IT’S NOT ABOUT
WINS AND LOSSES
Jon C. Dalton Institute on College
g Student Values
Steven Kleuver & Daniel Sheets
Florida State University
John
Wooden’s
Definition
n
of Personal
Success
JOHN WOODEN
ƒ Born: October 14, 1910 – Center ville,
Ohio
ƒ Died: June 4, 2010
ƒ High School Coaching
ƒ Record: 218-42 (.838)
ƒ Dayton High School (KY) – 2 years
ƒ First season’s record (6-11)
ƒ South Bend Central High School (IN) – 9
years
ƒ College Coaching
ƒ Record: 664-162 (.804)
ƒ Indiana State Teacher’s College 1946-48
ƒ UCLA 1948-75
ƒ 10 National Championships
ƒ 88
88-game
game winning streak
“Youngsters need good role models more than they need good critics.” - JW
JOHN WOODEN
ƒ Wrote/co-wrote
Wrote/co wrote 8 books on topics of
leadership, life, and personal success
ƒ Honors
ƒ Namesakes
ƒ Numerous coaching awards and Hall(s) of
Fame Inductions
ƒ The Sporting News’ “Greatest Coach of All
Time” - 2009
Time
ƒ Presidential Medal of Freedom – July 2003
ƒ John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award –
2009
ƒ Revered for his teaching methods and
philosophies that apply as much to life as
to basketball
“John Wooden is the greatest basketball coach of all time, but what I learned from him had
much more to do with living life than with playing ball.” – Bill Walton
ADDITIONAL MAXIMS & TEACHINGS
ƒ Two Sets of Three
ƒ Never Lie
ƒ Never Cheat
ƒ Never Steal
ƒ Don’t Whine
ƒ Don’t Complain
ƒ Don’t Make Excuses
ƒ Seven Point Creed
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
Be true to yourself
Help others
M k each
Make
hd
day your masterpiece
t
i
Drink deeply from good books, especially The Good Book
Make friendship a fine art
Build a shelter for a rainy day
Pray for guidance, and count and give thanks for your blessing each day
“Never mistake activity for achievement.” - JW
ADDITIONAL MAXIMS & TEACHINGS
ƒ Spirit vs.
vs Temperament
ƒ Peer Pressure
“Mistakes occur when
your thinking is tainted
by excessive emotion.”
"Ability is a poor man's wealth."
"It's what you learn after you know it all that
counts."
“Talent is God given. Be humble.
Fame is man-given. Be grateful.
Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
"Be quick, but don't hurry."
“If theyy don’t
respect their
leader, people
just punch the
clock in and
out. There is
not clockwatching
when a leader
has respect.”
“Nothing
Nothing is stronger than gentleness.
gentleness ”
“I believe there is no more powerful leadership tool than your own personal example.” - JW
GROUP QUESTIONS
ƒ G r o u p 1 – Wo o d e n b e l i e v e d t h a t b e i n g a g o o d l e a d e r d i d n ’ t e q u a t e to o n l y h a v i n g
k n o w l e d g e a b o u t a to p i c . H e b e l i e v e d t h e r e w e r e a d d i t i o n a l q u a l i t i e s t h e r e w e r e j u s t a s
e s s e n t i a l . W h a t o t h e r q u a l i t i e s d o yo u f e e l a r e i m p o r t a n t f o r a l e a d e r to p o s s e s s ?
ƒ G r o u p 2 – Wo o d e n b e l i e v e d t h e s t a r o f t h e t e a m w a s t h e t e a m . I n a s o c i e t y t h a t s t r e s s e s
t h e va l u e o f i n d i v i d u a l s u c c e s s a n d c o m p e t i t i o n , h o w c a n w e e m p h a s i z e t h e r e c o g n i t i o n
of group dynamics and success over individual per formance and gain? How does this
r e l a t e to o u r w o r k w i t h s t u d e n t s ?
ƒ Group 3 – How do we help students understand it’s not all about wins and losses –
e s p e c i a l l y f o r a g e n e r a t i o n t h a t h a s a l w ay s p r i z e d a n d va l u e d b e i n g # 1 ?
ƒ G r o u p 4 – A r o l e o f t h e s t u d e n t a f f a i r s p r o f e s s i o n a l i s to t u r n a s t u d e n t f r o m a n u m b e r
i n to o n e t h a t h a s a c c e s s i b l e s u p p o r t a n d g u i d a n c e . Wo o d e n b e l i e v e d t h a t t h i s p e r s o n a l
i n v e s t m e n t w a s e s s e n t i a l to t h e o v e r a l l p e r f o r m a n c e o f h i s t e a m . H o w w e c a n w e b e s t
i n v e s t i n o u r s t u d e n t s to g e t t h e m a x i m u m e f f o r t f r o m t h e m ?
