bcg blog

Survive and Regress

The difference between a player trying to just get through, or survive, a workout in the weightroom and a player embracing, or attacking, a workout in the weightroom is significant.

The difference is apparent in the approach, as well as in the outcome.

Those surviving rarely challenge themselves with heavy weight or additional reps. They push themselves to the edge of their comfort, which is typically light years below the standards of the team. Survivors persist to the point of acceptance, never beyond it. They look for excuses they can’t, rather than reasons they can.

They think they’re advancing by surviving, but they’re not. 
All you need for proof is to watch a fighter, the opposite of a survivor.

A fighter seeks out discomfort, knowing that the littering of failure is the only way to the level of performance he is aspiring to. The fighter is the standard bearer. He raises it consistently. You are more likely to have to make a fighter stop than you are to catch him skipping a rep or an exercise in search of relief. They are dismissing excuses they can’t and only accepting reasons they can.

The outcome is just as different as those two approaches.

Why Should We Care?
Surviving as a leader yields us the same results.
Allowing our team members to simply survive will do the same.

Just as excellence leaves clues, so does surviving.

Leaders that are surviving are only present. That may sound like a good thing, but only living in the present doesn’t allow us to honor the past or prepare for the future. A leader that is surviving has no concern for the future or use for the past. Cutting corners, just meeting deadlines, and doing the minimum all make sense if survival is the objective.

Team members relegated to survival often disconnect, are the last to arrive and first to leave, and rarely engage in meaningful conversations around the team. They raise silos around themselves, robbing the group of needed trust, and never fully commit to the group.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
Surviving may be necessary in moments, but it can never serve as a sustainable approach. As one of my close friends reminds his captains: “You can be bad, but you can’t be bad often.” The same can be said for surviving. 

Here are a few ideas for helping yourself, or your team, stay out of survival mode.

• Overstate Your Vision 
  
  • It can’t be said enough - not possible. Cast your vision and cast it often. There are few things more inspiring to the people you lead than clarity of vision. If they know where they are going, they can attack each challenge they face with direction and purpose. 
    

• Deal Hope
  
  • A loss in hope is the most common culprit in creating a survivor mindset. If hope is in question then slipping into a survivor mindset is likely. Leaders must be intentional, regardless of how bleak the circumstances, that hope never waivers. If the leader doesn’t have hope, then who does?
    

• Process First
  
  • Stay focused on the process in order to maintain a mindset of progress and growth that is counter to the survival mindset. We have control over the process we choose to embrace. There is no reason to feel helpless or the need to simply survive if the process is truly our focus. Remember, even slow progress is progress.
    

Survival mode really only helps us do that, survive. We can’t progress, and we certainly can’t excel. If we’re not growing, we’re dying. If we’re just surviving, we’re regressing.

For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. 
We would love to know how we could help!

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