Wooden on Leadership

John Wooden's Pyramid Of Success In Business "Wooden has been called the greatest college coach in history thanks to a long list of accomplishments, including a record 10 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship titles. But for him, it's not about the number of wins and losses: It's about how the game is played," says Kristen Edelhauser of Entrepreneur (Edelhauser, 2007, 1). He was truly one of the greatest coaches that ever lived, not only for his victories but also for his stance on leadership within the competitive sport.

His design for successful leadership comes from his pyramid of success, which was tinkered with over generations of his experience in the coaching world. Yet, today this pyramid can live on within the business context, as parts of it can be used in order to create the greatest success within modern business aspects. Wooden's Strategy John Wooden's Pyramid of Success includes 15 steps that gear the individual towards success.

According to Wooden, "success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best that you are capable of becoming" (Coach Wooden, 2013). Thus his steps are meant to take the individual into a place of peace and self-satisfaction based on competency and skills. He builds his peer amid from the most basic of concepts, with industriousness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, and enthusiasm as the foundation for potential success within a group setting.

Then, "from this, he builds a foundation of success based on 15 core traits, including factors like skills, team spirit, loyalty, cooperation, and enthusiasm. The key is that all of the traits are required to achieve competitive greatness, not just a few" (Adler, 2006). The top elements of the pyramid include condition, skill, team spirit, poise, confidence, and finally complete greatness which is where you "perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day" (Coach Wooden, 2013).

The aim of the peer amid is meant to increase the motivation and capabilities of individual members of a team. It worked wonderfully for his leadership within competitive basketball, but can also be used for many other purposes. Relevance in Business Today There is a large extent to which John Wooden's Pyramid of Success fits today's business environment.

It can help establish the basic necessities of teamwork within an organization, as well is provide an individual with a model in which to reach the most productive state that individual can attain. According to the research, "but, as his players have found out, the Pyramid of Success isn't just applicable to basketball -- it's also relevant to the business world, marriage and even health struggles" (Edelhauser, 2007, 2). They can also be used to translate into both small and large enterprise business organizations.

Since it covers most all of the bases for both individuals and teams, it can be translated into a number of industries in order to help point the way for individuals and groups to achieve success in their various objectives and goals within a business context. Here the research suggests that "as an entrepreneur or small business owner, you must have patience, and you must believe.

But, you must also have skills, and you have to realize you're going to have to work at whatever it is you're hoping to attain." (Edelhauser, 2007, 2). Wooden's pyramid illustrates how to achieve that patience while also building skills and motivation that will allow the business to succeed. It is true that "the pinnacle -- Competitive Greatness -- that is a tough but attainable goal" (Norwood, 2010, 1). When businesses adopt such a successful model for success, they can achieve great status.

Impact on Personal Leadership My own personal leadership does reflect some elements of the pyramid. For example, I believe that loyalty and enthusiasm is crucial in order to motivating members within a team. One must ensure that all members are enthused enough to put forth their best effort. This will lead to a sense of motivation that build skills and confidence and ultimately can lead to complete greatness.

As a leader, I am alert and have self-control, allowing me to target those within my team that need more attention and guidance in order to achieve their own sense of greatness. I understand that if one member of the team is not at a level of greatness, the entire team will never achieve that same level of success either. Every member must work towards their own success in order to ensure the highest level of productivity from the entire group.

Creating an New, Adjusted Pyramid for the Business World Still, Wooden's pyramid was meant for competitive game play, and not necessarily business dealings. As such, the pyramid can be shaved down a little in order to better suit the needs of modern businesses. Here, the research asks "why not institute a comparable pyramid of success for hiring based on the ten best traits that best predict success?" (Adler, 2005). It is important for individual businesses to choose their own elements of the pyramid that suits their own industry and objectives.

Still, there are a set of 10 steps that can be translated for a number of different industries. According to the research these are the "ability to do the work […]motivation to do the work […]collaborative skills and working with others […] job-related problem-solving and thinking skills […] consistency in achieving comparable results […] organizing and planning comparable work […] personal growth and development […] environmental and cultural fit […] value and character fit […] and overall potential to grow" (Adler, 2005).

By using these 10 steps, business leaders can better hire and manage team members to ultimately provide greater organizational success. These ten streamlines steps can then be used to "look at the trend lines, add in leadership, assess the depth of the person's thinking skills" (Adler, 2005). Rating these ten most desired traits, individually hand picked based on industry, and then using a rating system from 1-5 to see which.