Making others look good reflects positively on you

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After seeing my recent column about bringing out the charm in others, reader Ray Lauk wrote and told me about the first day of his improv class at Chicago’s Second City Theater. Ray is the education solutions manager at GE Security and a former school superintendent. He decided to take the class because “I thought this training would help sharpen my presentation skills for work.”

(Ray must have also been paying attention to the gazillion times I have touted the importance of lifelong education, to never stop learning. I love it!)

Ray went on to tell me about all the team-building lessons and objectives for the class, including work to bring this diverse group of students together as an ensemble.

He said: “What struck me, however, was the constant reminder that the objective of so many of the exercises was to make the other person(s) look good. The spotlight is not to be on us individually, but rather the team as a whole. Wow! What if corporate training was designed to train people to help make the other team members look good and be at their best?”

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I must admit that I never realized one of the core principles of improv is to make others look good. This is in complete conflict with the basic human instinct to make oneself look good.

Comedians and individual performers have to be funny and in it for themselves, while an improv player has to work with fellow players to make sure a skit works. It’s not like a lead actor and a supporting cast. You have to keep an eye out to help your fellow players and make them look good.

It’s been my experience that if you help others look good, you’ll look good in return. This tactic not only works in improve – it’s an essential element in any successful business. After all, how many people want to work for the me-me-me boss … the kind who gets chapped lips from kissing the mirror too much? And when the dust settles, the clueless boss who takes credit for everyone else’s ideas gets exposed – and makes it tough to get cooperation on future projects.

My mother always told me, “You get what you give,” meaning you should give of yourself to others and you will receive in kind. Translated to a business setting, the supervisor sets the tone: If employees feel like their contribution is valued – acknowledged in even the smallest way – the likelihood of continued cooperation increases exponentially.

And you must be sincere. You can’t give simply because you know it will help your business or career, although that would be a probable byproduct. If this is the case, your intentions eventually will be discovered. Rather, your motivation should be to bring everyone along with you, realizing that you are only as good as the people who work with you.

In the office of the late Alex Haley, author of “Roots,” hung a picture of a turtle sitting on a fence. When Haley looked at it, he would be reminded of a lesson taught to him by a friend: “Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.”

Said Haley, “Anytime I start thinking, ‘Wow, isn’t this marvelous what I’ve done!’ I look at that picture and remember how this turtle (me) got up on that post.”

Teamwork is a favorite slogan, but unwittingly shunned by many people in business because they are deathly afraid of it. They think it will render them anonymous, invisible. Too many managers are fearful that a member of their team will upstage them, and perhaps even end up with their job.

Big mistake. Those managers must have short memories. How do they think they got to their level? Somewhere along the line, their contributions were recognized. Their efforts were rewarded. Some higher-up saw their potential. They caught a break.

I can tell you for a fact that I promote people who are “team players.” I don’t need some maverick who started getting the “doesn’t play well with others” designation back in preschool.

My definition of teamwork is “a collection of individuals with a common goal.” My definition of success is “We did it!”

Mackay’s Moral: What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others lasts forever.

Harvey Mackay is the author of The New York Times bestseller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his Web site, www.harveymackay.com, or at MackayMitchell Envelope Co, 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.

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