There is no 'I' in team, but there is an 'I' in win."
-Michael Jordan
I have had the chance to catch a couple of World Cup games and am intrigued in how the game captures the attention of the entire world. There is excitement, acting (on the field), and drama (off the field). In the rest of the world, soccer stars are rock stars and make the money that NBA players make in the US. In the World Cup itself and especially with the European teams, there are plenty of millionaires out there kicking a ball around to make your head spin. There are teams on the field with 11 superstars in their own right - all used to being in the spotlight and center of attention. I can only imagine what it would take to keep those egos in check.
The reason that I bring this up is that everyone in business loves to be around the "rock stars". I rarely stand up in the middle of a review process and say, "You know what? This guy is an excellent 'role player.'" God forbid I say that. That might as well be the kiss of death and knock someone down to just being a solid contributor in our practice. And we all know that solid contributors get the scraps of the compensation turkey at Thanksgiving.
What I've learned from the World Cup is that even if you have 11 rock stars on the field, you can still lose- or even worse, you become dysfunctional. So my question is this - if organizations continue to focus on and praise the rock stars, what happens to the solid role players of the world? Jordan wouldn't have won championships without Paxton, Pippen, or Kerr, right? Kobe wouldn't have won without Artest.
My point is that if you are a solid team member, or better yet, you know that in order to succeed, you have to check the ego and take on the role to make the overall project successful, then you are more valuable than the rock stars. Too often I think these types of people are overlooked.
-Michael Jordan
I have had the chance to catch a couple of World Cup games and am intrigued in how the game captures the attention of the entire world. There is excitement, acting (on the field), and drama (off the field). In the rest of the world, soccer stars are rock stars and make the money that NBA players make in the US. In the World Cup itself and especially with the European teams, there are plenty of millionaires out there kicking a ball around to make your head spin. There are teams on the field with 11 superstars in their own right - all used to being in the spotlight and center of attention. I can only imagine what it would take to keep those egos in check.
The reason that I bring this up is that everyone in business loves to be around the "rock stars". I rarely stand up in the middle of a review process and say, "You know what? This guy is an excellent 'role player.'" God forbid I say that. That might as well be the kiss of death and knock someone down to just being a solid contributor in our practice. And we all know that solid contributors get the scraps of the compensation turkey at Thanksgiving.
What I've learned from the World Cup is that even if you have 11 rock stars on the field, you can still lose- or even worse, you become dysfunctional. So my question is this - if organizations continue to focus on and praise the rock stars, what happens to the solid role players of the world? Jordan wouldn't have won championships without Paxton, Pippen, or Kerr, right? Kobe wouldn't have won without Artest.
My point is that if you are a solid team member, or better yet, you know that in order to succeed, you have to check the ego and take on the role to make the overall project successful, then you are more valuable than the rock stars. Too often I think these types of people are overlooked.
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