Several years ago, I had a great leader, G. Lawrence “Larry” Spackman, that taught me a valuable lesson about complacency. He was very successful in everything he did and attributed his success to his strong drive and unrelenting desire to never back down when obtaining his goals.
When I was around Larry, he always stressed the importance of working hard and doing your very best. In addition to teaching correct principles, he lived what he taught. Because he was so driven, he despised complacency. He taught that complacency would keep you from reaching your dreams and goals. Larry taught me to avoid complacency at all cost. His example confirmed the validity of what he told me.
As a leader, don’t let yourself become satisfied with average performance. Never give less than your best effort because if you do, you will give way to complacency. Complacency is very destructive and has many negative side effects. There are three major side effects that come with a complacent attitude.
Complacency eliminates drive
I have seen many leaders that lose their drive towards the end of their career or just before a major transition in life. They become complacent and stop doing their very best. They also begin to have a lackluster attitude towards their work and the people around them. Those leaders lose their drive because they are already thinking about their next adventure in life.
In addition to ending your career or making a major transition in life, complacency can eliminate drive any time you start to become comfortable. Once you have been in a position for a year or two, it can be really easy to become comfortable and feel like you are in control. It is okay to be comfortable as long as the comfort doesn’t lead to complacency and a lack of drive.
Complacency removes opportunities for growth
When leaders adopt a complacent attitude, they stop stretching themselves. When opportunities for growth and advancement come along, complacent leaders think they are done growing. They feel they have learned all there is to learn. They may also feel that the phrase “growth opportunity” is code for “waste of my time.” This attitude comes from complacency which is very destructive for your progression.
Complacency limits your potential
The worst aspect of complacency is that it limits your potential as a leader and a person. Everyone is born with a huge potential. In order to obtain that potential, you must work hard to develop yourself. If you put forth the time and effort required, you will receive benefits that will enrich your life. When you adopt an attitude of complacency, it limits your potential.
There are many opposites to complacency such as drive, hard work, and motivation. If you find yourself growing complacent, identify what is causing your complacency and change how you do your work. In addition, you can add variety to what you do.
What negative effects have you seen come from complacency? How have you avoided the pitfalls of complacency? How do you fight the urge to become complacent? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
If you put your attention on those you lead, you can watch the impact of your own levels of enthusiasm in your work. The best way I’ve found to counteract personal complacency is to work toward encouraging enthusiasm in those I lead. It’s contagious, fun and productive.
Welcome Debra! Thank you for your insight. I completely agree with you that when you fully immerse yourself in the work and do all you can to help your people, you feel much more satisfaction. The key is to give it everything you have even during the hard times, so you can make it to the point where it is fun and productive. Thanks, Brandon
Complacency also reduces risk awareness, as can be seen in the case of the Costa Concordia grounding. The self-satisfaction inherent in complacency reduces the constant searching of the environment for danger and opportunity, which is antithetical to effective leadership. Leaders must also inspire and motivate a workforce, so a “complacent leader” is an oxymoron; followers may be complacent, but leaders cannot be complacent and still perform effectively as a leader.
Kevin, I completely agree with you. A true leader never grows complacent because they are always trying to find better ways to do things. They constantly work to get the most out of their people and bring out the best in their organization. Complacency has no place in this type of environment. Leaders and complacency don’t go together! Thank you for sharing! Brandon
Another factor is burnout. High energy leaders and teams can only maintain their positive attitude and energy for a period of time. Once the “newness” wears off, the hours grow long, and the fatigue sets in, the natural tendency to roll back on your heels brings about a complacent attitude.
Two steps that can be taken to offset this is time off to recharge, and an ability to “keep it fresh”, which might be as simple as breaking the project up into smaller parts that can be incrementally addressed as if they were new projects.
Rest and relaxation are under-appreciated, yet sometimes over-blown. You do not need to create a playground; you simply need to provide a periodic positive distraction or time away to recharge the creative and productive juices.
Kevin,
You make a very important point. When you are in a leadership role, you have the ability to shape your work environment and the work environment of those you lead. To go along with that, you have the ability to keep things fresh so that people enjoy working. When you keep it fresh, you will get more involved people that want to work hard and do a good job. Within that environment, you should do your best to ensure that everyone has an adequate work load, but they are not overworked since it will lead to burnout.