Sometimes our kids re-teach us important lessons. In suffering through a science class, one of my daughters got very confused about my expectations for her, and rightly so. Many of us are highly competitive, driven business leaders, and as such, we tend to lead others around us to believe that their success comes through outside validation. If we’re talking to our children,-“Did you get that “A” in the class,” or if we are questioning an employee, “Did you achieve the customer rankings?” or “Did you win the proposal?” And if we don’t get the “right” answer, we automatically go to the person’s failure.
There is something seriously amiss with this philosophy, yet we see people caught up in it every day. Oftentimes, we can’t help but be partially responsible for it.
In building a successful organization, redefine success. Ask different questions. Win or lose, did we do everything possible? Did we lay it all out there and truly do our best?
Build a reflective team, driven to please themselves in their efforts by demanding the most of themselves and others on the team. This type of team will have wins, and success will subsequently fall into place. An organization that’s proud of its own work is successful and recognition from outside is sure to follow!
