 Execution Leadership Principle:
Practice Winning Behaviors
by Leland A. Russell
What is “winning?” Is it being awarded a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games or a Nobel Prize? Becoming a millionaire? Having a great family life? Making the honor role? Learning to walk again after a serious accident? Leading a happy, fulfilling life?
"Winning" could encompass all of the above because, fundamentally, “winning” is about setting out to achieve a goal and succeeding.
What do you suppose prevents the vast majority of worth goals from being achieved? The most common obstacle is behavioral inertia. Individuals and whole organizations tend to continue their status quo behaviors ─ cultural norms ─ even when they are obviously counter-productive.
Most scholars and thought leaders now recognize that alignment of cultural norms with strategy is a key indicator of enduring improvement in performance. This conclusion is based on a wide array of research findings. For example:
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74 of 75 highly regarded industry financial analysts reported that culture is a critical success factor in long-term financial performance.
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Studies in over 100 organizations engaged in TQM and downsizing found that performance improvement depended upon concurrent culture change.
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Neglect of the cultural aspect is the most often cited reason for failure of strategies, e.g., without real adjustments in the way people think, feel and behave, there is a very low probability of success (widely cited failure rate is 80-90%).
- In addition to the organizational-level effects, the impact of culture on individuals (e.g., employee morale, commitment, productivity, physical health and emotional well-being) is also well documented.
The Execution Leadership Principle, Practice Winning Behaviors, is about the how-to of aligning cultural norms with strategy. It provides guidelines for defining and practicing the leadership behaviors that will help you achieve success.
Avoid Self-Deceit.
Milton Erickson is recognized as one of the most effective personal therapists of the twentieth century. The central premise of his work was that people must learn to recognize, to accept and to utilize reality (what actually is) in order to meet their needs and accomplish their goals. Rather than lamenting, distorting, or denying the unpleasant facts of life or fantasizing about an easier, more ideal reality (all examples of self-deceit), Erickson proposed that people must experience and acknowledge the truth of their situation.
The legendary business leader Jack Welch puts the self-deceit issue more bluntly: “Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it would be.”
Take an objective look at your current behavioral norms. What patterns of behavior might make it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve your goals? Make an honest effort to determine the truth of your present situation. As a leader, this begins with creating an open and safe environment where the truth can come out.
Know What It Takes To Win.
There is usually only a very small difference between the elite performers in every field and those who merely do well. Regardless of their field of endeavor, however, the elite performers have two things in common. The first is the capacity to maintain self-confidence, which is built on four factors.
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Because of their past experiences and achievements, winners know how it feels to compete and to succeed; When they haven’t “been there before”, they are able to tap into the experience of others; knowing that someone else has succeeded in a similar situation helps them to feel confident.
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Winners recognize that it’s impossible to do anything about uncontrollable factors – the economy, the competitors, the customers. Winners focus on controlling the controllable, which is their own performance.
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Winners have developed well practiced and trusted preparation routines and execution processes and they can effortlessly implement those routines and processes time and time again.
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Winners know what triggers their ideal performance state, i.e., how to get ‘psyched-up’ to perform at their best. They also know how to win the battle of the inner voices by using positive self-talk to reinforce their self-confidence as they execute their routines and processes.
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Winners have the desire and commitment to develop the behaviors and sustain the behaviors they need to win.
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