Are you a "Go-To" Player?

Winning teams have players that make things happen.  This is an accurate and truthful statement be it in sports, business, government or some other arena.  Those team members who make things happen are your "Go-To" players.  Their consistent competence, responsibility, and dependability are what have elevated their performances to such a namesake.

Few things elevate a person above his or her peers the way becoming a "Go-To" player does.  "Go-To" players are admired and sought after when production is needed.  John Maxwell, described the "Go-To" players in the 360-Degree Leader by the following;

1) Go-To players produce when the pressure is on:
What They Do                                                           Kind of Player 
Never Deliver............................................................Detrimental
Sometimes Deliver....................................................Average
Always deliver when in their comfort zone..............Valuable
Always deliver regardless of the situation.................Invaluable

2) Go-To players produce when the resources are few:
In the times of economic uncertainty or downturn, we have all experienced some form of cutbacks at work, home or in your arena.  It's the leaders that have embraced the times and continued to thrive through ingenuity, adaptability, and innovation that stake their claim as a Go-To player.

3) Go-To players produce when the momentum is low:
*  Momentum breakers - poor attitudes, sabotage the leadership or organization and actually sap momentum as a result.
*  Momentum takers - Neither create nor diminish momentum; simply flow with the momentum as it comes.
*  Momentum makers - These momentum makers, make progress, overcome obstacles and help others move along.  They create the energy within the organization when members of their team is feeling tired or discouraged.

4) Go-To players produce when the load is heavy:
My wife, comes home from work on a weekly if not daily basis talking about how there are not enough hours in her day.  That she has accepted the responsibility of yet another project.  Each with demands and time lines that require her to focus intently on the intricacies of of the other.  Yet, it's her intensity and passion for the team, her willingness and capacity to lift the load when it is needed.

5) Go-To players produce when the leader is absent:
Not to throw any one organization or department under the bus, but I have witnessed and I can assume with some level of certainty, that you probably have as well - the old adage of "when the cats away, the mice will play" or in this case "lay" and do next to nothing.  Those that grab the leadership with the leader is away, distinguish themselves amongst their peers.  In an efficient and effective organization, a leadership vacuum should never be evident.  The Go-To players take the responsibility and opportunity to step up or fill in to prevent such a void.

6)  Go-To players produce when the time is limited:
No matter how tough the situation is - they deliver the goods.  That's just what you do as a Go-To player.  It's in the attitude and tenacity of these players that create the results that are desired in times of uncertainty, in times of toughness, and in the times when the organization or others are depending on the outcome.

Reflection

Your people are a direct reflection of you. 
They watch you.
They follow you.
They measure you.
They listen to you.
If you want them to be dedicated to you, you have to be dedicated to them.
       -Jeffrey Gitomer