Who are you again?

Not my usual post about gymnastics, however, this topic is near and dear to me in the world of business.

The thing is, we learn to compete at a very young age. Children compete for their parents attention, at school we compete for grades, sports, etc. I love competition, clearly, as a coach I believe in the healthy attributes competition can give an individual: drive, courage, and determination. Somewhere though, as we grow as people, and begin to work in a professional setting, competition can become counter productive.This is especially true when used incorrectly. Competing for advantage in the work place creates a sense of "me against you." Teams  and trust erode.

Who are we anyway to think we have something more important than someone else to contribute? So what if we've done this or that, won this or that, obtained this or that degree/s? So what.

When I was a young coach (many years ago!), and a student in school to become a licensed physical therapist assistant, I had this experience. One of my gymnasts jumped off the high beam and hyper-extended her knee upon landing. It looked bad, and being an almost new grad I was eager to inform her Dad what I thought had occurred, and use some newly learned technical terms to explain the injury. He was such a cool gym parent. He smiled, nodded, and as he scooped up his sobbing child, he thanked me and left. She returned a few weeks later no worse for the wear. Later that year, during my clinical internship at  major hospital, I was introduced to the Chief of Physiatry. Imagine my utter shock and instant humbling, when the chief was none other than my gym parent. That experience taught me everything I ever needed to know about superiority (or lack thereof).
In retrospect, he listened, and honestly respected my opinion. Me, the young, student of physical therapy. Everyone contributes, everyone has value, no one person is better than another. No amount of education or experience gives someone the green light to act superior.

In today's work setting, much like in gymnastics, it is all about the team. Learning to "team think" takes practice. Learning to eliminate hierarchical thinking and acting in a work setting takes a strong leader. Teaching our children the lesson to value their peers, teammates, and later co-workers is important. Consider everyone we interact with a teacher of something.

Teaching humility is priceless.

That Physician retired a couple of years ago. I had the opportunity to work with him again before he retired. I thanked him for my lesson. He just shook his head and smiled.