It’s not easy to lead a winning team. I’m not sure it has ever been, and it sure hasn’t gotten any easier lately, has it?

How do we build a winning team culture? We all know that it starts at the top. It also stops at the top, doesn’t it? There’s the saying “A fish rots from the head down.”

To create and sustain a winning culture takes focus, expectations, accountabilities, and celebrations. It’s balancing the demands of sales, operations, production, and accounting functions. Most importantly, it’s providing the right environment for the people within those areas to succeed.

With all the pressures of running a company, some days I get tired and overwhelmed and it seems as though good enough should be good enough! Looking for personal inspiration to bust out of that mindset, I recently took the time to re-read the book Good to Great by Jim Collins.

The key messages are timeless for building great organizations:

1. Great companies have Level 5 Leaders. Humility + Will = Level 5 leaders. Humility and Will are important whether we are in a formal leadership position or not.  One quote from the book: “You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit.” ~Harry S. Truman.
2. Surround yourself with the right people. Hire and retain the people who will inspire, challenge, and build us.
3. Confront the brutal facts. What are we good at, not good at, what motivates us and makes us feel good? Don’t ignore your measurement indicators.
4. Focus on strengths. What can we be the best at? Building our assets is much easier than trying to make ourselves into something that is not natural for us. This is true for the entire company as well as the individuals within the company.
5. Develop the habit of discipline. Discipline includes building the right habits, taking time to evaluate before taking action and doing things we might not want to do. This means expectations are followed by accountability.
6. Incorporate new technology and systems only when it makes sense, not just because others are doing it. Before jumping into the latest technology, evaluate how the newest, latest gadget or software will really impact our productivity, people, and results.

Such valuable tips for leading a winning team, aren’t they? If you’ve read the book before, read it again with new eyes.  If you’ve never read the book, now is a good time to read or listen to the message.

[Tweet “”Good is the enemy of great.” ~Jim Collins”]

While we are constantly pitched at with products and technology to help us measure, drive behaviors, market our company, run our systems more efficiently, and on and on, the most effective tool in ensuring your team is winning is your leaders.

In today’s business environment, being good isn’t good enough. What can you do to ensure your culture allows your people to be as great as they can be so you win consistently?

You’ve built your company and culture with your own passion and strengths. What will it take to move it up a notch or two? Contact Nancy Bleeke to start a conversation on the potential little things that will move your culture from good to great.

How do you strengthen this "Will" among your sales associates? How does the lack of drive impact your daily life? I discussed this and so much more on a recent virtual training event you can access below. It's valuable information for any business leader who needs to maximize performance of their people to grow their company.

Click here to access the replay.