Winning is great! But there’s something even better!
Several years ago, I was nominated for the title of Civilian Employee of the Year. Even though being nominated is a pretty cool thing, winning is better. But there’s something even better than that!
One of the other nominees was one of my proteges. I was competing with someone I’d brought up and respected highly. He was one of my prize students, one of my Shining Stars. We talked before the winner was announced and offered each other congratulations and best wishes. We were both humbled and proud of each other’s accomplishments that year.
Finally, the announcement was made. He won! You may not believe it, but I was truly elated! Yeah, I was still a competitive kind of guy, but not that much. In a way, we BOTH won. Immediately after accepting his award, he came over to me and thanked me and told me how the award was ours. “No,” I told him, ‘it’s YOURS and it’s well deserved. I was just there to support you in becoming your best self.”
There’s a scene in the movie Rudy where Rudy is carried off the field by his teammates at the end of the game. That happened to me. In a different way. And it was GREAT! In the middle of that scene, there’s a very short shot of Rudy’s mentor, the stadium janitor, Fortune, played by Charles S Dutton, where he’s beaming for Rudy’s accomplishments. That scene is the perfect depiction of how I felt seeing my protégé win.
It’s great to win. But what’s better is when someone you’ve helped empower themselves to be even better than you wins. There’s something magical about having helped someone reach their potential. That’s the ultimate purpose of being a leader. Not so much leading, but helping one of your followers get to where they succeed. I hope you feel that way someday, if you haven’t already. When it happens, you’ll understand. I call it HEIRPOWER!
Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!
¡HEIRPOWER!
bob vásquez!
