Excellence in Execution

Finding an appropriate image was actually harder than writing this article! Following my 2024 reading journey, I committed to sharing key insights- and this one is all about getting sh*t done.

Leadership takes many forms. My last article explored the quiet strength of leadership, focusing on how we lead and engage. But this one? This is about what and why - the actual job of leadership.

Leadership isn’t just about mindset, presence, or philosophy - it’s about delivering results. Period. Strategy without execution is just theory, and fluffy intent without follow-through leads nowhere. Teams won’t progress, customers won’t get what they need, and people won’t grow.

This is about the leaders who make things happen. The best leaders don’t just inspire - they drive meaningful outcomes. From the disciplined rigor of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done to the high-performance insights of Multipliers and The 4 Disciplines of Execution, the most effective leaders don’t just set ambitious goals—they create the conditions necessary to achieve them.

The Bridge Between Vision (Fluff) and Reality (Results)

Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan’s Execution was one of my earliest reads in 2024. Being new to Medtronic and leading a large team, I read this intentionally to ensure I was operating as a leader focused on results, outcomes, and impact. This book reinforced a lesson I’ve seen play out time and again - vision and strategy are essential, but execution is what separates good leaders from great ones.

"Many people regard execution as detail work that’s beneath the dignity of a business leader. That’s wrong. To the contrary, it’s a leader’s most important job." - Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Execution

The word execution often carries connotations of being purely operational, lacking the strategic weight of vision or planning. This is so far from the truth. Execution is strategy in motion. Without it, even the boldest ideas remain just that - ideas. My mantra for my team last year was excellence in execution because, at the end of the day, it is everything. No matter how inspiring a strategy might be, it holds no value unless it’s translated into disciplined action. The best leaders understand they must engage at both the strategic and executional levels - ensuring vision is operationalized, teams are aligned, and obstacles are removed before they derail progress.

This connects directly to The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling., which I read shortly after Execution. One of its core takeaways is the importance of focusing on wildly important goals (WIGs) instead of spreading efforts too thin across multiple priorities. This was a concept I brought into my team summit last spring - prioritization over dilution. Instead of boiling the ocean and delivering a lot of mediocre work, we committed to delivering excellence on what truly matters.

" The real enemy of execution is your day job!." - Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling, The 4 Disciplines of Execution

Organizations often struggle not because they lack ambition but because they try to execute too much at once. The hardest leadership challenge is driving strategy that requires a change in human behavior - this is where discipline, focus, and clarity become critical. Success isn’t just about working hard - it’s about working with precision, ensuring that every action aligns with the highest-impact goals.

?

High Standards, High Expectations

At Amazon, one of the 14 Leadership Principles is Highest Standards—leaders don’t settle for average; they continuously raise the bar. At Caterpillar, Excellence was embedded in our values, reinforcing that quality and execution aren’t optional—they are expected. And here at Medtronic, the same holds true. Leaders are accountable for driving execution, delivering results, and continuously improving. The company thrives on bold innovation, disciplined execution, and an unwavering focus on quality—because in healthcare, excellence isn’t just a goal, it’s a responsibility.

This connects to Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset, where she writes, “No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.” It’s a reminder that talent alone doesn’t guarantee success—high standards, discipline, and persistence do.

"When leaders set high expectations and believe in their team’s ability to meet them, people rise to the challenge." Liz Wiseman, Multipliers

?Similarly, Liz Wiseman’s Multipliers challenges leaders to set a high bar, not through micromanagement, but by creating an environment where people are pushed to do the best work of their careers. As she puts it, “The best leaders make people around them smarter.” That’s what excellence is—expecting the best, providing the support to get there, and holding both yourself and your team accountable to deliver. And this isn’t just about internal performance—it matters for talent attraction too. The leaders we showcase, the expectations we set, and the standards we uphold shape how external talent perceives us. This is why I write articles like this—because excellence, when embedded in leadership, attracts, develops, and retains the best.

