"Leaders have a heart for honoring others." - Stan Toler
I have written recently about the importance of entertainers honoring their audience. They should also honor other entertainers because that is part of leadership. Variety artists often find themselves in a position of leadership. It might be a position of authority in a variety arts organization. It might be directing a performance. It might be as a member of a group performing together temporarily without a designated leader.
I have done a lot of reading about leadership over the years. Advice that is frequently given is, "When something fails, a leader assumes responsibility by saying, 'I made a mistake.' When something succeeds, a leader shares credit by saying, 'we did it!'"
I'll use an example from a Cub Scout Pack where I am the Cubmaster. I think it is applicable to leading variety arts organizations. My Pack was named the Pack of the Year this year for the third time in five years. What made that even more remarkable was that the award committee chair stated their goal was to honor a Pack this year that had not been recently honored. Why did we receive the honor despite that goal? In filling out the paper work for the award I stressed the contributions of individual committee members and demonstrated that our Pack's accomplishments this past year were the result of everyone working together. I stated that no one individual could put on the program that we did for our families. Because I was honoring the other volunteers in the Pack instead of seeking the honor myself, we were recognized.
In addition, our local District has an award, called the Sparkplug, given to individuals for their contributions to their Pack. Several Sparkplug awards are given each year. I nominated three of my committee members for a Sparkplug, and they all received the award.
Frequently during the year I try to publicly recognize the contributions of the committee members and privately express my appreciation for their efforts.
The result is that I have a committee that works together very well. Each member feels that their contributions are recognized and appreciated, which motivates them to work even harder for the group. When I get together with the leaders of the other Packs I often hear complaints about how little their committee members contribute. I know that those leaders have never nominated anybody in their group for a Sparkplug award.
In going through some of my files I found a quote I copied. Unfortunately, I don't know the author. "When you honor yourself, others will take that away. When you honor others, they will honor you."
I know several people in the clown community who work hard to honor others. When it is announced that nominations are being accepted for any kind of recognition, their first action is to select somebody they think deserves the award and submits a nomination for them. They quietly do many things behind the scenes to be sure other people are recognized for their contributions, without seeking recognition for their many contributions. When somebody achieves something, they quickly send them congratulations. The result is that they are greatly respected by those who know them, and are in turn are nominated for honors by others. When not in an official position of authority they still have a lot of influence. Their opinion and advice is frequently sought, even by those who seek to keep all the credit for themselves.
How can you honor others? When you hear of an available award, who can you nominate for it? How can you share credit for group successes? How can you recognize people publicly? How can you honor somebody privately? Who should you congratulate for an achievement? Who can you thank for their contributions?
