I have shared in previous posts about how I grew up in a really small town and a small school. But just to give you some perspective, my grandfather was my bus driver, my great aunt was my English teacher and my cousin was my Chemistry teacher! Chemistry was my favorite subject in high school which influenced why I chose pharmacy early on as a college major. My chemistry teacher, who again was my cousin, was tough but made learning fun and engaging. He also was very involved with his students. One thing we did every year is have a wing eating contest that he and several students participated in, including myself. The bragging rights associated with this contest were huge!

The “smack” talk began about a month before the contest. It seemed every class leading up to the contest, our teacher had sarcastic comments or students declared outrageous numbers of wings that were going to be eaten leading to the ultimate win. The contest itself had very strict rules governing the competition. The wing flavor was chosen by rolling a dice that could include spice levels ranging from mild all the way to atomic. At any point during the contest or an hour afterwards the participant was immediately disqualified if they were unable to “maintain” their wings. My goal was to win this contest each and every year. I always fully participated in the smack talk and even fasted 12 hours before the contest. The reality was I was no match compared to other competitors, I was only 140 pounds in size and had very low tolerance for hot and spicy food. My fellow competitors, who just so happened to be my very close friends, would put on a wing eating clinic! While I tended to fade at about 30 wings, they were going strong well into the sixties! In the end, I never won the content so therefore didn’t claim the bragging rights or the 3-foot trophy with a large, pot belly pig showcased on top, but always had a wonderful time full of fun and laughter.

Leadership Takeaways:

1. Personal and professional goals should always be relevant, measurable and align to your aspirations. Obviously, my goal to be a wing eating champion was not relevant or quite frankly realistic.
2. As a leader, it’s critical to align your goals to the organizational aspiration in a way that all team members can see how their execution will contribute.
3. Communicate frequently and be willing to be agile in adapting goals. The business changes quickly and your ability to pivot to the market or company demands are extremely important.