Do you wonder what you can do to produce great results? What practices help you to win as a leader and create high performance teams and organizations? You likely have put these questions on the back burners of your mind right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted everything and grabbed the attention of most everyone. However, this could be exactly the right time for you to apply winning principles to adapt and thrive in this current emphasis of social distancing and remote working.
Mark Miller explores answers to our questions in Win Every Day. Execution, he states is the “hallmark of all high performance organizations.” This is especially true right now as normative practices are forced to change while leaders remain committed to their mission. Personally, I am still trying to adapt to changes and keep healthy boundaries between work and home life.
Blake, the fictional leader of a company in Mark’s book states what has been said by me and perhaps many of us:
“Our current level of performance is not congruent with who we are, who we want to become as people – as human beings.”
Our desire is to improve, but breaking through status quo is not easy. “Improvement is impossible if you do what you’ve always done. Progress always requires change.”
Our past performance does not have to hold us back because “your past does not determine your future.”
Mark Miller inspires with hope. The future can be better. Yet, becoming better without new ways of doing things is not likely. His book outlines several key habits of execution that can be a great encouragement to our work today:
Pursue Mastery
Do the right thing at the right time, every time. This is not the expectation, rather the strategic goal. You can’t drift to greatness – you must be intentional. Mastery is a lifelong pursuit of doing what is right. Ask yourself, “What right things am I pursuing in light of today’s changes?”
Own the Numbers
If you are serious about execution, measure! When we measure, there is personal accountability. Own what you can affect or impact. You can’t own numbers you do not know or numbers where you cannot see how your work contributes to them. If you own the numbers, you hold yourself and one another accountable. Ask yourself, “What do I own and measure with my team now that many are working remotely?”
Help Others Win
Make this part of your job description – to help others win and succeed. Encourage. Lead. Challenge. Care. Love. Plan. Train. Listen. Celebrate. All these actions require connection to others. We cannot win every day without each other. Ask yourself, “What does helping others win look like when leading from a distance?
Two final thoughts from Mark:
- Leaders must decide they want to excel at execution. A good place to start is with yourself.
- Communicate tirelessly. (This is even more true today as we all face social distancing.)
What adjustments do you need to make as a leader to win today and every day? What principles from Mark’s book inspires you?
Other posts you might enjoy:
- Leaders Made Here summary on maturitascafe
- Win the Heart blog post on maturitascafe
Mark Miller is the Vice President of High Performance Leadership for Chic-fil-A, and has worked in leadership development there for over 40 years. His experience, research and conversations with thousands of leader provide data for a solid synthesis of principles that create remarkable organizations.
Check out his other books in this series:
Chess, Not Checkers describes four moves of High Performance Organizations that are explained in full in Mark’s other books:
- Bet on Leadership – building a leadership culture is discussed in Leaders Made Here
- Act as One on attracting and keeping the best people is the topic of Talent Magnet
- Win the Heart, about CARE and engagement, is addressed in Win the Heart
- Excel at Execution is discussed in his latest book Win Every Day
Steve Morgan
stevermorgan.com 
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