Today we are having an office holiday potluck luncheon. I spent yesterday afternoon today making a hummingbird cake. It’s going to be great! 

I know it’s going to be great because I followed my grandfather’s tried and true recipe. It has been tested and refined. I’m confident in the outcome because I have followed the recipe in the past myself and it has produced great results. That’s important because Granddad was known to occasionally leave out a secret ingredient or two! 

This evening, a friend at church named Hannah made a comment that had me considering greatness even further. She is training a debate team and had questions about how the competition would proceed and what would be next each time they won. She said, “we’re going to be great!” After a pause, she added “…any day now.”

Hannah knows that a great debate team gets there by following a recipe. Part of the recipe is knowing the subject and the arguments around it from every perspective. The team must be able to make the affirmative and the negative arguments. They must practice speaking and learn to apply logical arguments. They must visualize and anticipate what an opposing team might say and be ready. That means even more practice. It’s a process. One that is expected to produce elements of greatness…at least, any day now.

When I think about it, there are recipes everywhere for greatness. In just an hour of television we’re told in numerous commercials that we all can achieve greatness if we use a certain shampoo, this makeup, that toothpaste, wear that underwear and those clothes, not to mention the right shoes and accessories and cologne/perfume and then drive THE CAR. It seems like there is no end to the products that would be required if one were to be great. Oh, and don’t forget to have the right mattress to sleep on. Greatness cannot be achieved without a great night’s sleep.

In the literature, we can find books and articles that give us a recipe to build great organizations, teams or relationships. There is a bit of truth in all of them.

When it comes to leadership, there are some key ingredients that are almost always in the recipe for leadership greatness. It’s in the mixing and application and environment and context and how we apply them and how much and with whom that makes the difference.

I keep trying, because I hope that I’ll get it right (at least more often than not) and will begin to approach greatness on my journey…any day now. How about you?

What’s your recipe for greatness?