People like to compete to test their skills and smarts. When up against a worthy opponent, they play to win. In the words of Red Auerbach, “If you’re going to keep score, win!” Winning promotes pride, confidence, and accolades. With victory comes the spoils. Everyone likes to win.
But here’s a kick in the pants. People don’t need to win in order to succeed. They need to succeed in order to win. Contrary to popular belief, winning and succeeding are very different animals. People, teams, and organizations win after they have become successful, and not a second before.
Success doesn’t require competition against anything or anyone. It is a contest against ourselves. No one has to lose for a person, team, or organization to achieve success. Whenever a person or organization sets goals, crafts strategies to attain them, and achieves those goals through masterful execution, they become successful.
Legendary coach John Wooden, one of the most lauded coaches in any sport, never mentioned winning to his teams. He asked his players to judge themselves by the effort they applied in every practice and performance to prove what they were capable of. In other words, he asked players to execute to the highest level of their ability and deemed them a success whenever they did. That was his recipe for 10 straight college basketball titles. Wooden knew that winning follows success, and not the other way around.
Success is about attaining goals through maximum effort, not about competitive victory. Anyone can be successful if they are willing to set lofty goals, execute an effective strategy, and put in the time and effort to perform at their highest potential. When an entire team or organization does that, magical things happen.
Unfortunately, winning too often substitutes for what it means to be successful, and team members draw the wrong conclusions. They shift their focus from performing at their best to being the best. They move from a focus on learning, effort, and improvement to evaluating their personal and social value by the wins and losses they accumulate.
Not surprisingly, this erases much of the personal satisfaction that comes from striving to perform at the highest level possible. Worse yet, it lowers the likelihood of winning. We only win consistently when we first achieve success. The best leaders let the wins come. Instead, they ask team members to focus on achieving success.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
