Page 222 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
204
Think of all I would have denied myself if I’d been too close
minded to listen to and evaluate the opinions of Denny Crum,
Gary Cunningham, Jerry Norman, and others. They were my lead-
ership team, and team members must not only work together, they
must listen to one another.
In my opinion, being an effective leader—one who can build a
winning organization—requires being an effective listener. The
most productive leaders are usually those who are consistently will-
ing to listen and learn. Perhaps it stems from their understanding
that success is more often attained by asking “how?” than by say-
ing “no.”

RULES TO LEAD BY

Success Breeds Satisfaction; Satisfaction Breeds Failure.
A leader must set realistic goals, but once they are achieved, you
must not become satisfied. Achievement will continue at the same
or a greater level only if you do not permit the infection of success
to take hold of you and your organization. The symptom of that in-
fection is called complacency. Contentment with past accomplish-
ments or acceptance of the status quo can derail an organization
quickly. In sports or business, getting to the top is difficult. One of
the reasons staying there is so rare is because the infection sets in.

Identify and Remove Excuses for Not Getting to the Next Level.
Only when I realized that it was me—and not the Men’s Gym—that
was holding the team back was I able to raise the level of our effort
in all areas. What is your “Men’s Gym”?

Stop Saying “No” and Start Asking “How?”
Assume improvement is always possible and force yourself—and
others—to find out how. A leader who thinks he or she has all the