Winning: Together is Better.

I’m currently feeling an increased sense of gratitude for normalcy. The past two months have been a whirlwind of surgery, convalescence, and travel. Each experience has been enriching – even the experience of surgery had its merits (more on that another time) – though I’m grateful to be back in my space to reflect on these things while in my office or walking the dog.

One of my more recent experiences of the past two months provoked mixed emotions: winning an award. On the back of my best ever year of sales results, I won the EMEA Rep of the Year award at the company’s International Sales Conference in Athens. Why the mixed emotions, then?

I didn’t feel like an unworthy winner, nor did I feel like the awards ceremony was cheesy or over the top – it was professionally planned and well executed. I’m not allergic to stages either – I love public speaking. But I felt some discomfort going up to the stage to get my award.

In a situation that inherently screams “look at me!”, I felt that “look at us!” would be a fairer, more balanced assessment of my achievements. “Us”, in my context, includes my wife, my dog and a disparate, disconnected cadre of others to whom I’m grateful for a variety of reasons.

But it wouldn’t be appropriate for each individual winner to give a gushing speech about those to whom they have a debt of gratitude – that would be too time-consuming and perhaps, ironically, self-indulgent.

My discomfort under the spotlight soon dissipated when the team I’m on won International Region of the Year. We collected our award on stage together.

Together Feels Better

The whole experience was a reminder to me that regardless of our individual achievements and accolades, we never truly achieve success alone. We are always, to some extent, drinking from wells that others have dug, while also receiving ongoing support from those around us. To crow “I’m the man/woman!” belies the lived reality of what it takes to succeed. 

Those who strive for success that’s sustainable always give due credit to those who have played a role in that success. Gushing, grandiloquent speeches at awards ceremonies aren’t necessary.

Three years ago I wrote a LinkedIn article entitled Tackling the Myth of the Self-Made Man. It received mixed responses, online and offline, as some held firm to the belief that there are those who are truly self-made.

In reflecting on that further following my recent experience in Athens, I can say with certainty that winning feels much better together than it does alone.