Issue 780 -" Put the Pyramid of Success to Work"

Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 13

Issue 780

Craig Impelman Speaking | Championship Coaches | Champion's Leadership Library Login

BEING GREAT REQUIRES BEING GREAT AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND GREAT AS A TEAMMATE.

John Wooden Video Clip (1 min. 22 sec.): Coach Wooden is asked: "Do our children need discipline today?" This is a great video clip. Wonderful story at the end. Don’t miss it.

John Wooden defined success this way: "Success is peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable."

He wanted to give his students a visual aid that showed them what they needed to do to achieve success as he defined it. He chose a pyramid because its strong foundation supports each succeeding level, building toward the peak.

Coach selected 15 personal qualities he believed were necessary to achieve success according to his definition. He made each personal quality a building block on his Pyramid of Success. He placed the blocks strategically in a sequence so that each block (personal quality) and each of the five rows of the Pyramid of Success builds on the previous one. The blocks (personal qualities) are listed in the chart below in the order Coach taught them (each building on the previous one).

The chart shows how to put each quality into practice in two ways: how you perform as an individual and how you perform as a teammate. Reaching your full potential requires your best effort in both.

As you examine the chart, identify the behaviors you already practice consistently and those you can improve. Then choose specific actions you will work on to become a better individual and a better teammate.

Pyramid Block (Personal Quality)	Performance as an Individual	Performance as a Teammate
1. Industriousness	Plan well, work hard, and pay attention to detail. No shortcuts!	Help a teammate learn to plan. Encourage their hard work and, when needed, help them notice details they may have missed.
2. Enthusiasm	Enjoy what you do.	Create opportunities and an atmosphere that help others enjoy what they do.
3. Friendship	Make friends and nurture those relationships.	Introduce friends who do not know each other and help them build a friendship of their own.
4. Loyalty	Be reliable and stay true to your values.	Notice when a teammate is struggling or feeling down. Offer support, even when there is nothing in it for you.
5. Cooperation	Get along well with others and work toward shared goals.	Help teammates who struggle to work together learn to cooperate. Create opportunities for them to find common ground.
6. Self-Control	Discipline yourself so others will not have to. Keep emotions under control.	Help a teammate calm down and regain perspective when their emotions get the best of them.
7. Alertness	Stay open-minded and eager to learn. Be curious!	Encourage a teammate’s curiosity and openness to new ideas. Share a book or show them how to use AI to explore a topic.
8. Initiative	Don’t fear failure. Take action when action is needed.	Encourage a teammate to try something worthwhile, even when they are worried about taking a chance.
9. Intentness	Be persistent. Keep working through difficulties and setbacks. Try a different way. Don’t quit.	When a teammate feels they have failed, offer encouragement and help them find a practical way to try again.
10. Condition	Care for your mental, moral, and physical condition.	Help a teammate strengthen their conditioning. Exercise together, join a book club, or support choices that reflect good character.
11. Skill	Learn to do things properly and quickly.	Help a teammate improve how they do something. If they are rushing, encourage them to slow down, practice correctly, and build skill.
12. Team Spirit	Be considerate of others. Put the team’s good ahead of personal credit.	Help a teammate become more considerate of others and appreciate what the team accomplishes, regardless of who gets the credit.
13. Poise	Be true to yourself and comfortable with who you are.	Help a teammate relax and feel comfortable being themselves. Appreciate who they are and point out their good qualities.
14. Confidence	Prepare well and keep things in proper perspective.	Build a teammate’s confidence by helping them recognize their preparation and keep the situation in proper perspective.
15. Competitive Greatness	Learn to enjoy a difficult challenge and the chance to do your best.	Help a teammate enjoy strong competition and welcome the chance to face the best, rather than focus only on winning.
16. Faith	Develop a belief system that gives you direction and strength.	Encourage a teammate to explore and develop their own beliefs. Discuss those beliefs respectfully; they do not have to be the same as yours.
17. Patience	Remember that worthwhile progress takes time. Be patient with yourself.	Help a teammate stay patient when progress is slow. Remind them that good things take time and encourage their continued effort.
18. Success	Find peace of mind in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.	Recognize a teammate’s effort and what they did well, even when the outcome disappoints them. Help them find peace of mind knowing they gave their best effort.

"You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone without a thought of repayment." — John Wooden

Being great requires being great as an individual and great as a teammate. That requires consideration for others.

Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 780.

Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 780.

Yours in Coaching,

Craig Impelman

www.woodenswisdom.com

Follow @woodenswisdom

COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE

You May Count That Day If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done
And counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That eased the heart of him who heard —
One glance most kind,
That fell like sunshine where it went
Then you may count that day well spent.
But if, through all the livelong day
You’ve cheered no heart, by yea or nay —
If, through it all
You’ve nothing done that you can trace
That brought the sunshine to one face —
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost —
Then count that day as worse than lost.

George Eliot (1819–1880)

For more information visit www.woodenswisdom.com