It’s time for the 3rd installment of 8 leadership lessons from my leadership journey. The first 2 lessons (“Listen to your Senior NCO” and “Find a mentor”) are easy to do if you’re intentional about them. This one is harder, but it’s also my favorite. It’s had the biggest impact in my life and professional career trajectory, hands down.
“Don’t be the 6th idiot”
I don’t know if he originally coined this phrase, but as the rumor goes, Denzel Washington used it at an Academy award acceptance speech. Since I’m a huge Denzel fan, I’m going to give him the attribution. He said:
“If you hang out with 5 confident people, you’ll be the 6th. If you hang out with 5 intelligent people, you’ll be #6. If you hang out with 5 millionaires, you’ll be the 6th…..and……if you hang out with 5 idiots, you’ll be the 6th.”
In my career, I’ve been very fortunate to NOT be the 6th idiot. Quite to the contrary. I was surrounded by amazing people that I call friends, teammates, classmates, colleagues, and family. That list of people includes:
- Super Bowl champions,
- Air Force General Officers,
- University presidents,
- Silver Star/Bronze Star recipients,
- C-level executives,
- Cancer survivors,
- Airline pilots,
- Couples who’ve celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
I could go on and on about these people, and it isn’t just about their titles or career accomplishments. It’s about their strong moral compass, intelligence, drive, work ethic and tireless pursuit towards making themselves better. Surrounding yourself with people better than you are can only make you better by association. Doing so only works if you pay attention and model the things they do.
I wish I could say that I planned it this way, but it happened by circumstance rather than intention. When you’re that close to greatness all the time, you think that it’s normal. I was blessed to have amazing people who pushed me to be better. I thought everyone had people like this around them. Looking back, I wish I had been more intentional about it rather than being lucky. As it turns out, I was fortunate to have been along for the ride. By all comparisons, I’m a slacker.
We are all products of our environments, but you can influence your outcome instead of just being along for the ride. Take charge. Surround yourself with people that are better/smarter/more successful than you. Watch and learn from them.
Don’t be the 6th idiot