10 major causes of failure in leadership: #6: SELFISHNESS:
“Leaders who claim all the honor for the work of their followers are sure to be met by resentment. Really great leaders claim none of the honors. They are content to see the honors go to their followers because they know that most people will work harder for commendation and recognition than they will for money alone.” (by Napoleon Hill in “Think and Grow Rich”)
When Nicola Tesla left his position with Thomas Edison in 1885, his discoveries and insights on the nature of electricity were so cutting edge that he quickly found a position with Westinghouse Electric, related to the construction of the first mainstream electrical power plant in Niagra, NY. Please put aside, for the moment, that J.P. Morgan eventually absorbed Westinghouse and took over the power plant project. The point is that Tesla was a visionary with ideas that changed the world and provided safe electrical power to an entire planet and that he was not given appropriate recognition by his original employer, Thomas Edison.
Who knows what would have transpired if Edison empowered Tesla instead of taking credit for his discoveries and insights … humankind could be 50-years further along in technology … who knows?
A great leader does not covet the accolades due his followers. A Princely leader spreads the wealth of recognition and acknowledgement like fertilizer. Those who follow us (and whom we serve), will perform acts of great and unprecedented growth and productivity, if we just allow them to share in the sunlight.