When leaders are willing to prioritize trust over performance, performance almost always follows.

Instead of focusing on one individual, leaders must remember that there is a team — and that the performance of the team trumps the performance of a single individual. Instead of continuing to invest in one subpar performer, once a concerted effort has been made to coach and train that individual to no avail, the leader must remove the individual.

Performance ultimately doesn’t matter, it’s the human that comes first.

the best leaders and the best companies prioritize people before numbers.

leaders are not responsible for the results, leaders are responsible for the people who are responsible for the results. And the best way to drive performance in an organization is to create an environment in which information can flow freely, mistakes can be highlighted and help can be offered and received.

when it comes to standards, as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate. When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable — if

leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.

As a leader, my priorities are transformation, excellence and sustainability. These priorities are interrelated because excellence without transformation is not sustainable, and where there is transformation without excellence, there is no integrity.

as odd as it may seem, it is actually more important for leaders to focus on making their organizations healthy than on making them smart.

Being a person that others can trust is one of the most sought after qualities in the workplace today. So many leaders and their staff have shown in the recent global financial crisis a lack of trust and integrity amongst themselves and with their clients and other stakeholders.

The culture precedes positive results. It doesn’t get tacked on as an afterthought on your way to the victory stand. Champions behave like champions before they’re champions; they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.

The leaders of great organizations do not see people as a commodity to be managed to help grow the money. They see the money as the commodity to be managed to help grow their people. This is why performance really matters.

A leader must keep his or her eye on the core customers and core business. I have seen many executives focus so much on new growth that they let the core business slip away.

When leaders who epitomize Extreme Ownership drive their teams to achieve a higher standard of performance, they must recognize that when it comes to standards, as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.