Online Reporter
Hunt For Greatness
Milton Kamwendo
Greatness and leadership are movement powered by the window and the mirror.
Movement requires maturity. It needs the ability to know when to look outwards and when to look inwards.
Some people only look through the window. They blame the environment, the economy, the team, the market, the government, the competition, the weather, the timing and everyone else.
Others only look in the mirror in a destructive way. They carry false guilt, lose confidence and fail to see the opportunities and people around them.
Jim Collins, in his book “Good to Great”, cited the “window and mirror” concept. When things go well, great leaders look out of the window to give credit to others. When things go badly, they look in the mirror to take responsibility.
Poor leaders do the reverse. When there is success, they look in the mirror and claim personal glory. When there is failure, they look out of the window and blame others. To move by looking at the window and the mirror, practise humility, responsibility, gratitude, accountability and disciplined self-awareness. Greatness is not about self-protection, but purposeful movement.
Look through the window to give credit
When greatness comes, look through the window. See the people who helped achieve it. See the team that worked late. See the family that made sacrifices. See the colleagues who offered support.
See the mentors who provided guidance. See the customers who trusted you. See the partners who opened doors. See the team that carried hidden work. See the grace that made the journey possible.
Behind every visible achievement is a network of invisible contributors.
A mature leader does not swallow all the applause. A mature leader distributes honour.
Success is never a solo performance. Even when the leader had the original vision, others helped to carry it.
Even when the leader made the final decision, others provided information, energy, execution, correction and support.
Looking through the window keeps you thankful, not arrogant. Influence is stewardship, not a personal throne.
You become dangerous after success when you forget the window. You are snared when you start believing your own publicity and exaggerating your genius. You smell trouble when you rewrite history around yourself, when you talk as though nothing could have happened without you, when you become addicted to recognition and allergic to appreciation.
When things go well, look through the window. Call names. Honour effort. Celebrate contribution. Say thank you. Acknowledge support. Make people feel seen. Success becomes sweeter when it is shared. Look in the mirror to take responsibility.
When things go wrong, look in the mirror. This does not mean blaming yourself for everything in a foolish or unhealthy way.
Begin with responsibility before accusation. Ask: What could I have done better? What did I fail to see? What did I ignore? What decision did I delay? What conversation did I avoid? What system did I fail to build? What signal did I miss? What assumption did I make?
Immature people reach quickly for excuses. They blame the team, the times, the past or the economy.
They blame the market, culture or everyone except themselves. Blame protects the ego, but rarely moves the work forward. Responsibility restores agency. When you take responsibility, you recover the power to act.
Looking in the mirror is not a weakness. It takes strength to confront truth. You do not collapse under correction. You do not hide from feedback. You do not fear learning.
Failure carries instruction if humility is present. The mirror is not an instrument of shame. It is an instrument of growth.
Move from blame to learning
The window and mirror discipline moves you from blame to learning. Blame is backward-looking. Learning is forward-moving. Blame asks: “Who can I accuse?”
Learning asks: “What can we improve?”If every failure becomes a blame session, people hide the truth.
They cover mistakes, massage reports, avoid risk and protect themselves. The organisation becomes dishonest because people fear punishment more than they value progress. Taking responsibility changes the culture. Learning organisations move faster because they metabolise failure into wisdom.
Do not waste failure. Do not merely feel bad. Do not only look for someone to blame. Extract the lesson. Strengthen the system. Correct the behaviour. Improve the process. Clarify the expectation. Build the capability. Then move.
The mirror helps you learn. The window helps you appreciate. Together, they keep movement healthy.
Move from ego to service
The window and mirror test reveals whether you are driven by ego or service.
Ego says: “I must look good.”
Service says: “The mission must move.”
Ego asks: “Who will praise me?”
Service asks: “Who must be strengthened?”
Ego hides mistakes. Service corrects mistakes. Ego hoards credit. Service shares credit. Ego protects image. Service protects purpose.
Watch for danger when your ego becomes larger than the assignment. There are red flags when you cannot admit mistakes, celebrate others properly, receive correction and cannot grow beyond your insecurities.
The mirror reduces ego by reminding you that you are still a work in progress. The window reduces ego by reminding you that others matter.
A servant leader knows when to stand in front and when to stand behind. When danger comes, you stand in front and take responsibility. When honour comes, you stand behind and push others forward.
Move by asking better questions
Turn the window and mirror approach into daily questions.
When things go well, ask window questions: Who helped make this possible? Who needs to be thanked? What contribution must be recognised? What unseen effort must be honoured? What grace must be acknowledged? How can we celebrate the team?
When things go wrong, ask mirror questions: What was my role in this? What did I fail to clarify? What did I fail to resource? What did I fail to inspect? What did I tolerate too long? What must I change? What must I learn?
To move well, keep looking both ways. Look through the window when success comes. Look in the mirror when failure comes. Look through the window to appreciate people.
Look in the mirror to grow yourself. Look through the window to honour contribution. Look in the mirror to accept responsibility. Look through the window to stay grateful. Look in the mirror to stay humble.
In greatness, be generous with credit. In failure, be courageous with responsibility. In all seasons, keep learning. Move by looking at the window and the mirror.
See others clearly. See yourself honestly. Give thanks freely. Take responsibility quickly. Learn continuously. Lead humbly.
Committed to your greatness.
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and accomplished workshop facilitator. He can be reached at: [email protected], WhatsApp: +263772422634.
