Enlarging others is an important key to success.  As a young employee and ultimately business owner I was striving for success and somehow it was always painful.  It turned out that I had the wrong attitude.  Instead of enlarging others I was always trying to beat them in an effort to win.

I had played team and individual sports in high school and college and understood the value of team.  When I started working after college, initially for large companies and eventually on my own, all that sports training had no impact.

Step 1:  Enlarging Yourself

I just kept getting it wrong.  In sports I always valued my teammates.  Somehow at work I looked at my co-workers as competitors.  They were competition for me to overcome in order to rise in the company.

With this totally self-centered attitude I was miserable.  Finally I realized that as long as I was trying to beat others or hold them down, that a part of me was down there with them.

At the time, I was working for a large metropolitan newspaper, The Denver Post.  I realized that if I was to rise in the company that I had to believe in my teammates, not try to keep them down.  This turned out to be a critical step in enlarging myself.

Some people enlarge themselves through more online training, corporate training, business training or business courses.  These are all good but there is one thing that is critical to being an enlarger.  Learning without application is nothing.  And the first person that the learning has to be applied to is you.

So the first step to enlarging others is that I had to enlarge myself.

Enlarging Adds Value To The Team

As I enlarged myself and became more focused on the team and what we supposed to accomplish some great things started to happen.

I was able to have truly meaningful connections with my team members.  Instead of viewing them as adversaries or impediments to progress I saw them as human beings trying to do their best.  I offered encouragement.  I started to receive encouragement in return.

Along with the encouragement I began to know what they liked, disliked and was able to connect with them even better.  As I became an enlarger an amazing thing happened.  I got promoted.  Six months before I thought I was at a dead end.

Enlarging Makes You More Valuable

As I went through this transformation from a team member that detracted from the team to an enlarger I started a process where I became more valuable.  I wasn’t doing this just for me personally, but also because it helped others.

Not only was I connecting better which allowed me to communicate and integrate at an improved level, I was making myself better which was making me more valuable.

In my personal business coaching practice I look for opportunities to enlarge not only my clients but how my clients can become enlargers in their companies.  I firmly believe that a great deal of small business success in based on the business owner’s ability to be an enlarger.

As a self-employed business owner, entrepreneur, solo professional, corporate executive or individual how are others seeing you?  Do they see you as an enlarger?  Do you make them better than they are alone through your inspiration and contribution?  Do you know what your teammates value?

There are many more pluses to being an enlarger.  I learned an important lesson that has stayed with me to this day.  Be an enlarger of others.  When you are enlarging others the odds are in your favor that they will promote and enlarge you.