Know Your Limitations

When things seem to be going well, be careful not to believe your own hype. No matter where the credit goes, remember that success is a team effort.  This is true whether you are the leader or not.  Every team member (and leader) is in danger of forgetting that they alone are not the reason for success.  The peril here is that someone (including you) may attempt to recreate past glory without the benefit of the full team.

An example: For a number of years I led a team responsible opening new physical sites in multiple states.  This was an intricate process that involved government relations, accreditation approvals, real estate deals, and mounds of associated paperwork. We broke a lot of new ground in this area, and eventually other institutions tried to emulate our success. Not surprisingly, those institutions recruited my team heavily as they formed their own expansion teams.  The flaw in this strategy was that none of my team really understood the entire process, although each was a master at their own piece.

Most of my team understood this. However, one member was lured by the promise of big bucks by a would-be higher education mogul.  He confidently assured the mogul that he knew everything about opening operations in new states, and soon was cashing large paychecks.  Within six months, both my former team member and the wannabe mogul realized that they were in far over their heads.  The mogul quickly retreated from his grandiose plan to dominate higher education.   And my former team member just retreated, never to recover.


Sic transit gloria mundi.  Google it.

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