Parents, coaches, mentors, and teachers all want the best for the young people in their care. And in this compelling book, longtime NBA executive and leadership guru Pat Williams says the best we can do for young people is to train them to be leaders. This way, the future leaders of our communities, our teams, our businesses-and even our nation-will build confidence, character, competence, and other essential traits they'll use for a lifetime.

Williams draws on more than 800 interviews and written responses to distill the wisdom of today's leaders in this practical down-to-earth guide for giving our children the best possible start in life. Men and women from many fields contribute their insights, including Red Auerbach, Jeb Bush, Chuck Colson, Dick Vermeil, Donna Shalala, Joe Torre, George McGovern, John Maxwell, Jerry West, and many, many others, as well as Williams himself. Legendary “Coach” John Wooden provides an insightful foreword. Pat Williams brilliantly organizes several lifetimes of accumulated experience into readily understandable and usable principles.

Chapter 1

Urgently Needed: Young Leaders

I was a young leader, but I didn't know it. When I was in high school, sports was my passion. I played quarterback on the football team-a leadership position. I played point guard on the basketball team-a leadership position. I played catcher on the baseball team-a leadership position. But during those years that I was busy being a leader at my high school, I never thought about what it meant to be a leader. What's more, no adult ever mentored, taught, or coached me in the practice and principles of leadership.

After high school, I went to college at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At the start of my junior year, I was tossed headfirst into an experience that galvanized me as a leader. It occurred in November 1960, and it had to do with a basketball game.

In those days, freshmen were not eligible for the varsity basketball team, so every November there would be a big game in which the freshman team would play the varsity team. The game, held in the Coliseum in Winston-Salem, was open to the public.

Five days before the game, Jerry Steele, the president of the Monogram Club, our lettermen's organization, came to me and said, "Williams, we've got to put this game on and you're in charge."

"In charge of what?" "In charge of everything," he said. And he meant that literally. Even though the game was just five days away, nobody had done one thing to make it happen.

I opened my mouth to argue-then I shut it. Jerry Steele was a sixfoot eight-inch, 240-pound basketball player, all of which added up to a very persuasive personality. So I agreed to be volunteered.

I spent the next five days putting together a basketball show for the whole community. I worked on various promotions and got the publicity information to the local radio and TV stations and the newspapers. I planned a halftime show and brought in a band from a local high school. I auditioned a singer for the national anthem. I located a color guard for the start of the game. I brought in cheerleaders. I printed and sold the tickets. In short, I was doing the same things I would later do as an NBA executive. It was on-the-job leadership training.

The job was far too big for one guy, so I learned very quickly the importance of delegating. I grabbed volunteers (not all of them willing!) wherever I could find them. I buttonholed and recruited; I wheeled and dealed; I became a leader!

How did it come off? I remember that game as if it was yesterday. Everything happened right on schedule, and everybody had a great time. When it was over, I was walking two inches off the ground. I was so pleased with myself that my grin barely fit on my face. It was one of the most satisfying and energizing experiences of my life. I received accolades from the athletics director, the students, the players, the coach, and people in the community.

That night, as I went to bed, I realized something I had never known before: I was a leader!

Copyright © 2005 by Pat Williams

Tags: Parenting: Christian Perspectives

About the Author

PAT WILLIAMS is the senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, a renowned speaker, and the author of How to Be like Mike, The Magic of Teamwork, and Go for the Magic.