Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 162 - You May be Deceived if you Trust Too Much, But You Will be in Torment if you Do Not Trust Enough


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 4	Issue 162
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YOU MAY BE DECEIVED IF YOU TRUST TOO MUCH, BUT YOU WILL BE IN TORMENT IF YOU DO NOT TRUST ENOUGH This quote from Dr. Frank Crane (a Presbyterian minister, speaker and author [1861–1928) was a favorite of Coach Wooden’s and a core value he used to approach everyday life and build his leadership style. In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and off the Court, with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden summarized his philosophy on trust: It has been said that you will be hurt occasionally if you trust too much. This may be true, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough. Trusting is part of our higher nature. Doubting is a lower instinct. The latter is easy to do, the former more difficult - but so much more rewarding. Coach Wooden’s favorite text on Leadership was an essay The Art of Leadership in the book The Art of Living, by Wilfred A. Peterson, in which Mr. Peterson wrote: The Leader has faith in people. He believes in them, trusts them, and thus draws out the best in them. Coach felt that a key element of effective leadership was creating trust. Coach expanded on this idea in his book The Essential Wooden, with Steve Jamison: How does a leader create trust? Here's how: do the things you should do and that those under your leadership have a right to expect from you. Show confidence in their ability to reach their potential. Help them overcome mistakes by getting to the core reason for errors or misjudgments without seeking to blame, condemn, or punish. Show those under your supervision that you believe they can succeed. Be fair. Be trusting. In short, be the kind of leader whose team you'd like to be a member of. In the same book, Coach described the process of building a team with trust as a centerpiece: Gather good people; teach them; train them. And then have courage enough to trust them to do what they're supposed to do. Trust begets trust. Yours begets theirs. Be brave enough to trust, and it will be returned. Eric Hoffer wrote: Someone who thinks the world is always cheating him is right. He is missing that wonderful feeling of trust in someone or something. We must have relationships based on trust to be happy. If we trust others, we will be deceived on occasion, but without that trust we have no chance at true happiness. As Confucius said: It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Twitter: @woodenswisdom	COACH'S Favorite Poetry AND PROSE The Things That Are More Excellent (Part Two) To dress, to call, to dine, to break No canon of the social code, The little laws that lacqueys make, The futile decalogue of Mode,-- How many a soul for these things lives, With pious passion, grave intent! While Nature careless-handed gives The things that are more excellent. To hug the wealth ye cannot use, And lack the riches all may gain,-- O blind and wanting wit to choose, Who house the chaff and burn the grain! And still doth life with starry towers Lure to the bright, divine ascent!-- Be yours the things ye would: be ours The things that are more excellent. The grace of friendship--mind and heart Linked with their fellow heart and mind; The gains of science, gifts of art; The sense of oneness with our kind; The thirst to know and understand-- A large and liberal discontent: These are the goods in life's rich hand, The things that are more excellent. In faultless rhythm the ocean rolls, A rapturous silence thrills the skies; And on this earth are lovely souls, That softly look with aidful eyes. Though dark, O God, Thy course and track, I think Thou must at least have meant That nought which lives should wholly lack The things that are more excellent. William Watson
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