“If anything goes really good, then you did it.”

“If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it.” – Paul “Bear” Bryant

John Baldoni recently included this quote in his article, “Humility as a Leadership Trait,” and it just struck me as the most brilliant advice out there for anybody supervising employees. 

The article details how to lead with a spirit of humility, and the more I read it, the more I am struck with the need to share this somewhat simple, but possibly career-altering advice.

His advice seems to be common sense, but I realized that there are many leaders whose aggresive attempts at leadership lead to damaged morale, stunted development and sometimes high turnover.  

I won’t attempt to rewrite all of Baldoni’s article (a full read is well worth it, though), but the excerpts below are helpful in understanding the concept that being in charge doesn’t automatically garner the respect of others.

Temper authority. Power comes with rank but you don’t have to pull it to make it work for you.

Look to promote others. A characteristic of successful managers is their ability to promote others, sometimes to positions higher than their own.

Acknowledge what others do. Few have said it better than legendary Alabama coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant. “If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you.” Practice that attitude always, especially when things are not going well, and your team will rally together because they want you to succeed. In short, humility breeds humility.

Tags: authority, career, humility, promotion, respect, supervision, work