Too often we cast ourselves as the hero in our own stories. We may want to be in the limelight and steal glory for a variety of reasons. For example, we might not be secure in our position, or we may think that being a hero creates job security. People see through this and ultimately it can have the opposite effect. It can even set us up for a tragic end when others try to tear down the self-professed messiah; we know what happens to messiahs.
It makes you more powerful when you make others the hero. You might be surprised to learn that when you hold people up to be a hero, even if they have not been the ultimate hero, it causes them to live up to that standard. Don’t worry; when you do good work, people will know.
There’s an old saying that applies here, “Praise the window, blame the mirror.” Praise what’s outside of us and if something doesn’t go right, look in the mirror first. This, versus trying to be a hero by praising ourselves and blaming others when things go wrong.