“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
Harry S Truman
Years ago, my boss asked me to take on a project. It was not easy. There were a lot of moving parts and there was a lot riding on its success. I worked extremely hard, and involved several others who also worked very hard. Thankfully, it turned out to be a huge success.
However, due to some internal politics, my boss asked me to let another person in the organization present it. This person, never raised a finger to help with the project and even in some ways stood in the way. But because of some leveraging and whining they got to present the project when it came time.
I was furious. I was literally beside myself. As he presented, at first I set there, and if i had been a cartoon character steam would have been coming out of my ears. It was ridiculous. People would not know that it was something I led. They wouldn’t know all the work I put in. They wouldn’t know that this was MY creation, MY idea, MY effort, MY leadership.
As I was thinking this and crossing my arms so everyone who was in the know would be aware that I was mad, and wasn’t going to give him any encouragement. It dawned on me how childish I was being. I was very young, but I knew better than this. I became aware of how small I was being. I realized that I was being no better than the guy playing political games, and that he was achieving exactly what he was trying to do. Get under my skin.
I don’t know where I had read this quote by President Truman, but it went across my mind like a ticker tape. “It is amazing what we can accomplish, if we just don’t care who gets the credit.” In that moment, it became abundantly clear, that what was important was getting the job done, not getting the credit.
If the goal was to accomplish the completion of that project with excellence, then who did it, and the accolades with being the person who did it, really didn’t matter as long as it got done.
I wonder how many great projects have gone undone because of ego. I wonder how many company conflicts have happened as a result of someone having to have the credit. I wonder how many great organizations have crumbled under the weight of the enormous pride in self of some leaders?
QUESTION: What does this Reveal?
- It reveals whether or not we have a big picture mindset
2. It reveals whether or not we are small minded.
3. It reveals the level of our ego.
QUESTION: How do we change it?
- Learn to enlarge your vision to include the whole not just your part.
2. Be more concerned about the accomplishments of the team than the individual accolades.
3. Decide that what is important to you is that the project is accomplished with excellence.
4. Trust that reciprocity is real, and you don’t need to worry, what you sow you will reap.
As I have gotten older I’ve realized there are things that last and those that don’t. Praise and accolades quickly fade into the distance, but the accomplishments of your team builds toward legacy. It accumulates to make a true difference across the lives of all those who have learned to trust you and whom you have learned to trust.
It’s much better to create a culture of accomplishment, than it is to be known for a need to be praised. We truly can accomplish amazing things, if we really don’t care who gets the credit.
