Leadership 10, Seek Significant Change (Bot9 #148)

"Seek Significant Change" John Wooden's Leadership Lesson #10 by Keith Wahl

John Wooden wrote 12 Leadership Lessons that enhance our understandings of leadership and success. These 12 lessons will be the focus of Bottom of the Ninth for 12 weeks.

I may have already said that one of the previous leadership lessons was by far the most difficult, but I would like to retract that statement if I did indeed make it. Seeking significant change is by far the most difficult...and the most rewarding.

I've been a head baseball coach at the high school level for 15 years this spring. We've experienced a tremendous mix of success and failure in our program at two different schools. Some kids, many kids, have left our program only to return and give back. We've established a brotherhood in baseball to honor Christ and point kids to Him. In spite of all of that, we had to seek significant change before this spring.

I needed to establish a new sense of commitment and investment with our coaching staff. I needed to make sure that every kid in the program had the opportunity to have a great experience in our program. Not most, not 80%, EVERY kid. I also needed to strike a better balance between my work and home life while in season. The only way to get these things done was to seek significant change personally.

In order to make those things happen, I had to change (and I need to continue to change). I've recognized some flaws and failures in my own habits that need addressed. Those things didn't need to be addressed so I could get better and move on to bigger and better things, but I had to address those things to be better now. Wooden said, "Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be." In the midst of personal transformation, I can tell you that this change was necessary and no change at all would have equalled failure.

Now, having just completed our winter sessions and tryout week, I can say that the fruit of this change was the most peaceful tryout and team placement process I've experienced in my time as a head coach. If this week is a sign of things to come, we're in for very special experiences this spring. None of that would have occurred without seeking significant change. Being a new expert in the subject (sarcasm noted...), all I can do is encourage you to seek significant change where the Holy Spirit guides you as well.