Page 202 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
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One of the rewards of this philosophy is that it will summon un-
MAKE IT CLEAR TO ALL THAT
seen talent from your most ambitious performers. This is one of
“PROMOTIONS” DEPEND ON MASTERY OF
the true joys of leadership—seeing those you teach, encourage, and
CURRENT ROLES AND ASSIGNMENTS
acknowledge ascend to a level of performance no one envisioned.
Consequently, while I refuse to pick a greatest player, I’m happy
Never discourage ambition, but do let people know that they
to reveal the names of two athletes who represent this kind of per-
need to keep their eye on the ball in their current jobs. Their
sonal greatness, two fellows you may have never heard about, but
time may come, but only if they exercise patience and demon-
who, much to my surprise, attained their own personal greatness.
strate continuous improvement.

MY MOST SUCCESSFUL PLAYERS
Conrad Burke showed little promise as a player when he arrived at
UCLA. When I first saw him scrimmaging as a freshman, I shook
my head and thought, “My, he’s hopeless. If this young man makes
the varsity team when he’s a sophomore, it’ll mean the varsity is
pretty terrible.”
Imagine my surprise and delight when the very next season he
became a starter on a varsity team that was anything but terrible.
We won the conference title with a 16–0 record. Even though
Conrad lacked the physical skills a coach likes to see, he made up
for it with a great mind and very hard work. He came extremely
close to achieving his potential, his own greatness.
For example, even though he couldn’t jump very well and was
relatively short for a center, he learned through constant practice
and observation how to gain position under the basket. Of course,
gaining position is vital in rebounding.
Conrad worked relentlessly to bring out all he had, and he came
very close to doing that. He figured out how to make a contribu-
tion to the team—a big contribution. The key lesson is that any-
one with the ambition, properly channeled and focused, has the
potential to achieve more than anyone would have imagined. The
key is for leaders to help individuals understand their strengths and