One thing savvy leaders learn pretty early in their careers is that leadership is not about self-aggrandizement. It is more about enabling those around them and putting them into positions from which they can succeed.
Key to that mindset is the ability to make others around them better. Two basketball legends mastered this better than most: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. As a point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, Johnson was the master of dishing the ball to an open man to make a basket. Larry Bird as a forward for the rival Boston Celtics was similarly team oriented.
You don’t have to look to the NBA for similar stories. The team leader in the seafood department of my local Whole Foods embodies this ethos. The other day I asked him about a power failure that had swept through out neighborhood and he replied, “The team really did a great job. They got all of the fish off the counter and into the cooler. We didn’t lose anything.” He said nothing about himself; only the team’s timely response. Knowing this manager as I do, it is clear that he has made his fish-mates better.
To read the full, original article click on this link: How Successful Leaders Improve Their Team’s Performance | BNET
