How do great leaders become leaders in the first place?
According to bestselling author Jim Collins, “Good-to-Great CEOs became CEO not by focusing on their career but by focusing on their unit of responsibility. They built their unit (e.g., sales, finance, marketing…) into a pocket of greatness. That’s why they were tapped.”
The lesson for all of us, no matter what our role is this: every responsibility you get, make it the best it can possibly be.
This reminds me of my time as a graduate assistant tennis coach at Boise State. When I was assigned a practice court, it was my duty to make sure the players received the training they needed.
Soon thereafter, I graduated to traveling solo with team members to regional events. Those tournaments became opportunities for me to create additional pockets of greatness.
“Great leadership at the top doesn’t amount to much without exceptional leadership at the unit level.”-Jim Collins
Before I knew it, my value in the market increased and I was fielding calls for assistant coaching jobs and then head coaching positions. You could say that “my pockets” were getting bigger.
Yet this is what happens when you take care of business at the cellular level—committing to excellence and helping others succeed.
In both life and work, many people make the mistake of thinking about the next point instead of winning the one they’re currently playing.
The opportunities to do more and be more are out there for the taking, but only after you give your all to the person and the mission in front of you.
How can you make today a pocket of greatness?
René Vidal