Standing Alone - Or Together

blue ribbon smallLeadership is a team sport.

How many times have you heard a company, an athlete, or a coworker claim to be the best? Or maybe you've been part of a business or team who has a goal of becoming the best. Sounds good right? How can you go wrong attempting to be the best?

That's how I was thinking - so much so that "being the best' had become a theme in my life.

Then one day, Mark - the executive coach that I work with - posed the question. "Rod, he asked, is your goal to be the best or to be the best you can be?"

Since that day, I've gone back to that question several times. Those final three words make a world of difference. Being the best you can be is an admirable and achievable goal for everyone on the team. All can rise to the peak of their potential and stand side by side on the victory stand.
 
But to be THE best is singular. It's competitive. It can even be divisive. And only one member of the team can be that kind of best.
 

Now don't get me wrong, there's a time and a place to stand alone at the top of your mountain. As number one - the very best.

But on a team of leaders, a group of men and women who are charged with the responsibility to move an enterprise to new levels of success and winning performance, there may not be room for one individual to be the best.

Instead, find the edge that not only helps you to become the best you can be, and then help your colleagues to do the same. Imagine the success they would have and the respect your team would receive, if all were able to perform consistently at their highest level of achievement.

See the edge. Be the best you can be.

 

Being The Best