Success By Association

Success is an amazing feeling. We will drum-up any reason for a taste of this euphoria, with little encouragement. Although, many well meaning, talented, and intelligent people have succumb to a major pitfall chasing this emotion. We all know some one who talks about their position, job, work environment, child’s academic accomplishments, and/or favorite competitive sports team as if they are a linchpin for success. I like to refer to this as “Success By Association.”

As a child, growing up in a very competitive house hold, sports were a source of competitive pride. During the early and mid 90′s there were only two NFL teams worth cheering on, the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. With my father being a die-hard Cowboys fan, I had no choice but to go with the 9ers (obviously a better choice). During match-ups we would dawn our team apparel while sitting in the family room anxiously awaiting the games end, hoping our team would give license for bragging rights with a win.

I remember one such experience very vividly. The 1994 playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, a real nail-biter. Amazingly the 49ers upset the two time defending champions with a 21-14 victory. I was elated. As I ran through the house shouting “We Won, We Won”, I distinctly remember my father bring me back to reality with a simple statement. “We Won, do you have a mouse In your pocket. Who is this WE?”, were his eloquent words of wisdom.

Not that he did not appreciate the victory or that he was not happy for me. But, he was attempting to curb my disillusion. In my ranting I gave off the arrogant attitude that my shouts at a television set actually helped secure the victory. I was “Successful By Association.” This attitude comes to us all at times. It may come as a result of being hired on at a fast growing company, or from a stellar performance by a child at an athletic event. This feeling could be brought on by being given a greater position at our place of employment, only after a 30 year veteran has retired. The reasons for the feeling of “Success By Association” are almost innumerable.

“Isn’t it good to feel apart of the team and share in victories,” you may ask. The answer is, sometimes and only to a certain extent. In talking to potential and seasoned leaders I would have to say no. It is almost never appropriate to take on the win of an organization as your own.

To fully understand the the origin of “Success By Association” we need to understand the marketing of the “armchair quarterback” mentality. The NFL and other sports organizations, as well as some corporate entities, have gone to great length to convince the population that a win for them is a win for you, the individual. If the team or company succeeds you too, by nature of your one-sided relationship, are entitled to the same level of the feeling of success. We hear this concept in award reception speeches, new product press-releases, album releases, and sideline interviews of star athletes. It never fails, some where in the rambling are lines like, “I could not have done it without the fans.” With a nod of the head and smile we are tricked into believe our season long shouting rampages have paid off. We were acknowledged in the win and that’s all we really wanted.

But the extent of this marketing ploy only goes so far. In fact, it is in word only. Don’t believe me, ask yourself a few questions; will you ever get to hold the trophy? How much cash will you see from those record album sales? Will your bonus be the sale dollar amount as the executives who praised your team in the last project meeting? Payout, real bottom-line payout, is a truer test of your level of success.

Are you relishing the accomplishments of the organization as a whole or do you now your true value to the team and can prove it with hard evidence, not just words?

Real leaders know where true success comes from and where real success does not come from.