Success For Others Is In Your Control

We are standing on the shoulders of giants for every success. Each day this reality becomes more clear for me. What is so funny though is the giants we recognize today are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things for others. I know that my success is directly related to those people who give me a boost in the process.

My wife is one of the strongest contributors to my success. She put a successful career on hold to take care of the kids at home. Who she really ended up taking care of was me. She encouraged me during hard times at work, which gave me the will power to continue to persevere. She invested extra time in family so that I could concentrate on the next win at work. She lovingly councils me when I am going through tough situations. She has made me successful.

Investing in others success

Over the last few years, I have really noticed great leaders and have examined what makes them successful. Each one has invested heavily to make other people successful. Here are some of the ways they have done it:

• They encourage their followers to stretch to meet a goal.  They don’t settle for easy to reach goals for the people they lead, instead, they help them build small wins up front to meet that stretch goal. Success comes in the process not necessarily the end result.
• They sponsor people. One of the best ways to make people successful is for leaders to put them in situations that give them visibility. When leader’s put their people in the spotlight, growth happens, confidence blooms, and discernment is learned.
• Leaders delegate responsibility and reward with accountability. Success is something that is earned. Leaders know that they have to create the environment where people can achieve. I tell the people that work for me one statement, “Make BIG decisions and Make BIG mistakes.” Ninety-nine percent of the time, people make the right big decision and learn from the mistake that may be made. I have yet to see anyone get fired for making a big decision that doesn’t work out well. Also, when a decision is big, most people will involve others for advice and to assess risk. Success comes out of allowing others to take that risk.

Are you making others successful today? Look intentionally for those opportunities where you can be someone who can invest in other people’s success.