The #1 Enemy Of Sustainable Leadership Success

The #1 Enemy Of Sustainable Leadership Success

 

Do you read your press clippings?  Do you enjoy it a little too much when people are complimenting you?  Do you talk more about your successful past than your bright future?
This is not uncommon for leaders who have experienced success.  However, staying hungry and being a continual learner are disciplines every leader must develop in order to experience sustainable success.  Otherwise, you fall into a rut and your success will be short-lived.
Successful leaders, those who experience sustained success, know The #1 Enemy Of Sustainable Success is Complacency.
I was reminded of this truth when I read a recent article by Len Pasquarelli on the Seattle Seahawks’s blue print for constructing their team.  Most experts stress the importance of the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, specifically the first round.  Notice the make-up of the Seahawks.

• 21 of their 53 players entered the league as undrafted free agents.
• 16 players were drafted afted the 3rd round.  For example, only one (Earl Thomas) of the eight defensive backs who suited for the NFL Championship game were drafted before the 4th round.
• An astonishing 69.8% of their players were not drafted by the Seahawks in the first three rounds.
• General Manager John Schneider has made over 900 personal moves since arriving in 2010.

This large number of personnel moves is a clear indication Schneider is not afraid to fail and is continually tinkering to make the team better.  An unnamed NFC personnel man says, “But the thing you have to admire most about them is that they just keep trying. They’re not afraid to put their hands over the stove again, even if they got burned a little the last time. Give them credit for their conviction. They don’t worry a lot about what other people think.”
This mentality is reflected in the players they have assembled.  When putting together a team of a team of leaders, here is what we learn from the island of misfit toys known as the Seahawks roster:

1. Their players are hungry.
2. Their players are desperate.
3. Their players have a chip on their shoulder the size of the Space Needle.
4. Their players thrive in competition.
5. Their players desperately want to prove themselves no longer how long they have been in the league.
6. Their players battle for every inch.
7. Their players take nothing for granted.
8. Their players earn their keep every, single day.
9. Their players are continually improving.
10. Their players are never complacent.

Could these same 1o things be said of your leadership team?
And one other thing – Their players are in the Super Bowl.
There is a healthy tension leaders wrestle with between appropriately celebrating success and not becoming complacent.  The Seattle Seahawks have found the happy middle.  This is why they will win the Super Bowl this Sunday.