"You cannot have an execution culture without robust dialogue—one that brings reality to the surface through openness, candor, and informality." - Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Execution

Environment is everything. Without a culture that fosters honest dialogue, accountability, and solutions-driven thinking, execution falters. Leaders must create a safe space for open discussion, ensuring that the team feels empowered to challenge ideas, push back constructively, and drive solutions forward. This means avoiding a culture of ‘yes people’ and instead fostering an atmosphere of trust, pragmatism, and optimism. The opposite often leads to fear, or worse inertia and complacency. Teams should have the confidence to speak up and the discipline to solve problems rather than just call them out, I have a deep irritation for those that “swipe from the side” and offer no value apart from being negative.

Be Accountable for Productivity

In my last article, I touched on this, but it’s worth repeating as the point is about routine, consistency and repeatability. Being busy is not the same as being effective. It is so easy to fall into that reap. Don’t. One of the biggest pitfalls in the pursuit of excellence is mistaking a packed schedule for real productivity. Too many leaders equate long hours with high performance, but as Michael Hyatt argues in Free to Focus, true effectiveness comes from ruthless prioritization. Work smarter. ?I hold myself highly accountable for how I use my time, ensuring that every minute is directed toward the right outcomes, the ones that matter most to my business, my team, and my organization.

" "Successful people aren't the ones who do everything; they're the ones who focus on the most important things." Michael Hyatt, Free to Focus

Excellence isn’t about being the busiest person in the room. It’s about making sure that every action moves the needle toward meaningful results. This ties directly to Ryan Holiday’s Stillness is the Key, which emphasizes that productivity without focus is just movement, activity for activity’s sake. The best leaders don’t just respond to the urgent. They create time for deep work, strategic thinking, and the execution of what truly matters.

" The less energy we waste regretting the past or worrying about the future, the more energy we will have for what’s in front of us." Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key

Michael Watkins' The First 90 Days reinforces this idea through the concept of developing personal disciplines—making conscious choices to control how you spend your time and building consistent routines to enforce those choices. Too often, leaders get swept into the daily grind and let operational traffic dictate their priorities rather than the other way around. Watkins emphasizes that leaders must be intentional about where they focus their attention, ensuring that time is spent on high-value work rather than simply reacting to demands. A key theme that emerged across many of these books is the importance of accountability, not just for teams but for leaders themselves. Execution doesn’t just happen. It requires discipline, ownership, and an unrelenting commitment to results. Bill George reinforces this in Authentic Leadership, writing:

" Authentic leaders demonstrate a passion for their purpose" —Bill George, Authentic Leadership

This aligns with the structured approach of The First 90 Days, which underscores the importance of securing early wins when stepping into leadership roles. The best leaders don’t wait for results to materialize. They take deliberate action to drive them forward. Whether it’s setting the right priorities, modeling accountability, or ensuring execution at the highest level, excellence in leadership is not an accident. It’s a practice.

?

In Closing…

Leadership isn’t just about setting goals - it’s about achieving them. The ability to bridge the gap between strategy and execution, between inspiration and results, is what separates good leaders from great ones. Excellence is not an accident; it’s a habit -built through discipline, intentionality, and an unwavering commitment to outcomes.

Reflecting on this topic throughout 2024 has made me more self-aware. I see areas where I need to sharpen my focus, be smarter in my execution, and refine my leadership approach. I hold myself accountable to this growth, constantly working to be a better leader than I was yesterday. That’s why I now set a daily list of high-impact priorities - ensuring my time is spent driving meaningful results rather than just staying “busy.” I should note that my team have recently experienced a few more “GSD” meetings! ??

Those who consistently apply execution, accountability, and focus don’t just meet expectations - they raise them. Excellence isn’t just about hitting targets … it’s about driving impact the ROI, the why, the lasting effect. The leaders who master execution don’t just get things done - they elevate teams, reshape organizations, and set new standards of excellence in execution.

?