You Can't Play God

You want the best for them, but they may rebel and make even worse choices if they feel controlled.When working with others, you must realize there are limits to what you can do.

You may want things for your people more than they want it for themselves. You may see they’re in a position to do great things to move up, to have bigger incomes, bigger responsibility, a better way of life if they can do certain things but they don’t want it, they’re never going to do it.

Managers and leaders can save themselves a lot of grief if they accept the fact that they can’t play God in other people’s lives.  

People do only what they want to do
Just because you want it for them, doesn’t mean they want it bad enough themselves to do what’s necessary to get it done. At the end of all of your efforts, you’ll find people are going to be what they’re going to be.You may want them to be something bigger, better or more successful. You may see that they have incredible potential.

That doesn’t matter at all.
What matters is what they want and how they see themselves. They’re going to wind up exactly where they want to be. Even if you artificially promote them they will find a way to sabotage themselves and get demoted.

What’s inside their heart is the deciding factor, not what others want for them.

Winners Book Club Selection of the Week: The Mentor Leader

The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently

By Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker

What are his Winner’s Credentials?

Tony Dungy not only had a successful career as a NFL player but went on to build consistent winnng teams as head coach in both Tampa and Indianapolis, where he also led his team to victory in the Super Bowl.

Amazon Editorial Review

“Your only job is to help your players be better.”

That single idea had a huge impact on Tony Dungy when he heard it from one of his earliest mentors, and it led him to develop the successful leadership style so admired by players and coaches throughout the NFL. Now, a storied career and a Super Bowl victory later, Tony Dungy is sharing his unique leadership philosophy with you. In The Mentor Leader, Tony reveals what propelled him to the top of his profession and shows how you can apply the same approach to virtually any area of your life. In the process, you’ll learn the seven keys of mentoring leadership—and why they’re so effective; why mentor leadership brings out the best in people; how a mentor leader recovers from mistakes and handles team discipline; and the secret to getting people to follow you and do their best for you without intimidation tactics. As a son, a football player, and a winning coach, Tony has always learned from others on his path to success. Now you can learn to succeed for your team, family, or organization while living out your values—by becoming a mentor leader.

Coach Dungy offers a truly unique perspective as a Super Bowl winning football coach, and a devoted Christian. 

He is a man who has benefited much mentoring and who has intentionally sought for years to have a positive influence on the lives of those he touches. Author of best-selling book Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life, he has seen firsthand "that the way to bring the best out of an individual or a team is to teach-by example and through one-on-one, step-by-step mentoring." The book is packed full of stories and anecdotes, but it is not just a random assortment of anecdotes. Dungy actually covers a lot of material, and arranges it thoughtfully. 

Some of the topics or concepts that I thought were particularly interesting: focusing on strengths, the preeminence of character and integrity in the live of a leader, building a team whose strengths complement yours and each others, the importance of just hanging out and being present in the lives of those you hope to influence, the need to create a culture to effect change, and the idea of treating those you lead as volunteers.