January 2012 - www.andwin.net

January 13, 2012

Sunday night, the Denver Broncos achieved an improbable win over the favored Pittsburgh Steelers. At the center of the discussion of the dramatic victory was Bronco quarterback, Tim Tebow. What I’ve been struck most by during the week has been the polarized opinions of him, opinions that started brewing during the regular NFL season. People seem to love him or hate him; there’s not a lot of in-between.

As I further considered his detractors and their comments, the dislike for Tim Tebow seemed not particularly surprising. Human nature often leads us to be resentful of someone else’s success, for reasons real or imagined. We suffer jealousy, envy, anger and other figurative diseases of the heart. Left untreated, these disorders, like their physical counterparts, limit our achievement or worse. There is, however, a way out…hidden where we least expect to find it. Paradoxically, the cure to our resentment of others can be found through our own celebration of their success.

That’s the point for the week.

When we seek to build ourselves up by tearing another down, we lose. The winners go on winning, undeterred by our antics. Meanwhile, we stand in place – expending precious energy and other resources on our dreams of reversing another’s ascension instead of focusing on our own forward progress, never learning the truth that our candle won’t ever burn brighter because we extinguish someone else’s.

The better way is to celebrate, then emulate the achievements of others. When we do, we’ll get something in the bargain too. By extending well wishes to others we’ll get some on ourselves; we’ll feel better and happier in the process. Best of all, we open our heart to the possibility that something better is available to us too. As we do, we’ll begin to copy and follow the example of those who are better than us, whether consciously or not.

As a result, we’ll learn, grow and become better too. We will enrich our minds, and our hearts. We’ll gravitate to more and more people who bring out the best in us. We’ll diminish, then erase that which impedes our advancement – at work, at home and in our communities.

As with any improvement, it won’t just happen. It requires work. It’s hard. But then, nothing good comes easy. Like the behavior changes needed to improve the health of our beating heart, these things require commitment, repetition, and the fortitude to get back up when we fail. But the end result is more than worth it.

Because we, and the teams we lead, will achieve more – if for no other reason than we’ll more often focus on what’s possible then endeavor with all our hearts to attain it.

Celebrate the success of others…then emulate it.

And win.

If you like the blog, you’ll love the book. To purchase a copy of Phillip’s book, The Not So Subtle Art of Caring: Letters on Leadership, from John Hunt Publishing, London, please follow this LINK. “Letters” is based on 85 story-backed lessons Phillip used while leading actual teams to accomplish extraordinary things. It is an outstanding resource for those who wish to commit to becoming the sort of leader that people WANT to follow.

To learn more about Phillip, please click HERE.

January 6, 2012

During the just concluded holiday break, I had an opportunity to take my son, Will, who is seven, fishing some half-dozen times. During our first couple outings, I noticed that Will would cast his line out, quickly reel it back in, then cast it again. He did this over and over. I suggested to him that he’d have greater luck if his bait was in the water more than less, to which he replied simply, “I like casting”.

As I later considered this episode in our fishing marathon, it occurred to me that Will’s behavior wasn’t particularly unusual. It was a simple example of human nature. We tend to gravitate to that which we like to do, sometimes to the exclusion of what we have to do. Success in life, like fishing, though, requires both.

That’s the point for the week.

The more engaged we are in all aspects of our lives the more we’ll win. It really is as simple as that.

When we avoid situations, tasks and people that we don’t enjoy, we miss opportunities to learn and grow – as individuals and as teams. We also say by our actions, whether we mean to or not, that some things or people are not important to us. We erode trust and stifle progress.

Life will present us with myriad opportunities to involve ourselves…or not…in things we don’t particularly enjoy but that need to be done. As with any crossroads, it’s a choice – one that ultimately separates winners from everyone else.

When we choose to be more present in more places, we’ll strengthen our relationships with others. We’ll learn new things that help us accomplish more today and better position us for tomorrow. We’ll experience things that add to the richness of our lives, and end up, quite often, wondering why we avoided these things in the first place.

Moreover, we’ll show others, by our own example, that there is nothing we won’t do or try and that we’ll never ask them to do things we aren’t willing to do ourselves. Such is the heart of the golden rule. Such is, quite simply, what being a leader is all about.

Engage in all things.

And win.

To learn more about Phillip, please click HERE.