Playing Over Your Head!

Dr. John Maxwell wrote an article in his free monthly e-newsletter Leadership Wired entitled "Playing Over Their Heads."  He says, "Your job as a leader isn't to bring out the best in your people.  Through words and example, your goal is to get them to play over their heads--to do things they normally couldn't do and achieve beyond their gifts and abilities."  He adds, "Passion is an essential ingredient to winning." 
  
Dr. Maxwell provides six principles to follow when seeking to help someone play above their head.  Don't miss the opportunity to personally apply these principles to make a difference in your own life.

1. The Value of Teamwork  -- Charles Stanley wrote in Success God's Way, "I'd rather try something I know I cannot accomplish without lots of help, and fail, than spend my life doing only those things I know I can succeed at using my own resources."  "One is too small a number to achieve greatness," says Dr. Maxwell.
2. Define Each Players Role -- Every person needs to understand what he or she must do to add the most value to the team.
3. Raising the Bar -- "Don't allow your people to grow comfortable maintaining the status quo, even if they are doing a good job.  Raise the bar!  Set a new standard for excellence."
4. Emphasize the Importance of a Good Attitude -- "As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.  When that bad apple is a bad attitude, it can absolutely ruin the team."
5. Consistently Provide Hope and Encouragement -- "When you're winning, nothing hurts.  But when you have a bad month or quarter, when a key player leaves for greener pastures, or when your industry as a whole is struggling, you have to be the one who encourages your people to look for the light at the end of the tunnel."
6. Keep Your Focus on the Big Picture -- We often focus on the details of a particular task and forget about the ultimate goal or target.  "Frequently remind your team how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together."

Dr. Maxwell concludes, "if you communicate these foundational principles passionately and consistently, you can help people perform above their heads--achieving . . . more together than they could individually."

Always make a difference!

"This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter Leadership Wired available at www.MaximumImpact.com."