Behind every great leader is a great…leader?

In addition to holding records for coaching the most wins  in UCLA basketball history, John Wooden authored several superb books on leadership and how to succeed while staying focused on what is most important in life. 

Wooden often recalled the wisdom of his former college coach, Piggy Lambert. Once, when Lambert was asked by the media at the season’s end how good a job he did as coach that year, Lambert responded, “Ask me in 20 years and we’ll see how successful these boys are. Then I’ll be able to tell you if I succeeded as a coach.”

Wooden obviously went on to be a great success and would often be cited as the source of great inspiration from his former players, and it’s likely that many of them have gone on to inspire people in their lives.

Study a great leader and you’ll often find someone in their back story that powerfully influenced them. Very often, behind every great leader is a great leader.

My bet is you’re the kind of person somebody else will be crediting someday, too.  So thanks for your contributions, leader!

Leaders don’t inspire followers. They inspire other leaders.” – Tom Peters