So I was reading about John Wooden passing away and learning more about him as a coach, a professional speaker and a person.  What a fascinating guy!  I found a site where a couple pages of quotes are listed and it got me thinking about how relevant these quotes are across the board in every area of life.  I thought about how effective it would be to really absorb these both for personal growth as well as professional growth.

Isn’t being a manager essentially the same thing as being a coach?  There is an ultimate goal and the manager’s job is to make sure everyone understands the goal, help get the best performance from each individual member, and combine those performances to achieve the ultimate goal as successfully as possible.  Is there really any difference between basketball and corporate life?  A team is still a team and they function the same way, no matter what the forum.

I think in order to be an effective manager, one needs to think about managing from the point of view of how they can help get the best from their team instead of focusing on what each individual can bring to the table.  If you can focus on how you can be a more effective manager, your team will perform at their highest levels. 

Below are some of my favorite quotes by John Wooden that reflect the type of thinking necessary to be a good manager.

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.

Be prepared and be honest.

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.

Never mistake activity for achievement.

The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.

You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.

A theme that seems to have developed in my posts is coming through again.  Humility is important and when you want to get people to achieve certain results, start with improving yourself.  John Wooden is a great example of this.  Rest in peace, John.