The Ten Principles of Leadership I Learned from Coach Wooden

Principle 2: Prioritize Your Responsibilities
Swen Nater

The second principle for leadership I learned from Coach Wooden is “Prioritize Your Responsibilities.” The job description of a leader is usually extensive. Most are organized enough to know what the priorities are, but few understand what their “Primary Responsibility” is. Consequently, they don’t fulfill it because they’re too busy trying to do it all. A good example is the job of a principal. The daunting list of administrative duties is overwhelming, but what is the primary responsibility of the job? It is to be an Instructional Leader, making sure effective instruction is happening in the classroom. Those that don’t understand this, spend most of their time in the office and little time where they should be: observing teachers in the classroom, meeting with them, providing extracurricular training for them, and monitoring their progress.

Coach Wooden also had a plate full, but he completely understood the number one reason he was hired: To put the best possible team on the basketball floor. Coach was a nice guy; he was fun to be around and a good friend. But there were times he had to be a disciplinarian in order to ensure his team was at its best.

My first year at UCLA, I redshirted (practiced but did not play in games). I practiced against two great forwards, Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe. For some reason, they thought they had earned the right to be late to the pre-game meal one Friday afternoon. They were seven minutes late. When they entered the restaurant, Coach didn’t say a word. That evening, when Coach announced the starting lineup, their names were not on the list. As the team headed out to warm up, Wicks and Rowe remained behind because they wanted to talk to Coach. After they asked why they were not starting, Coach said, “You were seven minutes late for pregame meal and so you won’t play for the first seven minutes of the game.” They said, “Well we may not play at all.” Coach said, “If you don’t go in the game when I tell you, you won’t play another minute for UCLA.” Needless to say, they went in when their names were called.

The primary responsibility of some leaders, as they see it, is to be liked by everyone. This is a noble objective but has a built-in dead end. Like I mentioned, Coach was a nice guy, but if his priority would have been to be a friend to us, he would not have been able to meet his number one priority: To put the best team on the floor. By disciplining Wicks and Rowe, he convinced them he was boss. Once they understood they needed to do things Coach’s way or not play, they became even better players and the team became better as well. Mission accomplished.

Along those same lines, about ten years before that, just two years prior to his first NCAA championship, Coach made a change that helped him put the best team on the floor. He decided to play only seven players until the game was won or lost. As you can imagine, this was not a popular decision, especially among the players. It was difficult watching the game and knowing you were better than any of the players on the other team. But, that decision, combined with three others, made the difference that initiated a run of ten national championships in Coach Wooden’s twelve final years of coaching.

Leaders that practice fulfilling their number one priorities seem to also do that away from work; it’s a habit. Coach Wooden was no exception.

Some years ago, when visiting Coach at his condo in Encino, California, I asked him, “Coach. Are you going to watch the Lakers game tonight?” I was surprised at his answer.

After finishing his senior season at Purdue, Coach Wooden was arguably the best player in the world. The local professional basketball team asked him to play for them in the playoffs and, for his services, would pay him $100 per game. He accepted and in the first game of a three-game series, he dominated and led his team to victory. At the start of the second game, he continued his excellent play and they were ahead. He was surprised when his coach called a time out. The coach pulled him aside and with a strong voice said, “Wooden! Don’t you know this is supposed to be a three-game series? We’re supposed to lose this game.” Coach quit.

This, and the fact professional basketball was not the team game his pure mind believed in, turned Coach off to pro ball. But I didn’t know that when I asked him the question, “Are you going to watch the Lakers game tonight?” His answer was, “Not if I can help it, Swen.” Coach had better things to do with his time than watch a Lakers game. I guess he had his priorities away from the basketball court as well.

Many leaders, if asked, can tell you what their responsibilities are but not what their number one priority is. If you are one of them, take a lesson from Coach Wooden. Lee Iacocca, CEO of Chrysler Company, understood the importance of leaders focusing on what they are primarily responsible for. He said, 

If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.