This face of complacency can show up in two forms: "we've done all we can do" or "we'll never be as good as [insert the name of company or competitor here]". Either way, this feeling keeps people from engaging in process improvement activities because, in their mind, there's no point since the effort won`t produce the desired results.

* Comfortable. You know what it feels like to be comfortable - whether on a beach chair or in your job. When you are comfortable, you don't really want anything to change. Life is good. Profits are fine. Results continue to be comfortable.

When you feel this way, your comfort zone becomes your only beacon. After all, why would you want to improve/change things, when you are so comfortable?

* Tired. Maybe the climb to the current level of performance has been long and arduous. Maybe the process improvement has cost jobs or created other changes that weren`t seen as completely positive. How willing are you to hop into a car for a several hundred mile drive after just driving 400 miles? When great physical, mental and emotional energy has been exerted to get to where you are, you naturally can be tired. And when you are tired, your energy and appetite for more exertion is sapped.

Teams and individuals can get tired, and when leaders push for the next rung of improvement too quickly, fatigue can be a problem. Unfortunately, fatigue also can be misdiagnosed as the final face of complacency.

* Lazy. It is easier to stay the course, not change the process, and let things work the way they are. Even when there is an occasional bobble or problem, it is typically viewed as easier to stay the course than to work to improve the process. When people are seeing the world this way, it will be hard to generate energy or action towards continued process improvement/optimization.

An important side note here: Just because people are feeling lazy or not wanting to exert effort at this particular time on this particular issue, doesn't make them "lazy" all of the time. Be careful with this label, both verbally and in your internal judgment.

These are distinct mindsets and can be diagnosed separately, but remember that one person could be afflicted by more than one of them. And, one of these mindsets may be the prevalent concern for your team or organization, it is not likely that everyone within the group is feeling the same way. Rather, it`s very likely that you'll be facing all of them within the same team or organization at the same time.

Your challenge as a leader is to identify the form(s) of complacency you are dealing with and to create a plan for overcoming each. Let`s explore the tools you can use to do just that.

Tools For Overcoming Complacency

Fortunately the tools for dealing with the five faces of complacency are clear and well defined.

Recognition. You must first come to understand the sources of the resistance people have to continued process improvement. Resistance can be passive or active, and/or spoken or silent. Using the five faces described above can give you language and a way to understand the sources of resistance you are seeing. Use your skills of questioning, listening and observation to attempt to determine people's reasons for concern or disengagement.

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