47. Be an orphaned parent of success. Don't hog the credit

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Who owns an idea? Many of us want the world to know that the person behind a great idea was really me. Or we want them to know that I had a better idea. Try to resist this temptation.

It can be damaging to team development, and it probably isn't true anyway.

Most new ideas are usually refinements of old ideas. Many are identical to old ideas - these are called "reinventing the wheel" ideas. Realise that your idea, no matter how good, is probably either the product of contributions from many people, or is an old idea that you didn't know about.

Don't be petty about ownership of ideas. Revel in good ones, whether they are yours or not. As a manager your job is to work with and through other people to get work done. To do this you have to be a facilitator who helps a team succeed. Their success is your success. Direct attention away from yourself by teaching what you know to others who can put it to use. Give credit to them for applying what they have learned.

Success has many parents, it is said, where failure is an orphan. Be an orphaned parent of success.