Winners' Bloat

In the quest for sustained high performance, it's natural to accumulate a list of successful strategies. However, there's a subtle enemy from success that the best know how to recognise:? Winners' Bloat. It's the complexity that grows from success. It is cluttering our path with too many options, too many "tried and true" methods, the ‘way we do things here’: the accepted, untested aspects of historical success that may no longer serve us.?

Game-capable practices replay the past, and Championship-capable practices create a new future.

Imagine a trophy room so packed with past glories that there's no space to move, let alone add new achievements. That's what happens when we let Winners' Bloat take over. An army of good intent!? Critical thinking is parked in favour of fast acceptance of past practice.? The best in the game review their first thought (past practice) and test that it is still fit for purpose (future event). It is a habit they have learned.

I have worked with many organisations that reached out wondering why the once-celebrated system finds themselves stumbling, not because they've lost their edge, but because they're lost in the ideas from their previous wins.

The Championship-capable know the strategic game of ‘Jenga’, strategically removing redundant practices to strengthen the structure's core.

Look at the systems and practices you have inherited with a critical, (yet appreciative eye).? This is what ‘walking on the shoulders of giants’ is in the world of high performance.? We know what our predecessors have done and what strategies they have used and we know why (and can describe why) those practices are still around and why some have been parked.? Jenga.

Performance leaders can describe the ‘old ways’ and why some merit a place in their current playbook.

Here are a few prompts:

1. Identify the Core: distil past successes into their principles that still hold true (best principles beat best practice!).
2. Facing forward: every principle matters, but it must speak to today's challenges, not yesterday's victories.
3. Strategic Jenga: strategically reduce down to the most effective strategies for the next event (not unquestioned- legacy from past events).
4. Lead by Example: show what this looks like in your own habits…(we cannot give away what we do not have ourselves).

Winners' Bloat is a hamstring challenge from past success!? Do you recognise practices and language that may no longer be fit for purpose?

Make 2024 lighter and better.

A Book I Am Reading

"Primal Leadership," authored by the guru of Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman, highlights key principles of self-awareness, self-regulation and empathy as aspects he replays in all his writing and methods.?

His concept of "resonant leadership" stood out, a style that positively resonates with others and can be a potent contributor to influencing, empowering and transforming high performance in organisations.

What I’m offering in 2024

At the heart of Leadership is perspective.? At the heart of coaching is reflection.? At the heart of performance is communication.?

When the three are brought together, we have an ecosystem of sustained high performance.? Many have lost sight of their ‘main things’ through clutter, busy-ness, and many successful ideas of what succeeded in the past but are no longer fit for purpose.? I help leaders lead, and systems accelerate.?

1. Performance Leadership:? a three or six-month one-on-one mentoring programme to unlock and unblock you, your team and the system you are in.
2. Breakthrough: a ‘sticks on fire’ cohort masterclass of leaders and experts who are challenged to create and influence sustained performance in their world.? Together we inspire and explore our context, and challenges and accelerate change and influence to enlarge the people we care about most.
3. Performance System Acceleration: is a system audit and insights discovery for the performance system you are currently in.? This is a deep detailed discovery of all aspects of your performance system to identify the blind spots, and resistance that is hiding performance opportunities in your world. I help you subtract, unlock and unblock.
4. Repeat Medalism: A set of workshops and masterclasses to support and address the challenge you are facing or the inspiration you need to create.

?The most popular sessions are:

• The Simplify System;
• From Expert to Mastering the real game;
• Blindspots blocking sustained high performance;
• Anti-fragility in action;
• And I always love to create a bespoke session to address your main thing!

Stuff that is free to you now

Looking for stuff you can explore right now? If you haven’t downloaded or explored these already try these:

1. 5000 hours summary paper: principles and habits of sustained high performance
2. Inside the Box thinking: Evidence that matters
3. Breakthrough: keys to unlocking sustained high performance

You can download the bundle from my website here.

Get in touch for a chat.?Let’s explore what we can do together.

Go well,

Richard