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THE DILEMMA: SUCCESS BREEDS COMPLACENCY
Complacency is the silent opponent that sneaks in with any success. It creeps into locker rooms, boardrooms, and teams that have tasted winning. The best coaches and leaders know you can't ignore it or scream it out of people.
You've got to lead them out of it. The greatest method I know? Destroy complacency without destroying their confidence.
My son, Dr. Colt a high performance psychologist in pro sports, teaches a concept he calls, Chase the Pain.
Elite accomplishments come when you chase the pain or force yourself to do the ‘hard to do’ things in life. You've got to attack the hard things and go places other teams and people aren't willing to go if you want to be elite.
What is something you aren’t very good at as a leader but need to be? How can you force yourself to chase the pain of improving in that area?
THE PRINCIPLE: DESTROY COMPLACENCY WITHOUT DESTROYING CONFIDENCE
Chase the pain. That's the principle. When your team gets comfortable, you don't tear them down, you redirect their focus toward the hard things, the uncomfortable things, the skills and situations that don't come easy. The best leaders know that confidence comes from preparation, not just praise. You kill complacency by making your team chase the pain every day, not success.
INSIGHTS FROM COACH O: FIVE WAYS TO CHASE THE PAIN
Here are five ways to kill complacency while keeping your people confident and hungry:
CALL OUT COMFORT EARLY: Don't let "good enough" take root. Defend and raise your standards realistically. Address it head-on in the film room, on the field, or in the conference room by finding the things that still aren't good enough. Chase the pain or the hard things that don't come easy, either individually or as a team. Evaluate truth, not emotion. People respect honesty more than hype, and high clarity resets standards fast.
CHALLENGE, DON'T JUST CRITICIZE: Raise expectations without tearing your people down. Create new goals that stretch them: faster tempo, cleaner execution, tighter discipline. When they see you believe they can do more, they'll start believing it too. Stack up wins daily.
REWARD THE RIGHT THINGS: Shift the praise from stats and highlights to habits. Praise effort in practice, details in preparation, energy and team-ability. Make hunger to over-achieve the culture, not just winning.
CREATE A CONTROLLED EDGE: Build internal competition. Offense vs. defense. Ones vs. ones. Keep score in everything. Competition fuels intensity, but control it with respect and team unity, not ego.
MODEL WHAT YOU PREACH: Players and people mirror their coach or leader’s energy. If you're evolving, learning, and attacking each day with urgency, they'll follow suit. Complacency can't survive when the standard at the top stays relentless. Get 1/10th of 1% better every day.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE LEADERSHIP TOOL: THE 75/25 RULE
Find ways to set up your challenges, drills and practices for a 70-75% success rate early in the week with a 20-25% failure rate. This creates just enough challenge to push your people without breaking their confidence. When they see progress happening, they'll lean into the pain instead of running from it. In the corporate world, we may incorporate this principle quarterly.
SO WHAT NOW WHAT: MAKE "EARNED, NOT ENTITLED" YOUR CULTURE DNA
Consider these questions this week:
1. Where has comfort crept into my team or organization?
2. Am I challenging my people without criticizing them?
3. What pain (or hard things) am I avoiding as a leader that my team needs to chase?
4. Do my people see me modeling the relentless standard I'm demanding?
Bottom line: Stay hungry, stay humble, and make "earned, not entitled" your culture DNA.
Chase the pain every day.
Make it a great week and be a Legacy Builder!
Coach O
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