I was chatting with someone working for a global company and here for work, meetings and so forth. She was in charge of marketing, surprise, surprise, had had a full day of meetings but was still cheery. I asked her what she loved most about her job and she instantly enthused “I have a really great and wonderful team!” I smiled and said she sounded like what Julie Andrews used to say, that “You don’t really have to sing when you’re singing with an orchestra. The orchestra just carries you along.” “Exactly!” she replied and then it was time to let her off at her destination.
I didn’t have to tell her. I just knew that she knew that you have a great and wonderful team because you are a great and wonderful team leader. And that one of the things you need to do as a great and wonderful team leader is to bring on board and nurture people who are absolutely willing to play second fiddle with enthusiasm, just as if they were playing in the lead role. I wrote something about that a while back, and you can read it here: Playing second fiddle? Listen – it’s ok! It is also important that we ourselves demonstrate throughout our lives that, when it is time to do so, we are willing to play second fiddle, too! I thought about the saying that “It is better to have an army of sheep led by a lion than it is to have an army of lions led by a sheep”. I return by saying that I would much rather have an army of lions led by a lion king, and every lion chooses a new lion king every four years or so. Each time a new lion king is chosen, and it doesn’t matter if he is called Simba, Lengholo, Perisi or Mafuta, there is great rejoicing because all lions know that the best lion has stepped up to the plate and been chosen for the season. If Perisi has been chosen, she would make just as great a lion king, or lioness queen, in her case, as any other. Wouldn’t that be something? Especially since Singapore is known as the Lion City.
Are you just as willing to be the lead singer as you would be to play the most unnoticeable role in the orchestra? You would then be playing your own role in enhancing great diplomacy for all of us. After all, isn’t diplomacy also
“The art of letting others crave your play”?
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