REPLACING COMPLACENCY
By Dr. John C. Maxwell
One of the biggest temptations leaders of successful
organizations face is to stop thinking big. After a
taste of success, even the best and brightest leaders
suddenly start to think complacently. When a company
gets on a roll, some leaders tighten up and start
playing it safe. They stop playing to win and begin
playing not to lose. Where they once thought big and
new, now they think incrementally.
This temptation is a reality with a lot of sports
teams. How many times have we seen teams lose their
momentum and then lose the game because instead of
playing to win, they began to play not to lose? They
get ahead, but then they pull back and stop playing
with the intensity that earned them the lead.
The same temptation traps company executives. With the
organization exceeding expectations and making record
profits, the leadership gets excited. The organization
appears to be cruising toward its best year ever, when
all of a sudden the focus shifts from gaining momentum
to sustaining momentum. The moment leadership changes
focus, momentum vanishes.
I like to think of momentum as the great exaggerator.
When you have it, people think you're better than you
are. You're on a roll and everybody is amazed by your
success. When you lose momentum, people think you're
worse than you are. Momentum magnifies your
performance, and positive momentum can be a potent
force to push you forward.
When things are on a roll, don't sit on the ball—run
up the score! In other words, when you've got momentum
going for you, put the pedal to the metal. Take off.
Ignite momentum. As I wrote in "Thinking for a
Change", "We are today where our thoughts brought us,
and we will be tomorrow where our thoughts take us."
When we stop thinking big as leaders and dwell upon
protecting past successes, we start to think
conservatively. The big thoughts that gave us a big
year are replaced by conservative thoughts which will
give us a mediocre year.
Let me give you four strategies that will keep your
momentum moving in the right direction.
1. When you're doing well, go shopping.
When you're doing well, instead of patting yourself
on the back, go shopping. Look around for somebody
that's bigger, better, faster, and smarter than you
are. Study their successes and benchmark your results
against theirs. I did this as a young leader, because
very quickly in my field I had successes. Instead of
being content as the number one leader in my
organization, I started going to other organizations
where I wouldn't be in the top 100. It was an exercise
in humility; but I immediately realized the way to
refocus wasn't to compare myself against everyone I
was beating, but to compare myself with somebody
better than I was.
2. Stir up inspirational dissatisfaction.
Inspirational dissatisfaction does not mean you are
never pleased or satisfied. Nor is it a license to
beat yourself up or come down hard on your people.
Instead, it's a creative awareness that you can do
better. You can do more to improve personally and to
invest exhaustively in the growth of your team. This
state of mind unlocks your comfort zone and prompts
you to keep on stretching.
3. Develop a daily dose of paranoia.
There's a difference between a daily dose and an
overdose of paranoia. An overdose makes you and
everyone around you miserable. A daily dose is an
inner rustling—a pebble in the shoe—that creates just
enough discomfort to keep you continually alert and
engaged. In fact, the best leaders act as though
someone is out to get them, like they're on the verge
of losing every customer every day.
4. Continue to set goals that stretch your team.
If you can reach your goals with a "business as
usual" approach, then your goals are too small. A goal
is only effective when it forces changes, big
decisions, and bold action.
The thinking of a leader is contagious to the team. As
a leader, you broadcast your way of thinking to your
people, and they are going to pick up on your signals
immediately. Unsuccessful leaders focus their thinking
on survival—"If I can just make it through the year."
Average leaders focus their thinking on
maintenance—"If I can just hold on to what I have."
Successful leaders focus their thinking on continual
progress.
If you're a manager who concentrates more on holding
your own than on moving forward, then it's time to
seize the offensive. Don't settle for what conditions
force upon you. As Marcus Buckingham says, "The only
thing that leaders have in common is leaders break all
the rules." Great leaders don't just buy into what
everybody else is saying, and they don't follow the
beaten path. Great leaders are constantly creating
their own conditions for success by blazing new
trails.
Ad Majorem Adonai Gloriam - "To the Greater Glory of God"