All through popular storytelling are accounts of how the heroes and heroines right all wrongs, achieve the highest heights, and change the world, all with a trustworthy sidekick who helps them every step of the way. Batman had Robin, the Lone Ranger had Tonto, Kirk had Spock, Hans Solo had Chewbacca, and the list goes on and on. Seldom do we find leading characters without someone who is there supporting them. Broadway musicals are the same in that no matter how capable a leading player may be, there is virtually always someone playing a supporting role. In fact, many would argue that what makes the leading performers great is the supporting cast around them. In the musical Chicago, Velma Kelly’s character spends an entire song trying to convince Roxie Hart to team up with her because, “I just can’t do it alone.”
In our organizations, it is the same. Gone are the days of the “great man theory” that assumed that success and effectiveness in business was because of a single, extraordinary individual. Instead, when an organization makes strides forward and introduces groundbreaking innovation, it is typically a result of a team of highly gifted people who come together to create something far better as a collaborative team rather than a single person tinkering in their garage. Certainly, there are the individual geniuses, however, even Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak. One of my favorite scholarly writers on this topic is Margaret Wheatley, who stated almost two decades ago, “We gain courage from learning we’re part of a choir. We sing better when we know we are not alone.”
It’s important for us to remember this. It’s easy for visionary leaders to get going so quickly that they forget that in order to implement the grand ideas and bring about the foundational organizational changes they see, they will need a team around them, just as gifted and passionate as they are. The old adage of thea leader who has no followers is just out taking a walk, is true. As leaders, we must take the time and have the patience it takes to bring key team members along with us, because we truly can’t do it alone. If we try, we may have modest success, but with a committed team around us, the sky is the limit for what we can accomplish.
Back to the choir analogy, even Reader’s Digest supports the idea that singing in a choir instead of going at things alone is the right thing to do. Recently they published a story that cited scientific evidence that people who sing in a choir are healthier than those who don’t. They claim that “there’s something about having to coordinate your actions with those of others that brings particular heath benefits,” specifically a resistance to catching a cold! Apparently choir singers are shown to have lower levels of the stress hormone Cortisol, and tend to be in a better mood. From my experience with choirs, I would agree. There is something very rejuvenating about putting the world aside for a few hours and just singing your heart out.
The point is that there is strength in numbers, even if the number is two. When we work with someone else whom we trust and can count on, who contributes to the overall outcome, with whom we share common values and mission, and whom we enjoy being around, we will be less stressed and do better work. Sometimes it is tempting to work alone, however, I have found that working with a team or just one other trusted individual elevates the endeavor to greater heights and enriches my sense of achievement. Going back to Wheatley, “We are in a participative universe where nothing living lives alone. Everything comes into form because of relationship.” As you lead, look for others to lead alongside you. You’ll be more effective and you might even fight off getting a cold.
Lead well.