What it means:

Excellence isn’t perfection. It’s progress. It’s choosing to do the small things with intention, again and again, up to a certain standard.

A standard, by definition, is what good looks like.  But good leaders define what good looks like, great leaders define what great looks like. Now isn’t the time to wait for someone else to define winning or what excellence looks like. You must define it for yourself and your team. Then continually raise the bar. 

What it means:

The moment you say, “That’s good enough,” it becomes your new normal. And normal, over time, tends to become average.

On a recent episode of Quarterback on Netflix, Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow showed what this is to a tee. During a game late in the season versus the Tennessee Titans, the team won the game, but jumped offside eight times during the game.  However, instead of being happy about winning, he was upset by the level of excellence the team executed against.  He told his head coach, “I don’t care that we won; that wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t up to our standard.” 

What it means:

To lead at a high level, you must choose to bring as many team members as possible into the zone of excellence. To do that requires being committed to excellence instead of being interested in it.  Author David Brooks says commitment is “Putting structure around something for when you no longer feel like doing it.” If you or your team is going to be excellent, it requires commitment. 

This means holding the standard, even when it’s tiring. It means modeling the behavior, not just preaching it. It means doing what’s right, not what’s easy.

Use your gifts,

John Eades

CEO | LearnLoft | The Sales Infrastructure

P.S. Sorry the newsletter is hitting your inbox a little late today. It was a 2 AM arrival in Charlotte due to weather delays.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to deliver the third Skill Mastery workshop in Houston, Texas, for a world-class senior living community. Their HR Director had a phenomenal idea, “Let’s provide quarterly workshops with lunch provided to our 60 leaders to fuel their professional and personal development.” It’s been a homerun. I have included a picture below of their team participating in a competition to teach leading teams.

If this sounds like something that might be a good idea in your organization, schedule a call here to see if it’s a good fit.  

Great Leaders Know Excellence Isn’t an Outcome But a Standard (Blog)

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The Optimistic Outlook is now available wherever you listen to podcasts. Channel your inner John Eades and make your kids listen to it, then read it aloud to work on their minds and communication skills.

5 Levels of Accountability (Video)

We enjoy speaking to groups that are passionate about leadership, coaching, and building stronger teams. Our keynotes and workshops help leaders elevate performance, strengthen culture, and turn good teams into exceptional ones. Some of our most popular keynotes and talks in the last month include:

• The Leadership Lens - Perfect for a broad audience

• Accelerate Leadership - Perfect for managers and executives

• Building a Culture of Excellence - Perfect for an organization with a poor culture.

• The Growth Formula - Perfect to inspire people to take ownership of their development.

• The Change Funnel - Perfect for any organization going through a lot of change.

• Catalyst for Growth - Perfect for emerging leaders and high-potential employees. (Video from a virtual session)

If you're planning an upcoming event or want to bring powerful insights to your team, We'd be honored to help. Reach out here, and let's discuss how we can contribute to your organization's next gathering.

Here Are Some Ways We Could Partner:

1. Customized Leadership Development Programs: Bring the Accelerate Leadership Program or Catalyst for Growth Program in-house for a customized experience for your team members. Programs include virtual or in-person instructor-led training, a Leadership Growth Plan, and group coaching to ensure real-world mastery.

2. 1:1 Coaching: Work 1-on-1 with me or one of our certified coaches to achieve your goals, strengthen critical skills, and address your most pressing challenges. This 6-month program focuses on mindset and execution for tangible, lasting outcomes. Show me more

3. Speaking: We are now booking keynotes for the fall of 2025. Hit reply on this note, or check out some of our recent talks here. 
   

That’s It For Today!