:: Robin Sharma

It all starts with you

Robin Sharma

July.24 : Watched a road crew at work this morning while walking Colby to school. The team leader was having a bad day. A bus driver was hitting her horn because a traffic barricade was slowing her down. The team leader yelled, threw a fist into the air and then kicked over the barricade. One angry man. Then he started yelling at his crew, mocking them. Spitting out his venom. Ranting like a madman. They looked down at the ground and kept on working. I sense they felt humiliated by the public spectacle. But their leader continued. Pouring his toxic waste out onto the busy street for all to see. Tonight he’ll blame his crew for a low-performance day. And probably scream at his kids.

Big idea: Your team will never be greater than you are (even if you are not the team leader). You set the standard to which you all can rise. Each finger affects the strength of the hand. When organisations bring me in to help their people get to world-class performance and create extraordinary results, I gently remind everyone in the room that "everything begins with you". I suggest that’s a mission-critical idea. Forget blaming others — that’s just excusing yourself. And it all starts with your inner world. External leadership begins with internal mastery. You can’t help in the building of an excellent organisation until you commit to becoming an excellent person.

That team leader I saw out on the street might want to look in the mirror. Might want to clean up his own messes. Deal with his personal anger. Work on his limiting beliefs. Develop his own character. Open his own heart. "Soft stuff Robin", you say? No, I really don’t think so. It’s hard stuff. (How many people have the courage to do it?) The stuff that ultimately drives better business results. Boosts profits. Gets organisations to greatness. And did I mention that it all starts with you? Because it really does.

— Excerpted from The Greatness Guide 2 by Robin Sharma. Published by Jaico Publishing House, jaicopub@vsnl.com