At the second level of Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success lies initiative—a vital leadership trait and essential quality for any high-performing team striving to reach its full potential.
Exceptional leaders don't just embody initiative themselves; they cultivate it across their teams and organizations, creating new leaders in the process.
Related: How to set a good example
Wooden emphasized empowering his players to take initiative: "Don't tie them up so rigidly that you take away their initiative. They must have some freedom of movement, but must react to the initiative of a teammate in order to maintain balance on the court. Give players the opportunity to succeed without fear of failure."
A leader's communication style can either foster or stifle initiative among their team. In Pat Williams' book How to Be Like Coach Wooden, Wooden shared his approach: "Be slow to correct and quick to praise."
"I never wanted to teach out of fear, punishment, or intimidation. Pride is a better motivator than fear."
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"Fear can work in the short term to get people to do something, but in the long term, I believe personal pride is a much bigger motivator. It produces much better results that last much longer."
The leader who builds initiative holds people accountable through correction, not criticism. In his book with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden One-on-One, Wooden clarified the distinction: "Criticism and correction differ mostly in methods and motives. Criticism puts someone down. Correction means I want to help."
"Be slow to correct and quick to praise. No one likes correction, but we learn from it. If we praise before correcting, the person will accept the correction better. But we must listen before correcting. There is usually another side to every story. If we listen to others, they will be more likely to listen to us."
Related: 3 rules for giving a positive and targeted review
"It's amazing how much can be accomplished if no one wonders who gets the credit."
Effective correction requires care: "It is very important how the correction is given. We have to be careful how we do it. We don't want those who are corrected to lose face. Here are some good tips: Make it meaningful, but use good judgment. Do not stray from the handle and do not delay in correcting. Do it with tact. If we just let it fly, it's more likely to be viewed as criticism rather than correction."
"Approval is a bigger motivator than disapproval, but sometimes we have to disapprove when we correct. It is necessary. I only make corrections after proving to the individual that I really appreciate them. If they know we care about them, our correction will not be seen as judgment. I also tried never to make it personal."
Leaders who encourage initiative trust their people, believe in them, and draw out their best. When a team member's initiative succeeds, the leader shares the credit. When it falls short, the leader takes responsibility.
As Coach Wooden often said, "It's amazing what can be accomplished if nobody thinks who gets the credit."
Related: The Art of Leadership
