TALENT + EXECUTION

Achieve greater results in 2021 using these two proven ways top performing organizations and individuals maximize their results.

To begin unpacking these insights, here is a football question (play along even if you hate football). What is the difference between the Superbowl champion and all teams?

In 2020, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Superbowl. The Cincinnati Bengals had the worst record in the NFL. Both teams have the same plays in their playbook. They have running plays. They have passing plays where they throw the ball down the field. So what is the difference between the running and passing plays of the Chiefs versus the Bengals? Two things: talent and execution.

The “talent” are those players throwing, catching, running, blocking and tackling who possess innate abilities and techniques. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the best in the NFL. And of course Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers and a handful of others are future Hall of Famers. The winning teams simply have the best talent. More specifically, the “right” talent in the right positions from coach to waterboy.

“Execution” is how well each player performs their specific job role in association with the others on the team to produce a desired result. Famed Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi called it “flawless execution of the basics.” A talented running back cannot perform to their capacity without a lineman creating a gap through which they can zig and zag. A gifted quarterback cannot execute a successful pass without linemen blocking the opponent long enough for the receivers to get into the right place on the field to catch it.

Let’s get real. No amount of training can make an average player a great player. No amount of incentives, coaching, prodding or threats can transform mediocre to the best. So, here are two recommendations for personal and organizational success in 2021:

1) You along with everyone else are gifted and talented in some way. Stop hiring based on resume’s alone. Start using a behavioral assessment to determine if the skills, gifts and talents possessed by the individual match those required by the job for success. Every job from CEO to accounting team require specific behaviors. At Exsellerate, we have benchmarked the success behaviors required many job roles to which to compare candidates. Stop hiring and start behavior matching!

2) Make 2021 the year of Operation Upgrade. It’s time to move mediocre performers to jobs that are a better match for their talents. Then, replace them with people who match the behavioral benchmarks necessary for success in the job role.