Giving Credit, Not Taking Credit

About four years ago I interviewed for a job where the person who interviewed me was clearly worried about me having too much experience.  He literally told me that I intimidated him.  I knew that rather than intimidate him, I could have helped him be more successful. I didn't want his job.  I'd one his job and that wasn't what mattered to me anymore.  Fortunately, I didn't get the job.  In the end, I took a job where I was blessed with an incredible team of people.  They made me look good.  I hope that I gave them the opportunity to shine, and I worked hard to make sure that they got all of the credit that they deserved.  When I subsequently took a job overseeing a large organization, I was once again fortunate to have another group of incredible people working for me.  It was truly easy to give them credit for all the great work that they did.

My wife asked me today if I was always like this.  When I was younger, I often looked for opportunities to take credit for thing that I had accomplished.  The means towards the end was that these accomplishments would help me to advance my career.  As I became more successful, I think (and hope) that I looked for opportunities to build up those around me.  One person can only do so much.  A team can accomplish a lot more.  Besides, I'm a conceptual thinker.  I need people around me who actually do the hard work to get things done.  The people who make things happen are the ones who deserve to get the credit.

Last week, I had an idea.  Ideas are great, but without people who can turn those ideas into action, they're just ideas.  I was very fortunate, as I've often been, to work with others who know how to get things done.  They deserve all of the credit.  One of the things that I've learned in the past few years is that reaching the top of the mountain only means something if what you achieve makes a difference for others.  There's really no true value from a personal perspective.  There's a lot of credit to give, and it always feels better to give that credit to those who deserve it!