Winning Is Intimidating.

Winning is intimidating.

DYK you’re intimidating?

Your presence, your manner, the way in which you carry yourself is off putting to a lot of people. Some even become physically ill just thinking about meeting with you. They do so because you’re a Type A predator, whose muscle memory is that of the hunt.

Which is sorta funny when you think about it. After all, why would someone be intimidated by you? When your sole focus is winning. The odd thing is that after you reflect on it. Maybe its not that you’re intimidating. Rather winning, the idea of ultimate success, of being entirely dedicated, accountable and responsible to the perfection of one’s passion is so alien, that some people are simply intimidated by the thought of?being?a winner.

You do not think you are intimidating because you came here to win. I do not feel you are intimidating because I too wake up with the focused drive to win. However, I think that not everyone wakes up focused on winning and as such, you, me, we, come off as intimidating. Maybe even assholes.

As a fat kid and an anthropologist I’m a little more aware that not everyone wants to win. There are a lot of people here to just collect participation awards, every two weeks in the form of a check. Where as you and I both would rather just do burpees than engage in an activity for the sake of wasting energy. We also hangout with a lot of winners. At the Executive level everyone wants to win. There is no one there who simply wishes to show up, stand around and not produce at their maximum human and talent potential. They all want to put in 110% and then unlock that extra 1%, to hit 111%, to gain that tiny competitive edge, that helps them win even more and every time. And that’s the thing when winners hang out and associate with winners. Winners aren’t intimidated by other winners. I’d go so far as to say that winners look for other winners to help them improve their game. As if we’re not surrounded by winners, winning mindset and winning teammates…we’re probably losing. And that is simply not an outcome we can tolerate.

You don’t walk into a room worried about all the little things that someone who doesn’t even want to play the game, is uncomfortable in the roll or anxious to even be in the meeting, allows themselves to be distracted by instead of focusing on winning. You walk in to win. Your body language says, “I’m here to win. I don’t care if its just practice. I’m winning that too.”

And therein lays the challenge. How do we help teammates who aren’t comfortable with the idea of winning, with being winners all the time, to become comfortable with being winners, acting like winners, being surrounded by winners and more importantly thinking like winners?

So! I’m thinking on it. As in the words of Tim Grover, “My goal is to train people to go from good to great, to unstoppable. Not unstoppable to good.” So and so is good. You’re great. And together we can embrace what it takes to up all our games to the next level. Cause neither of us woke up today for a participation award.

PS - Why you care about winning and understanding winning attitudes, is because people who don't want to win tend to sabotage the game (e.g. your career) just to remain secure in their insecurity.

Author's Note

If you've ever worked with me, specifically in crisis management or business resiliency role at a Fortune 100 company, my sole occupation tends to be that of an emotional translator. As I've never meet an operational or revenue problem that didn't have an emotional root cause. You'd be amazed at how many c-suite level decisions are made out of fear or due to tiny handed egos, incapable of palming a golf ball. At any rate, as we're in the trenches together, you will from time to time get a note like the above in the form of an email. This email was sent to a teammate who didn't know how intimidating they were...to folks not comfortable with winning. So I share it with you. As odds are, you too want to win. Yet, find yourself in a leadership position where you are surrounded by people who are afraid of winning because its an emotion they've never felt.

About The Author

Samson Williams?is an anthropologist, serial entrepreneur, accidental investor and mediocre philosopher of the obvious. When not starting business with his enemies (“Entrepreneurship is so hard I only recommend it to my enemies.”), Samson is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University in NYC and University of New Hampshire School of Law where he teaches on FinTech, Blockchain and The Space Economy. Samson is also President of the Crowdfunding Professional Association and investor in investment crowdfunding platform?GoingPublic.com. For more information on Samson visit?www.SamsonWilliams.com?and follow him on social @HustleFundBaby.