bcg blog

Let Others Say It

There is this growing trend for athletes to post their highlights following a game. Technology has certainly made it easier as many of the filming programs that teams use filter all the clips by athlete. Doing so increases the ease for athletes to share their highlights, resulting in additional clicks and engagement for the media company. It’s clearly a “win” for them.

For the athletes, it provides evidence of their talent; which, with the combination of social media, allows this talent to be broadcast to all followers and willing clickers. No longer do fans and scouts have to see an athlete in person to appreciate their talent, now it’s there for the world to see minutes after the game ends. In years past, athletes would claim, and rightly so at times, that they were missed for college and professional opportunities because no one knew about them. Well, the days of being missed are all but over. 

This heightened awareness seems like a good thing - for athletes, corporate workers, everyone really. And, I’m not here to tell you it’s all bad. However, I do think it carries a dangerous side effect that we are becoming too comfortable with. 

Why Should We Care?
Here’s the biggest issue: It defies humility. 
There are a lot of things that go into making and performing on a team, most of which can be tinkered with to some extent. Humility is not one of them. 

There is nothing more important when it comes to teamwork than the humility of the team members. Talent may put a limit on your potential, but a lack of humility will destroy your efforts entirely. The concern is that this lack of humility is being encouraged.

People are being instructed to not only self-advocate, but self-promote in these situations. I believe you should have confidence in yourself, sure that you are more than capable of getting the job done. That’s exactly how you should feel if you have prepared and put in the necessary work.

It’s not confidence when you talk about it after the fact. That’s called boasting or bragging or any number of other bravados … but it’s not confidence. Being a self-advocate means communicating your interests, desires, and rights. Self-advocating is not the same as self-promotion. 

When you are self-promoting, there’s something really important that you aren’t doing: Team-promoting. It’s possible to do both at the same time, but that’s not what is going on here. When you are on a team and self-promoting, you are actually driving the team further apart - not pulling it together. 

REAL TALK - Action Steps
So what do you do? You perform well. You want to share it. 
Here are a few ideas to help.

• As a Leader … Share Team Success 
  
  • Good team members make teams win. When the team wins, everyone benefits. Transformational leaders recognize the team is the priority and acknowledge it accordingly. Sharing the success of the team reinforces its priority, as well as, helps its individual members.
    

• As a Leader … Thank Others
  
  • You literally accomplish nothing on your own. Nothing. Say thank you. When we have the urge to post, share, even talk about all of our success we need to turn our focus towards others. You’re not self-made, no one is. Share who helped you do what you did.
    

• As a Leader … Share For Others
  
  • It’s always better coming from someone else. As a leader take the initiative to share the success of your team members, rather than your own. View this as an opportunity to lift, rather than be lifted. It’s a chance to serve, not be served. It should be one of your primary objectives as a transformational leader.
    

Arrogance is like termites in the foundation of a house. It will destroy it from the inside out. Competitors like to think of themselves as lions, kings of the jungle. The analogy isn’t a bad one. Strong, powerful, asserting their will on everyone and everything around them. Just remember, real lions never roar after the kill.

For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. 
We would love to know how we could help!

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