American such as Bill Walton
should have much greater impact than the player sitting at the end
of UCLA’s bench. But my expectation (demand is a more accurate
word) was that all those under my leadership seek greatness—their
own, not that of anyone else.
I also knew that Bill Walton would be unable to achieve his own
potential greatness unless others on the team achieved theirs.
Everyone had to do his job; everyone had to seek and achieve his
own personal best for our team to be as good as it could be.
When leaders instill the genuine belief that the opportunity
for making great things happen is possible in every job, they have
achieved something extraordinary. They have created an organi-