ƒ G r o u p 5 - Wo o d e n b e l i e v e d t h a t w h e n yo u l e f t w o r k , yo u a c t u a l l y l e f t w o r k a t w o r k . A t
the same time, he expected complete focus and concentration when he was teaching
d u r i n g p r a c t i c e . H o w d o w e e n c o u r a g e o u r s e l v e s , o u r s t a f f a n d t h e s t u d e n t s w e l e a d to
have a strong work ethic, while at the same time exercising balance in our personal
lives?
WHAT A LEADER KNOWS
(GROUP 1)
ƒ Wooden believed that being a good leader didn
didn’tt equate to
only having knowledge about a topic. He believed there were
additional qualities there were just as essential. What other
qualities do you
q
y
feel are important
p
for a leader to possess?
p
ƒ “Knowledge is not enough to get desired results. You must
have the more elusive ability to teach and motivate
motivate. This
defines effective leadership. If you can’t teach and you can’t
motivate, how can you be a leader?”
THE TEAM VS. THE INDIVIDUAL
(GROUP 2)
ƒ Wooden believed the star of the team was the team. In a societyy that
stresses the value of individual success and competition, how can we
emphasize the recognition of group dynamics and success over
individual per formance and gain? How does this relate to our work
with students?
ƒ “I value talent, and I was always looking for a great player. But even
more I was looking for the player, or combination of player s, who could
make the team great. That was my goal: a great team, rather than just
a team with some g
great p
player
y s.”
ƒ “ The team is fir st; individual credit is second. We have no place for
selfishness, egotism, or envy.”
ƒ “ There’s a role that each and ever y one of us must play. We may aspire
to what we consider to be a larger role, or a more impor tant role, but
we cannot achieve that until we show that we are able to fulfill the role
we are assigned.”
MORE IMPORTANT THAN WINNING
(GROUP 3)
ƒ How do we help students understand it
it’ss not all about wins
and losses – especially for a generation that has always
prized and valued being #1?
ƒ “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. If you prepare
properly, you may be outscored but you will never lose…You
always win when you make the full effor t to do the best of
which you’re capable.”
ƒ “Did
Did I win? Did I lose? Those are the wrong questions
questions. The
correct question is: Did I make my best effor t? That’s what
matters. The rest of it just gets in the way.”
INVESTING IN OUR STUDENTS
(GROUP 4)
ƒ A role of the student af fairs professional is to turn a student
from a number into one that has accessible support and
guidance. Wooden believed that this personal investment was
essential to the overall per formance of his team. How we can we
best invest in our students to get the maximum ef fort from
them?
g of the p
people
p side.
ƒ Wooden never lost sight
“Care, concern, and a sincere consideration for those on your team is a
mark of a good leader. It is not something that makes you appear
vulnerable or suggests softness. On the contrary, it is strength.”
People don
don’tt care how much you know until they know how much you
“People
care.”
ƒ However, no player was above the team, regardless of ability.
“Love them? Yes. Allow them to hurt our team? No. That’s when
intelligently applied discipline becomes your ally.”
WALKING THE FINE LINE
(GROUP 5)
ƒ Wooden believed that when you left work, you actually left work
at work.
“My dear wife, Nellie, said she couldn’t tell if I’d had a good day or a bad
day at practice.”
At the
th same ti
time, th
though,
gh h
he said,
id
“During practices, I expected total and absolute concentration and
participation in what I was teaching.”
How do we encourage
g ourselves,, our staf f and the students we
lead to have a strong work ethic, while at the same time exercising
balance in our personal lives?
ƒ “I wanted players to concentrate on other things – first
f
off all
their studies. But I also felt it impor tant to refresh and recharge
oneself, not to be so consumed with basketball that it becomes a
chore.”
QUESTIONS/TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
ƒ Steven Kleuver
ƒ [email protected]
ƒ Daniel Sheets
ƒ [email protected]
“You never fail if yyou know in
your heart that you did the best
of which you are capable.” - JW
REFERENCES
ƒ Academyy of Achievement (2010,
(
, June 21).
) John Wooden
Biography. Retrieved from
http://http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/printmember/woo0
bio-1 .
ƒ ESPN ((2010,, June 4).
) The Wizard’s wisdom: ‘Woodenisms’.
Retrieved from
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/stor y?id=5249709.
ƒ Jamison, S. The Of ficial Site of Coach John Wooden. Retrieved
from http://www.coachwooden.com.
p //
ƒ Wooden, J.R. & Jamison, S. (1997). Wooden: A Lifetime of
Obser vations and Reflections On and Off the Cour t. New York,
NY: McGraw -Hill.
ƒ Wooden,
Wooden JJ. R
R. & Jamison
Jamison, S.
S (2005).
(2005) Wooden on Leadership
Leadership. New
York: McGraw -Hill.
ƒ Wooden, J.R. & Jamison, S. (2007). The Essential Wooden: A
Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership. New York, NY:
McGraw -Hill.
-Hill