Foundational Fridays -- Character & Competence

Many reading this installment know I'm a huge fan of Coach Wooden. He left coaching college basketball when I was a child, so I did not become aware of his coaching acclaim and accomplishments until after I learned about his amazing character and competence. Here, I don't mean character and competence as a Hall of Fame Division I men's college basketball coach, I mean as a leadership guru.

The more I read and have read about the man, the more I learn his character and competence was central to who he was. They weren't tools of his trade; they weren't things he "turned on" only on the court as a teaching professional. No, character and competence were core to who he was. His personal and professional excellence in both areas were inseparable. Because the source and spring of both were foundational and first-fruits born and bred from his upbringing, these became not second nature, rather, first nature of who he actually was.

From very early on in his life, taught these lessons by his father, he conditioned himself to be a person of high caliber character and competence in every area of his life. For these reasons, he was not only an exceptional coach, one of history's best ever, he was amazingly able to invest and impart these lessons to his players, his fellow coaches, and later to hundreds of thousands (or more) as a speaker, author, mentor, and "leadership professor".

Every year while coaching, he penned a preseason letter to his players. It set expectations for the upcoming season, not in terms of, "our goal is to go undefeated" or "to win another National Championship" (noting he led the UCLA Bruins to 10 championships in 12 years!), it is more about what the character and competence of the team would be.

He wrote the following on 23 July 1971; "If each of you makes every effort to develop to the best of your ability, follow the proper rules of conduct and activity most conducive to good physical condition, subordinate individual acclaim for the welfare of the team, and permit no personality clashes or differences of opinion with teammates or coaches to interfere with your or a teammate's efforts, it will be a very rewarding year." From his own words, rewards, or successes will flow from being people and players of high character and competence. Winning was not about only being focused on how many games are in the win column; winning was about conditioning in character and competence first and foremost.

The quote shared in the picture above is one I am using in a retirement ceremony I'm officiating next week. It jumped out at me, not simply or solely because it comes from a mentor I never met, rather because it is absolutely accurate (and applies to the person I'm retiring!). Having led tens of thousands across my own professional career and knowing that good leadership cannot be faked. If a person in a leadership position or post has poor character, they may be able to get some things accomplished, but those things will not be lasting or legacy-building. Here, legacy is building other good leaders, not obtaining objectives or making a name for oneself.

Generally speaking, "leaders" with poor character get things done more out of fear of what followers will face if they fail rather than acting with confidence that the leader cares about and is committed to them, and is, in fact, being self-led by well curated and conditioned high character and competence. I'm still learning and growing to be a person and professional like Coach Wooden. My goal for many years now, and continuing into the future, is to be a leader who embodies and exemplifies high character and competence, no matter where I am or what I'm doing.