I'm a big fan of basketball and the NBA. I've been watching since I was a kid. I fell in love with the Lakers, specifically, when they had Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Rick Fox, Trevor Ariza, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. On the sidelines, they had the Zen-Master, Phil Jackson. After several trades and changes, I moved on from being a Lakers fan, but I always maintained a Kobe fan. To this day, I still try to follow the game.
One of the things I liked to watch was when they would hand out trophies. The NBA has its MVP, most improved player, defensive player of the year, and among other possible achievements, the rookie of the year trophy.
Of course, every player, every team, every organization wants the ultimate hardware on their mantle, the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. But as individuals, it is also beneficial to become an All-Star or obtain any of the aforementioned trophies. It is interesting how a team of 12 or 14 players while having a common goal, an individual may want a specific trophy on their mantle.
Success for the organization is becoming a champion, however, success for the individual player could be to be selected to participate in All-Star games or even obtain one of those trophies.
In leadership, we work to guide the organization towards an established goal. As a whole, we move towards the vision and mission that we've set, but we also should take the time to identify what trophy each individual wants on their mantle. We should ask how they define success for themselves?
Knowing what trophy you want on your mantle will help construct a pathway towards the desired outcome. Having your goal we defined will help highlight the strength and address the weaknesses.
What trophy do we want on your mantle?
The difference between a dream or a wish and a goal is the strategy. Once you've established what trophy you'd like to obtain, then you can carve out a plan to get there. The question "what trophy do you want on your mantle?" forces us to devise a plan, and we know that we are stronger together. Just as the organization will have a higher probability of achieving its goals if everyone is on board, so too, the individual will inch closer to the desired trophy with a team.
Whatever you want to accomplish, whatever trophy you want on your mantle, it all starts with a plan. Passion is good, but without a destination, it is like gasoline for a vehicle. You can fill your gas tank up to full, but if you have nowhere to go, if you have no destination, you're only going to run out of fuel.
