For Those in the Background

Here’s a trivia question for you: Which team has the worst win-loss record in all of sports?

The answer is a basketball team called the Washington Generals. They’ve been losing nonstop to the Harlem Globetrotters since 1926 – a mind-bending 16,000 times. Obviously, the Washington Generals are a spoof, but they illustrate the importance of people who make an organization successful even though they never get the spotlight – which is most of us.

The Generals are supposed to lose. Their job is to stay in the background while the Globetrotters entertain the crowd, have all the fun, and – oh, yeah – win the game. The Globetrotters succeed because the Generals disappear.

For every star in the limelight, there’s an army of people behind the scenes who make it work. They’re the machinery that makes the organization move. If not for the people in the shadows, the stars would have nowhere to shine.

If you work behind the scenes at your job, hold your head high. Blending into the background isn’t easy. It takes humility – someone who believes results, not recognition, is the goal. It also takes character – someone who’s strong enough to step aside while somebody else gets the applause.

You may not be the face of your organization, but you are its backbone. Your company’s success out in the world is only possible because of what you do behind the scenes.