Shades of Green

Every circumstance has its own set of challenges. Trading places with a more privileged person or team may result in a whole new set of unseen challenges. When we compare another person’s situation with our own, we tend to only see the benefits of being “over there”. We begin to tell ourselves that the reason they can achieve greener grass is because the grass is simply greener on their side of the easement. We fill in all the blanks of what we don’t know about the other property with shortcuts and advantages that we don’t have. If we were to switch places, we would realize that the shade of green is determined by the choices of the other person and the advantages that those choices provided. Greener grass tends to be more disciplined. Less green grass tends to make excuses. Our choices are the cause of the shade of green and most often the other guy is greener because he makes better choices than I do. Nah…he must be a lucky cheater.

The Contentment Paradox

The best teammates are content with their resources and role but not content with the status quo. They don’t feel entitled to equal treatment or resources because they know where their area sits on the priority list at any given time. However, they are not content with the current state of their area. They work hard with what they have to improve what they are responsible for. They don’t blame their failure on a lack of fairness, resources, or authority. They make due with what they have to make sure that the team doesn’t have to make due with a mediocre outcome. Regardless of their circumstances, they increase the value of what they have by turning it into a valuable contribution to the team effort.

The Problem with Entitlement

Have you ever noticed that entitlement is the most insipid attitude a teammate can have? Those that have everything and feel entitled to more are difficult to be around because they can’t see the value of what they have. Those that have seemingly nothing, complain that they don’t have what others have, and feel entitled to a better circumstance are also difficult to help because as in the first case, an improved circumstance does nothing to satiate the entitled attitude. Neither will ever be satisfied and neither will be a great teammate.

The Secret Sauce

I firmly believe that while all people are created equal, their choices tend to separate them. Choices are the steps that we take in one direction or the other. Sometimes life is forgiving and sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes people are born into privileged circumstances and do nothing with that advantage because they make poor choices in response to privilege. Some people are not so lucky and through a pattern of good choices change their circumstances. The secret sauce to success is not the circumstances we are born into. It’s the choices we make in response to those circumstances.

The Trickle Down of Commitment

Great team leaders see a vision through to the end. Ordinary leaders get bored with a vision during the long stretch in the middle of the implementation. This can create an environment of uncertainty that makes any direction “tentative” based on the fickle buy in of an impatient leader. Tentative is never as productive and secure. As much as people want to buy into a vision, they learn over time whether a leader will allow anything long term to come to fruition. Why waste a full effort on something that will be put on the shelf when the shiny new wears off?