You’re a Success! Now, How Do Leaders Avoid Being Complacent?

If you’ve worked hard, paid your dues and met success, congratulations on having the discipline, tenacity and perseverance to overcome obstacles and forge ahead. But what happens when you’ve reached a certain level, and you find yourself starting to get relaxed and dare I say, complacent?

The journey is far from over, yet it’s easy to become comfortable when the immediate urgency is no longer there. What can you do? Here’s how successful leaders can avoid being complacent in their positions.

Surround Yourself with People Who Will Keep You Challenged

Life is filled with opportunities to grow and learn and yet few of us truly embrace those challenges. In fact, it’s tough to be tough on yourself and–when you’ve reached the goal–who wants to keep going?

One easy way to make certain you stay on your toes is to surround yourself with people who will keep you challenged. That means friends, colleagues, contacts etc. who will actively confront you by telling you the truth. Better yet, ask them yourself what you could do better.  You might be surprised by what you learn.

Look for a Role Model

Role models have played a critical part in my life, both personally and professionally. Over the years and throughout my career, all kinds of different people have had an impact, opening my eyes to how I could improve some aspect of leadership or a behavior in my life in some way or another.

I’m grateful for the added insight that still comes my way and recommend role models as a way to stay in tune with new and better ways to do things. After all, success comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes. It’s always a good idea to try to reproduce things that work well.

Move Beyond Goals to Stretch Goals

Setting goals, standards and objectives is always a smart strategy, but often when they are met, it’s difficult to know where to move from there. Creating new, stretch goals is an effective way to keep yourself motivated and moving forward.

Stretch goals are not unrealistic goals, but objectives that force you to move beyond your comfort zone. Pushing you to that extra 10% can make all the difference in the world and is a great way to keep from becoming satisfied or complacent.

Be Honest With Yourself and Consider a Coach

Finally, if you feel yourself starting to ease off too much, take a self-assessment and be brutally honest with yourself. This is the perfect opportunity for a coach or mentor to act as your accountability partner.

If there is room for improvement, consider a professional advisor to help push the boundaries. Even professional athletes have teammates and coaches that push them to exceed their own expectations. 

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