6 Factors For Excellence: 2, Passionate, Focused Leadership

#2, Passionate, Focused Leadership.  In the previous article titled, "Transforming Ordinary Into Extraordinary", I listed the 6 factors that drive excellence and help you achieve extraordinary results.  This article is part 2 of a 6 part series that will be published over the upcoming weeks, which will provide a more in depth discussion of each of the factors.    

Passion for excellence drives extraordinary results.  Have you ever looked at an extraordinary achievement, and thought “Wow! How did they do that?”, and hopefully, “How can I do something extraordinary?”. 

When you watch Michael Jordan leap through the air to score the go ahead points in a basketball game, you can see his passion!  When Tom Brady, renowned quarterback for the New England Patriots, needs to lead his team to victory at the peak of a football game, you can see his passion for excellence all over him… his intense body-language, leadership of the team, and in the way he instills that passion in all of his teammates.  They are determined to score, determined to win, determined to be the best!  

When you watched Steve Jobs deliver a speech or talk about a new innovative Apple product, you can FEEL his passion.  His meticulous attention to detail, emphatic demands for excellence, and push to be “extraordinary” is well-known.  He has passion for what he is doing and what his company is doing.  His passion and quest for excellence makes him extraordinary, and his accomplishments extraordinary.  

When you watch, Joel Osteen, the pastor of the largest church in the United States, you can feel his passion.  So, why does Joel Osteen fill stadiums with followers every week, and have the largest congregation in the U.S.?   He is not your “ordinary” preacher that talks about the same ordinary things, in the same ordinary way that other preachers have done for many years.  His message is positive and inspiring, his approach is innovative and modern, and his audience can feel his passion for doing great things, and they are being inspired by his passion for excellence.  

" Without passion, you don't have energy; without energy, you have nothing.  Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion"...  quote from prominent, billionaire businessman, Donald Trump. 

Focused Leadership:  While having passion is very instrumental, that passion needs to be focused.  If the passion is wondering or unfocused, it can be disruptive and unproductive.   Therefore the passion needs to be focused and directed towards the goal/target.  You must know how to properly channel that passion in a way that supports and energizes the drive to the goal/target.  

Find your passion for excellence!  While you may not be the next basketball or football superstar, or you may not invent the next amazing technology, each of us have talents and something that makes you feel passionate… you just need to find what that quest is for you.  If you don’t have it in what you are doing currently, keep looking.   Pursue how you could ignite the passion for excellence in what you are doing,, and if it is not possible in your current endeavor, then it’s probably time for a change.   My company, Xtrii, conducts seminars, presentations, and one-on-one sessions to help people, teams, and companies find and ignite their passion for excellence.  If you or your organization is searching for the catalyst to help you achieve your best, invest in proven expertise to help you find your passion for excellence.

Passion for excellence is contagious, but the lack of it is also.  When a Leader sets a lofty goal for the team, the team is impacted by more than just the words that are spoken, they also watch the body-language, the tone and conviction in the leader’s voice, and their level of passion for excellence.   Great leaders inspire the team, and their passion for excellence is contagious.  Make sure your passion and actions, match your words and goals.

Pursuit of Extraordinary:  At Xtrii, we founded the company with a single mission in mind, helping our customers achieve extraordinary results… or as we call it, "Xtrordinary results". Please join us in this pursuit.  Let’s challenge “ordinary”, instill passion for excellence, and start transforming the ordinary into extraordinary.

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