Will the Star Quality Transfer?

We're Albert Pujols fans at our house.  Not only is he a great ballplayer, but he seems to be a pretty decent guy.  So, we hope him the best as he moves to the Angels. However, star quality doesn't always transfer well.

I once heard Bill Hybels cite new research that found that that top performers, high capacity leaders, the "stars" aren't always "stars" in other environments.  He was challenging a pattern he was seeing among larger churches of trying to recruit the best leaders from other churches believing that the great things he or she achieved in the other environment could be achieved by that same person in the new environment.  Bill Hybels said that the research shows that many people rise to the top of an organization simply because of that very environment and the people they are surrounded by.  He said that there's no guarantee that just because someone is a star in one environment, that they will be one in the next.

I think this is important because its easy to think that we can be something more "if only I was there" or "if only I was surrounded by those people".... "just think what I could become!"  Well, maybe exactly where you are is exactly the best place to be.

So time will tell and certainly we will be cheering Pujols on.  Just maybe he will not fit the research predictors.