It is all too natural for people to celebrate achievements and feel contentment after they do well in something. Business leaders are no different so it is hard to be surprised by the fact that many managers who have given a great display of management skill and steered their firms into calm and cozy waters of success have a hard time moving ahead. They become trapped in a situation which is best described as resting on their laurels, a state of comfort that is powered by a past glory. Both research and observation have proved that after a period of success and prosperity, companies lose their edge and are slower in such areas as innovation or even productivity, a development that has its roots largely in achievement-induced inertia encompassing the management.

What should companies do to avoid the trap of complacency? What should managers do to prevent themselves from thinking that their job has been somehow completed and their companies are no longer work in progress? Is there anything they can and should do not to let their guard too fast? These are essential questions since they directly influence key indicators of business, from productivity to profitability to scalability to sustainability.

One idea is to focus on customers in a new way. Instead of being satisfied as soon as they are satisfied, leadership-oriented management should strive to set higher and higher standard even when things are going just fine. Why is that? Two reasons are critical: the first one is that your competitors are lurking to step in and put their hand on your customer base as soon as you stop developing. In the end, they have a clear picture of what they want because they are happy with you – it is small step from there to offering them something a bit better. The other reason, leadership training gurus say, is that if you fail to innovate, you are just running in place and you might realize the world has moved ahead while your products have only gone obsolete.

Contented leaders are also more likely to cut themselves off in opulent, self-flattering rooms and circles. This does not only isolate them from potentially constructive criticism, but also separates from the core of the organization and customers. Working in the field is a simple but powerful way to step out of this vicious circle of complacency and exclusivity.

Also, great atmosphere should not be a reason for approving bad performance of the team. Unfortunately, enviously protecting popularity levels they have achieved as successful managers, leaders often do not want to risk poisoning relations by warning or laying people off. This can be a damning mistake, leading – in the worst of cases – to compromising the quality of your workforce for all the wrong reasons.

Finally, something that many leadership development gurus highlight, well-performing managers should always feel the imperative to step out of their routine ways and explore opportunities. All too often, doing well blunts the ability to penetrate fringes of business generation.

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I am a web designer, a passionate writer and a healthy lifestyle enthusiast. I write articles about diet supplements like niacin and health issues like melatonin for sleep, and about healthy food.

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