If at first you don’t succeed…

Remember that? That little ditty has stayed in our lexicon for a very good reason! Every day I am blessed to work with leaders and leadership teams. In my almost 15 years of working with leaders as a consultant, I have come to the conclusion that one of the greatest qualities of some of the best leaders is persistence. Persistent leaders are determined and with a mindset that — no matter what happens — they stick to their goals and their principles and they “try try again”.

For those of you reading this that know me, I am deeply passionate about leaders and their capacity to connect with others. I sell the value of ensuring your workplace culture is the right one in order to meet your vision and mission. Some would call this the soft skills of leadership and yet now, I am talking about execution – about hard core persistence. I believe they go hand in hand. You get more done, with and through others, when the relationships are there! But for the purpose of this little piece, let’s stick to persistence –the art of execution.

Let me refer you to a book written more than 40 years ago by Peter Drucker, one of the great management thinkers of the 20th century. In the book, The Effective Executive, Drucker wrote, “effective executives differ widely in their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, values and beliefs. All they have in common is they get the right things done.” Drucker said that effective executives share the following: They utilize time efficiently, focus on contribution, do first things first, and make effective, rational decisions.

In my view great leaders are persistent. They are resilient and persevere through trials and develop the ability to weather the tough storms. Calvin Coolidge, 30th US President, summarized it quite nicely:

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

Success in leadership comes from developing and perfecting persistence and determination. They stick to their vision, are not distracted by “noise” or deterred by setbacks and do whatever it takes within legal and ethical bounds to achieve their goal. They believe deeply and surround themselves with other believers. They demonstrate persistence in their actions every day and demand it of each person on the team.

I recently came across this article by Noah Brand that talks about “The Superpower You Already Have”. Have a peek and think about what your goals are and what you’ve given up on and why and what you have been thinking about quitting. Perhaps you won’t. Perhaps you will dig deep within you and press on, persist and execute.