In Pursuit of Excellence

Last Thursday was the kickoff of the professional football season, so I had football on my mind when I sat down to write this blog. There have been so many great leaders in the football arena, and one of the greatest was Vince Lombardi. He has many great quotes but this one stands out to me, “Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. However, we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good.”

This idea was made clear to me when I was talking to my granddaughter on the phone last night. She has taken up a new sport this year as a high school sophomore and is thriving on the field. She told me how her coach singled her out after practice and told her if she would just work on one aspect of her game, she would be unstoppable and the real deal. She then added, “Grandma, all that work I did this summer in the gym and on the track is really paying off.” She is relentlessly chasing perfection and catching excellence along the way. I wished I had her motivation for being excellent!

Finding Motivation

How do we motivate ourselves and our team to keep on chasing our goals?  

First, we have to know and understand what goal we are all working to pursue. We cannot randomly work on our own priorities and be a team. This is where good communication, a strategic plan and a good team leader all come in play. It is the team leader’s job to make sure everyone on the team clearly knows what is expected and to share the vision of what excellence and winning look like.

Second, align your team so that they have partners to hold them accountable. Motivation for me comes when I am working closely with someone, and I don’t want to disappoint or let them down by not pulling my weight on the team. Caring about others’ opinions of me helps me keep focused on doing my best.

Third, remember the value of praise. Show your appreciation for a job well done. I loved how my granddaughter’s coach approached it. She waited for her after the game and talked to her privately. She told her how impressed she was with the job she was doing as a rookie and she told her one skill she could work on that could make her “unstoppable.” What do you think the odds are that she is relentlessly practicing that skill? I would say they are 100%. This has helped her focus her efforts so that she now knows where she needs to work the hardest.

Bringing the Best

There are so many great quotes from Vince Lombardi, so I have to end with another one. "There's only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything." That’s how I see it this week from where I sit.