This weekend I was playing soccer with my youngest son and daughter in the park. At first, I was running away with the ball because it was simple to get the ball away from a nine-year-old. It was fun for a few minutes scoring goal after goal, but then I decided to give them a little coaching on playing as a team.
They quickly went from trying to be individual superstars to passing the ball back and forth. Dear old dad was suddenly getting quite a workout running around trying to catch up with the ball. Before those two started working together, it was easy to score points, but once they began to pass, the game was over.
Rockstar Leaders Don't Do Everything Themselves
I talk with business owners and leaders who are still trying to do everything themselves almost daily. It's one of the more common issues I help people with when I do business coaching.
The people I coach are usually superstars, but often they are burnt out because they never learned to utilize their team properly.
When I first became a manager, I struggled with this a lot. I was used to being the superstar, and it was easier for me to do everyone's jobs for them when they asked for help. Unfortunately, I wasn't developing anyone that way. That mentality led to burnout, and on top of that, my business was suffering because I was a highly ineffective manager.
Involve Your Team to Get Results
Once I realized that “passing the ball” at work is the best way to get team members engaged, my life got a whole lot easier. Not only was my team more engaged, but we were much more productive when we started working as a team.
Being a superstar will only take you so far. If you want to play in the big leagues in business or on the field, learn to be a team player and pass the ball.
