Owners never paid my salary. I always recognized that it was the people in the seats who did. I always wanted to give my best.
Interpretation
True value in a team comes from appreciating the contributions of all members rather than focusing solely on authority.
Ted Lindsay emphasizes the importance of recognizing that the support and dedication of teammates, rather than just ownership or management, are what ultimately drive success. His commitment to giving his best stems from an understanding that performance is a collaborative effort that relies heavily on the contributions of those directly involved in the process.
In practice
In a motivational speech about teamwork, I would quote Ted Lindsay to highlight the importance of recognizing each member's effort.
Achieving vulnerability-based trust (where team members have overcome their need for invulnerability) is difficult because in the course of career advancement and education, most successful people learn to be competitive with their peers, and protective of their reputations. It is a challenge for them to turn those instincts off for the good of the team, but that is exactly what is required.
People are often led to causes and often become committed to great ideas through persons who personify those ideas. They have to find the embodiment of the idea in flesh and blood in order to commit themselves to it.
MAKE STATEMENTS also applies to us women: Speak in statements instead of apologetic questions. No one wants to go to a doctor who says, βIβm going to be your surgeon? Iβm here to talk to you about your procedure? I was first in my class at Johns Hopkins, so?β Make statements, with your actions and your voice.
With regard to narrow passes, if you can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the enemy.
The President hears a hundred voices telling him that he is the greatest man in the world. He must listen carefully indeed to hear the one voice that tells him his is not.
We make every effort to see that our actions live up to our words and be vigilant with regards to our behavior.
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