Spotlighting The Best In Others

Spotlighting the Best in Others

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17

Several years ago, the Colorado Rockies baseball team re-signed a former player and asked for his input. This player had enjoyed a sixteen-year career with six different major league teams and in the process had been a teammate of hundreds of different players.

Before jumping into that year’s free agency market, the Rockies organization was looking at potential players to sign to their roster. The insights from the former player they had just rehired could be invaluable to them in the process.

“The most indispensable player in this year’s market will be Jamey Carroll. If we don’t get anyone else, we need to get Jamey,” he said.

To say that the others in the meeting were surprised is an understatement. Jamey was a 5-foot-9-inch, 170-pound middle infielder who had batted .251 with no home runs and three stolen bases the prior season.

But the wise consultant divulged Jamey’s real talent: “He makes everyone around him better. He does the little baseball things, like hitting behind runners, bunting, and other personal sacrifices that won’t show up in box scores, but in the process everyone around him rises to a higher level. He’s the best teammate I’ve ever had.”

We can all be like that—if we choose to be. We are around people every day whom we can either serve by helping to make them better or dismiss and focus on our own needs. We can help them by being a positive example and doing things for them that may go unnoticed, or we can drag them down.

We get to choose what type of teammate we want to be.

We also get to choose whether we want to be around people, such as Jamey, who lift us up or people who might drain us. If given the choice, wouldn’t we want to be around the Jamey Carrolls of the world every day?

I would.

We all have the opportunity to have quite an influence on those around us on a daily basis, making others stand out and shine.

And a postscript to the story about Jamey Carroll. His own game improved with the Rockies, and in 2010, his current team—the Los Angeles Dodgers—awarded him the Roy Campanella Award for outstanding leadership.

Uncommon Key > Are you a good teammate, office mate, roommate? Be intentional in finding ways to bring out the best in those you are with on a regular basis.