Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

With the exciting news that Danica Patrick became the first woman in history to win an IndyCar event, her comments afterwards were very appropriate to being a leader.

Patrick said about her victory, "It's a long time coming. Finally. It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn't believe it. This is fabulous."

When Patrick won, she understood that she had won as part of a team. She not only showed her excitement about her accomplishment, but included the team as a key reason for her victory.

All great leaders understand the importance of those that make things possible, even if they are the figurehead.

What's great about Patrick's acknowledgement before millions of people is her team will even dig in more for her in order to do everything they can to help her win more in the future.

It's a simple but great lesson to remember when being in positions of leadership: Publicly acknowledge your team, and they'll make you more successful and give you even more of what they have. It works.

Even more importantly, it's not only a strategy, but a reality. Nobody makes it solely on their own, regardless of how much some may want to make it look that way. To acknowledge those that have helped us to accomplishments is to do what we should do. People know if you really mean it or not.

Don't do it as a strategy, do it because it's the truth.