Leadership Styles ...... Trying to find my style

As I have moved up the professional ladder, I have been witness to a number of different leadership styles, some have been very good (in my opinion) and others, not ones that I would model.  In that time, I have tried to develop my own leadership style.  As an athlete, I had my chances to be a leader serving as team captain and for many years I played catcher, a position that has to keep everyone in the play.  At college, I was a Resident Advisor as a senior and had to provide some leadership to the residents of Minor Dorm (although the inmates might have been running the asylum -at least on the second floor). 

Over the last three years, I have had the good fortune to work on those leadership skills while supervising thirteen professions with a wide array of experiece and skill.  I think that I was able to make some strides in developing a leadership philosphy.  Despite that growth, there is still a lot that I want to do to continue to develop that style, especially as I look toward my next position.

There are shelves and shelves of books on the philosophy of leadership and management and in reviewing them I have never really found that one the fits me, that fits the type of leader that I want to be.  That was until about two months ago....

The family was downtown at the Harbor and wandered into the bookstore.  As usual I found my way over to the self-help/business section looking again for something that would strike me.  I happened to see a few books by legendary basketball coach John Wooden.  Although I had heard so much about him, I really did not know much about him, so I flipped through some pages.  I must admit that I was skeptical, mostly because everyone now has a book, a system to "improve".  So I did not get the book that day.  Now that I have some time on my hands, I discovered that local library that my wife and kids go to regularly (a plug for taking advantage of the library!) and got John Wooden's book, Wooden on Leadership.

I am less than 50 pages into the book and I think that I have found that voice that I have been looking for.  So many people in athletics only talk about winning as the ultimate success, Vince Lombardi is quoted as having said, "winning isn't everything, it is the only thing."  One of Bill Parcell's many quotes was "there is winning and there is misery."  Don't get me wrong, I like to win as much as the next person, but I have also learned that winning is not necessarily the best measure of success.

Wooden's definition of succes is " Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in  knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable." (pg. 3)  When I read this there were so many things that went through my head.  I thought about fans, parents, media, bosses, and others who want to judge us; no where in that statement is there anything about what others think.  It is all about each of us determining if we have done everything we can and feel comfort in knowing that we had.

The other thought running through my mind was my current situation and the phrase "peace of mind."  While there are many emotions that I have gone through since Nov 5, after a day or two I have not really felt anger.  I have always felt that our team made great strides and we did everything we could to be the best we could and the best for the University.  For that I am proud, proud of my team and proud of our effort.  While others may have judged us not a success or not meeting expectations, Wooden reminds me that it is not about their satisfaction, but self-satisfaction that matters.  This is very powerful for everyone (athletes, employees, coaches, etc) to remember, each of us will be judged, but as we move forward only we can judge if we "made the effort to become the best of which you are capable."  It will help me not only evaluate if I have been successful, but also an important thing for me to remember as I work to lead others and help them attain success.  Something that all of us should remember.

I am excited to read the rest of the book and learn more about Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" that were his guiding principles. His ideas all go back to a leader being a teacher and helping others achieve. A good example to follow.

This post has gone on longer that I thought, but please spend a few more minutes reading the below.

SUCCESS

by John Wooden

Success in coaching or playing should not be based on the number of games won or lost, but rather on the basis of what each individual did in comparison with others when taking into consideration individual ablities, the facilities with which you had to work, the caliber of your opponents, the site of the contests, etc.

True succes comes only to an individual by self-satisfaction in knowing that you gave everything to become the very best tha you are capable of.  As George Moriarty once said, "Giving all, it seems to me, is not so far from victory." Therefore, in the final analysis, only the individual himself can correctly determine his success. You may be able to fool others, but you can never fool yourself.

It is impossible to obtain perfection, but that should be the goal.  Less than 100% of your effort toward obtaining your objective is not success, regardless of how many games you won or lost.

Others may have far more ability than you have, they may be larger, faster, quicker, able to jump better, etc, but no one should be your superior in team spirit, loyalty, enthusiasm, cooperation, determination, industriousness, fight and character.  Acquire and keep these traits and success should follow.

Wooden on Leadership, John Wooden and Steve Jamison, copywrite 2005. McGraw-Hill