An aspect of great leadership is intolerance. I buy into that idea. Why?

Because I believe that winning matters. If an employer hires me to improve their bottom line, they count on me and my team to deliver. If my team loses, people could lose their jobs, the business could go under, our customers don’t receive value. Winning matters.

If I am going to win, I need my team to play the show better than our competition. My team needs to execute near flawlessly. For them to know how to execute, I reinforce what works and I am crystal clear about what won’t be tolerated.

Being intolerant sounds counterintuitive; especially if you live in a society that asks for more tolerance. However, human nature is counterintuitive, paradoxical, and absurd.

If people are counting on you to win, embrace the paradox and develop a “what we don’t tolerate” list.