As I sit down to write this post my computer begins the familiar song “Redeemed” by Big Daddy Weave and it hits me why I am writing this post… I’ve been redeemed. I’ve been saved by an incredible creator to be set apart from the world and look different. For me, this means that I will need to lead differently, a topic I’ve been writing on over the past few weeks. Today I want to talk about winning.
There’s a lot of pressure as a leader to perform, and perform in a way that garners respect.
Traditionally, it’s been understood that everyone works to help the leader win. Win in business, win in life, win with product or financial success. For some reason or another, no one has identified that this is a fleeing pursuit. Eventually everyone will wake up and realize they have spent every waking hour working to help a single person just to receive a paycheck and a sense of selfishness from a variety of angles will begin to creep in.
It’s futile.
Instead, great leaders understand that it’s not about them. And if it’s not about them, then they realize that it’s about everyone else! Great leaders don’t find wins for themselves to enjoy or take credit in… they don’t boast in the enjoyment of success and self-indulging pride. No one wants to work for those leaders, which makes them some of the worst leaders I’ve ever experiences and/or known.
Great leaders, the ones anyone is willing to follow, find ways to give away the win. They don’t need the credit, because they only win after every last person on their team has won. If someone looses, then the leader can’t win. They lead for something greater than personal satisfaction…. they lead from beneath.
They lead from selflessness. Not selfishness.
So the next time you find yourself in a leadership position, remember this subtle difference. Find a way to give away the win to someone on your team instead of trying to own it for yourself. The greatest way to earn fans isn’t by garnering a ton of wins… It’s about giving them away.
You’ll eventually look up to you have indeed won afterall. However it will have been a game not many others are playing; the game of giving your life away to others.
