Build a Culture That Refuses to Settle

Every leader wants a great team. We want people who are focused, dependable, growing, solving problems, and getting results. But one thing I’ve learned through more than 40 years of leadership is that great teams don’t just happen. You have to build them.

I’ve said this many times: having a big dream and a bad team is a nightmare. You can have an incredible vision, a great opportunity, and all kinds of potential, but eventually the strength of your team is going to determine how far that vision can go. The team you build is the company you build.

That’s why I believe one of our greatest responsibilities as leaders is to create a culture where people refuse to settle. I call that a relentless culture. Relentless people have unwavering focus. They keep moving toward their goals. They push through obstacles, execute under pressure, adapt when things change, and refuse to settle for mediocrity.

But here’s where it starts. As the leader goes, so goes the team.

Become What You Want to See

The greatest motivation is example. If I want my team to grow, I have to grow. If I want them to have energy, I have to bring energy. If I want excellence, accountability, and a great attitude from the people around me, then those qualities first have to be found in me.

You cannot ask people to become something you are unwilling to become yourself.

Sometimes as leaders, it is easy to look around the room and identify what everybody else needs to change. But before I look at my team, I need to look at myself. What am I modeling? What attitudes am I allowing in my own life? Am I demonstrating the level of excellence I expect from others?

Leadership starts at the top. If you want to change the culture, start by changing the example.

Give Your Team a Picture

Years ago, I asked my friend Marilyn Hickey what one of the hardest things was about leading a church. Her answer was simple: communicating vision. She told me that you can never overcommunicate vision. You have to keep saying it because everybody needs a picture.

Think about putting together a thousand piece puzzle. What is on the top of the box? A picture. Imagine dumping all those pieces onto the table without ever seeing what the finished puzzle is supposed to look like. You might work hard, but you would have a difficult time knowing where everything belongs.

The same thing happens with our teams. People need a picture of where we are going. They need to understand what winning looks like. Your team wants to know where you are going, but they also want to know how you plan to get there.

As leaders, sometimes we get tired of repeating the vision because we have been thinking about it for months or even years. But the people around us have not been thinking about it as much as we have. Keep communicating it. Keep painting the picture. Keep reminding people why their work matters.

Create an Obsession With Improvement

Somebody once said, “The biggest room in my life is the room for improvement.” I love that because a relentless leader never reaches the place where they believe they have arrived.

I have a friend in the NBA who is very successful at what he does. I asked him about his goals, and his answer impressed me. His goal was simply to get 1 percent better every day. Think about that. Here is somebody already performing at an elite level, and his focus is still improvement.

What would happen if that became the culture of your team? Instead of waiting for some huge breakthrough, what if everybody simply asked, “How can we get a little better today?”

Maybe your communication gets 1 percent better. Maybe your customer service gets 1 percent better. Maybe your meetings get 1 percent better. Maybe you improve a process, develop a new skill, or fix one recurring problem. Small improvements repeated consistently can create tremendous change.

Relentless teams are never satisfied with staying where they are. They are grateful for progress, but they are always looking for the next opportunity to grow.

Raise the Standard

At the beginning of the year, my mental coach sent me a message that said, “New year, higher standards.” That got my attention.

Many times we want a new result without creating a new standard. We want the organization to grow, but we keep accepting the same habits. We want greater performance, but we continue tolerating things that are holding us back.

As a leader, ask yourself, “What have I accepted that needs to change?”

Higher standards are not about being hard on people. They are about helping people become better. There is greatness inside the people God has entrusted to us, and good leadership calls that greatness out.

You do not raise standards by criticizing everybody. You raise standards by modeling them, communicating them clearly, coaching people toward them, and holding yourself and others accountable.

Turn Failure Into Your Teacher

I’ve failed many times. In fact, I’ve learned more from my failures than I have from my successes.

Years ago, we had a satellite campus that was doing well, but I became frustrated because I thought it should be growing faster. I wanted it bigger. I wanted it reaching more people. Eventually, I made the decision to pull the plug. Looking back, I regretted that decision. I blew it.

But I learned from it.

Failure does not have to be the end of your story. Failure can become a teacher if you are humble enough to learn from it. That is why I like to say, “I’m not losing. I’m learning and winning.”

What happened yesterday cannot be changed, but what you learn from yesterday can change tomorrow. Do not waste a failure by refusing to examine it. Ask what happened. Ask what you could have done differently. Ask what you will change the next time.

Legendary leaders do not hide from failure. They learn from it and keep moving forward.

Build Systems for the Season You Are In

Years ago, a consultant told me something that has stayed with me: “For every new season, you need a new system.”

Sometimes we immediately assume that a struggling area has the wrong person when the real problem may be the wrong system. The system that worked when you had five employees may not work when you have fifty. What worked for one location may not work for five locations. What got you here may not be what takes you where God wants you to go next.

Relentless teams figure out what works, follow it, and then keep improving it.

Look at the areas of your organization where there is constant confusion, frustration, or inconsistency. Before blaming people, examine the system. Is the process clear? Does everyone understand it? Is it still serving the organization well?

Systems should help good people do great work consistently.

Become a Team of Problem Solvers

I heard Tony Robbins tell a story about asking Norman Vincent Peale the key to success. His answer was problems.

At first that may sound strange, but think about it. The more problems you solve, the more valuable you become.

Every business has problems. Every organization has problems. Every leader has problems. The question is not whether problems will come. The question is what kind of people we become when they do.

On our team, I want people to bring solutions with their problems. Do not just tell me what is wrong. Think about what we can do about it. That simple shift changes the entire culture of an organization.

Problem makers focus on why something cannot be done. Problem solvers start looking for what can be done.

Which one are you developing on your team?

Track What Matters

When I was a youth pastor back in 1978, my pastor asked me to track our youth attendance and put the numbers where they could be seen. At the time, I was learning something that would help me throughout my leadership life: what you don’t track, you lose.

You cannot improve something consistently if you never measure it.

What are you tracking on your team? Are you tracking progress toward your goals? Are you measuring the things that actually matter to your mission? Do your people know whether they are winning?

Tracking is not about reducing people to numbers. It is about creating clarity and accountability. When we know where we are, we can make better decisions about where we need to go.

Learn to Rebound Quickly

Relentless does not mean nothing ever goes wrong. It means you do not stay down when it does.

There will be disappointments. Somebody will tell you no. A plan will not work. A customer will leave. A team member may disappoint you. Something you worked hard for may not happen when you expected it to happen.

Deal with it, learn from it, but do not live there.

My mental coach taught me that mentally tough people learn to rebound quickly from negativity. I love that thought because leaders set the emotional temperature for the people around them. If I stay discouraged for days every time something goes wrong, eventually that attitude affects everybody around me.

Relentless leaders feel disappointment, but they refuse to allow disappointment to lead them.

Leadership Challenge

Take an honest look at the culture you are building. Is your team becoming more focused, more accountable, more adaptable, and more solution oriented? Are your standards getting higher? Are your systems getting better? Are you learning from mistakes, or repeating them?

This week, choose one area where your team needs to improve. Do not try to fix everything at once. Identify one standard that needs to be raised, one system that needs to improve, one problem that needs a solution, or one goal that needs to be tracked more consistently. Then communicate it clearly and lead by example.

Remember, the team you build is the company you build. If you want a relentless team, become a relentless leader. Keep growing. Keep learning. Keep raising the standard. Refuse to make excuses, and keep moving toward everything God has called you to do.

You may not build the team you want overnight, but you can build it one decision, one person, and one improvement at a time.