Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 603 - "How to Build a Great Team" (Liz Wiseman)


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 12	Issue 603
Craig Impelman Speaking \| Championship Coaches \| Champion's Leadership Library Login
"HOW TO BUILD A GREAT TEAM" (LIZ WISEMAN) John Wooden Video Clip (78 sec.): Little girl asks for an autograph from Coach Wooden. You will observe how Coach Wooden does one thing at a time well. He does not get distracted from the task at hand by other requests. Coach Wooden was not somebody you could "speed up". Liz Wiseman is a bestselling author, researcher, and elite leadership coach. Her New York Times bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter is a must read. In her research of over 150 leaders worldwide, she discovered a process that the best team builders had in common. She describes it as "Genius Watching", which is an observation process great leaders use to find the "Native Genius" of individual team members. In her book, Wiseman described it this way: "Great team builders know how to uncover and access the native genius of others. A native genius is something that people do, not only exceptionally well, but absolutely naturally. Finding someone’s native genius propels them to go beyond what is required and offer their full intelligence. Finding people’s genius begins by carefully observing them in action, looking for spikes of authentic enthusiasm and a natural flow of energy. As you watch someone in action, ask the question: What do they do better than anything else they do? Native genius can be so instinctive for people that they may not even understand their own capability. If people aren’t aware of their genius, they are not in a position to deliberately utilize it. Tell people what you see. Raise their awareness and confidence, allowing them to provide their capability more fully." In a call center I managed, we had a young lady, Jennifer, who chatted too much with co-workers while doing her data entry job. Her "Native Genius" was that she had an amazing personality. We made her aware of how dynamic she was (she didn’t realize it as it came so naturally) and moved her to customer service. She ultimately ran the division. John Wooden was great at uncovering "Native Genius". The cornerstones of the defense that led to his final National Championship in 1975 were Andre McCarter (a ball handling wizard) and Pete Turkovich (a former high-volume scorer). As a tandem, they became what John Wooden described as the best defensive backcourt he ever coached. Are you using the "Native Genius" of your team members? Do you know what yours is? Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 603. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 603. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE Story Telling Most every night when they're in bed, And both their little prayers have said, They shout for me to come upstairs And tell them tales of gypsies bold, And eagles with the claws that hold A baby's weight, and fairy sprites That roam the woods on starry nights. And I must illustrate these tales, Must imitate the northern gales That toss the Indian's canoe, And show the way he paddles, too. If in the story comes a bear, I have to pause and sniff the air And show the way he climbs the trees To steal the honey from the bees. And then I buzz like angry bees And sting him on his nose and knees And howl in pain, till mother cries: 'That pair will never shut their eyes, While all that noise up there you make; You're simply keeping them awake.' And then they whisper: 'Just one more,' And once again I'm forced to roar. New stories every night they ask. And that is not an easy task; I have to be so many things, The frog that croaks, the lark that sings, The cunning fox, the frightened hen; But just last night they stumped me, when They wanted me to twist and squirm And imitate an angle worm. At last they tumble off to sleep, And softly from their room I creep And brush and comb the shock of hair I tossed about to be a bear. Then mother says: 'Well, I should say You're just as much a child as they.' But you can bet I'll not resign That story telling job of mine. Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)
For more information visit www.woodenswisdom.com