EFFECTIVE BEFORE RESPECTED
I was walking into a pretty important meeting that we'd been working hard to build towards for some time when I realized we'd left an important piece of our presentation behind. I verbalized it on the fly, basically talking to myself more than anything else. One of the young guys on the team heard me and said, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
He isn't an athlete and he sweats really easily. He hustled back well over a mile and caught a cab back to pick up the missing documents, while I went on into the meeting. But, he got there on time, and things went great. No one ever knew there was an issue except this now totally sweat-covered young leader and me. He already had my confidence, but it sky-rocketed to the next level that day.
He intuitively knew a great principle:
BEING EFFECTIVE COMES BEFORE BEING RESPECTED.
I wouldn't have asked him to do what he did - he hadn’t caused the issue, and it wasn’t easy to solve. But, because he laid aside the natural desire of wanting to be seen in a positive light by everyone else, and instead placed his desire to see our initiative move forward at the forefront, whatever the personal cost, he received my respect and the respect of others. We all knew afterwards that he helped deliver the win.
Too often, we start out wanting respect and an easy path to it. We go directly for respect, demanding it from others rather than earning it. Our culture is full of this attitude. But, the path to being respected goes through the grind of working to be effective. Hustle. Heart. Grit. Practice. Study. Execution. Consistency. Predictability.
Too many people want to be discovered more than they want the grind of being developed. They want fame and fortune on a platter, but not to actually do anything that would be deserving of such a reward. And in our world, that can sometimes happen. But far too often, being discovered before we are developed, while it may seem like a blessing, can be one of the worst things to happen to us. Without being undergirded by a secure foundation, it can end in a crash of epic proportions.
BUT, if we will take the time to work the disciplines and build our foundation, to labor in obscurity...joyfully as if that moment is the most important moment, if we will be faithful with the little moments we are given when a crisis arises or an opportunity presents itself, then we will be READY to rise to the challenge.
Before David handled Goliath, he handled a lion and a bear. Before he handled a lion and a bear, he handled the sheep. You can't esteem the battle with Goliath and despise the lion or bear...or despise sitting in a pasture by yourself.
Do you want to be respected? Be effective.
Want to be discovered? Be developed.
Want to slay Goliath? Thrive in and love the pasture and sheep.
Wherever you work, whatever you do, go conquer your day. Do your best with whatever is in front of you. And not just the big things. Excel in the little things repeatedly and with passion. These lead not only to greater responsibility and opportunity, but to the staying power to excel in those moments and beyond.