Coach Wooden's favorite ideas about leadership came from Wilford Peterson's essay on "The Art of Leadership" from his book The Art of Living . The essay states in part:The leader is a servant.
Related: Why Successful Leaders Must Learn Humility
Coach Wooden's actions have always reflected humility.
In Pat Williams How to Be Like a Wooden Coach , there is an entire chapter called “If you want to be a coach, strive for humility”. In this chapter, Coach Wooden's grandson, Greg, described Coach:
My grandfather is an extremely humble man. He is led by example all his life and has remained true to his beliefs. He never asked anyone to do anything he wouldn't do himself.
Coach Wooden teams have always left their locker room, home or away, cleaner than how they found it. In How to be like a wooden trainer , Franklin Adler, student manager of the UCLA basketball team from 1964 to 1968, recalls an incident in which he was cleaning up after a game that reflects the coach's humility:
I was rushing between the rows of lockers when I heard the sound of footsteps and the sound of objects landing in a container. Grateful for any help, I assumed a janitorial worker from Washington State was making his rounds after the game. Imagine my surprise when I came around the corner and saw that my ally to clean the room was Coach Wooden!
Coach Wooden never wanted special privileges.
Related: What it means to be a person of integrity
In Marv Dunphy's Ph.D. thesis, John Robert Wooden:The Coaching Process, Frank Arnold, a former Coach Wooden assistant coach, recalled the time he and Coach Wooden lined up to sign up for the National Basketball Coaches Association during the Final Four. It was on an occasion Coach Wooden's Bruins were there to play for their eighth national championship. Coach Arnold said:
The line was huge and here is John Wooden at the back of the line when we were in the tournament. People kept telling him, “Coach, get to the front line, pay your dues and get out of here.” He wouldn't do that. We stood in that line for an hour and a half to pay our $20 dues. We could have gone to the front, but not him. He wanted to be an ordinary guy, but he was definitely not an ordinary guy.
The humble leader strives for lofty goals because he realizes that "the happiest times in life come from making someone else happy."
The humble leader will be a learner to life with a strong desire to improve and be vigilant because he or she realizes "When you're done learning, you're done."
The humble leader will inspire cooperation because he or she believes that “you have to listen if you want to be heard” and that “what is right is more important than who is right.”
Humble leader will inspire team spirit because he or she knows "It's amazing what can be accomplished if no one wonders who gets the credit".
As you might have guessed, the previous five quotes are courtesy of my humble Favorite Chef:Coach Wooden.
Related: 27 motivational quotes from John Wooden to inspire you to be better
