Welcome to the third installment of my most recent blog series: Leadership Lessons I Learned from Spring Break.  And I’ll get right to the point this time. Surround yourself with others who are better than you!  And what I mean by this is to make sure you have folks in your life who possess skills you do not.  Find friends who are experts in fields where you may be a novice.  In other presentations, I have referred to these types of associates as our “Inner Circle”.  For example, I am an author.  I love to write.  Writing is a God-given talent I have that I’ve tried to hone and strengthen through the years. But a lot more goes into having a published book than just writing it.  The manuscript has to be edited.  It then has to be formatted.  Illustrations may be needed.  Graphic design work needs to be done on the outside cover.  Then marketing comes into play.  Price points need to be determined.  Signings have to be scheduled.  And guess what?  I’m terrible at all the aforementioned actions!

I need to have people in my life that can handle these tasks.  I need Mark Sasser if I want top-notch illustrations.  I rely on Vicki Lewis for flawless editing.  I go to Morgan Weatherly for cutting-edge graphic design work.  And the list goes on and on.  In order to reach levels of success we cannot touch on our own, it is imperative to surround ourselves with other who are better than us.  We all bring our own gifts and talents to the table, but when we combine them, that’s when dreams start to come true.

I learned this lesson on Spring Break in the Bahamas.  The year was nineteen-ninety-something and a bunch of us were at a night club and the establishment just so happened to have its “Sexy Dance Competition” that same night.  And to this day, I don’t know why, but one of the girls at this club came over and grabbed me to be her partner in said competition.  And again, to this day, I don’t know why, but I didn’t say no.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have zero rhythm.  To say I can’t dance is an understatement.  I even found a way to mess up my first slow dance with my bride at my own wedding. Seriously, how do you mess up a slow dance?

So, I didn’t resist a girl pulling me onto the dance floor and before I knew it, the competition was in full swing.  About thirty couples were on the dance floor being cheered on by hundreds of inebriated Spring Breakers.  My partner and I could not have been more polar opposites.  She knew how to move!  She was flexible, fun, crazy, and smiled the entire time, letting me know she was in her element.  Allow me to paint the picture of how I was dancing.  I was shuffling my feet back and forth.  My right foot would touch my left foot and then I’d reverse to have my left foot touch my right foot and just barely sway back and forth while doing so.  To make matters worse, I didn’t know what to do with my upper body, so I ended up panicking and bent my elbows up and down, while snapping.  Yes, you read that last line correctly. I was snapping to the beat.  I think that move went out of style sometime in the ‘50s.

After each song, seven or eight couples were eliminated.  And song after song, we stayed alive in the competition!  Again, proof that when you surround yourself with others better than you, you can go farther than you ever imagined.  We ended up making it to the main event.  Only three couples remained.  The final song was Rump Shaker by Wreckx-N-Effect.  My partner danced her heart out and I snapped like I’d never snapped before.  We were sweaty.  I was tired.  But we made it to the end.  When the dust settled and crowd quieted, the awards were given.  My partner and I…. took home 2nd Place!  We were one spot away from winning it all.

One could argue that she could have been a little more discerning in choosing her “Inner Circle”.  But the fact remains, and I’m living proof, when we surround ourselves with folks that are better than us, we reach new heights we’d never be able to reach on our own.

Laugh Hard. Learn More. Lead Well.