Selfless Victories, Selfish Failures

I was talking with my adult kid a while back when they attributed the idea of "Selfless victories, and selfish failures" as having a huge impact on their career. When I probed further about where they heard that, I was told "You!"

I'll be honest, I don't recall ever using those exact words, but as we discussed, my head started nodding up and down.

What does it mean?

One of my early mentors and football coach talked about how, as a leader, I should never take credit for a win; that all wins belong to the team. If prompted, I should highlight the amazing work of another member of the team.

However, when it came to failure or losses, as a leader, they are my responsibility. In no circumstances should I ever attribute failure to another person on the team. Even when looking at game film or reviewing a project where someone was directly attributable to that miss, the leader does not pass the blame.

Yes, leaders should help people they lead to grow, they should help correct mistakes, but in public or with other leaders, the fault stops with the leader themselves.

I would love to say that I have always followed those wise words. I haven’t. They’re hard to live up to. However, it is something I strive always to do. I may not remember using the exact phrase “selfless victories, selfish failures,” but I certainly believe they are key to being a good leader.

What words or phrases do you live by as a leader?

#leadership #team #wins #praise