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|Jimmy Burroughes|3 min read

How to Stop Your Team Slipping Back After a Good Run

Simplified figures moving in coordinated formation, illustrating team performance

Most leaders who hit a performance peak don't stay there. They slide back, often without noticing until the numbers tell them. The difference between those who hold the gain and those who don't comes down to discipline.

High performance comes from the disciplined

repetition of actions, whether it’s a good day

or a bad one.

Think about the boxer who wins the championship belt and decides he no longer needs to train as hard, because he's the champ now.

Then he gets knocked out in his next fight. He stopped doing the things that made him a winner: the tireless training, the hunger, the discipline to get up and train when it's cold and raining outside.

Performance works the same way. Once you have set your goals and the habits that will get you there, you need to stick to them almost religiously to build momentum. Think of your performance like a snowball rolling down a hill. It collects mass and momentum as long as there is snow and a slope. If either stops, the snowball melts and the gains unwind. You won't melt, but the principle of cumulative gain from discipline holds.

At first it won't seem like much of a difference, but after a month, a year, a decade, consider what separates someone who applied these habits from someone who didn't.

On a bad day, working on high-performance habits gives you something to focus on and the small wins you need to lift your mood. I have seen it, and done it, more times than I can count. Sticking with those habits when things are going well matters just as much. They act like a flotation device for a swimmer, keeping you buoyant and stopping you slipping under. They also help maintain the energy and drive that let you go on to achieve more.

If this sounds like your week

Your managers are not the problem. They are where the problem is stuck.

When your last leadership spend was signed off, did anyone go back to those managers' bosses and ask what changed? That question is the JBL Outcome Standard, and it is how I work.

Managers I work with reclaim around four hours a week, and their bosses score the change 8.75 out of 10. Would it be a crazy idea to find out how we did this? Book a scoping call.

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Questions managers ask about this

How can I stop my team slipping back after success?

Maintain disciplined repetition of key actions and habits even when performance is high. Consistency builds momentum and prevents decline. Focus on daily routines that contribute to success, regardless of good or bad days, to keep your team progressing steadily over time.

What causes teams to lose performance after a good run?

Teams often lose performance when they relax their efforts after achieving success. This leads to a reduction in the disciplined actions that created their gains, causing momentum to slow and results to slip back without clear early warning signs.

How do I identify where my team's performance is stalling?

Look for decision points where progress slows or bottlenecks occur, especially at different management levels. A short diagnostic focusing on specific decisions can reveal where friction exists and help pinpoint if you or your managers are the bottleneck.

Why is sticking to habits important on good performance days?

Consistently following performance habits during good times maintains energy and drive. These habits act like a flotation device, keeping the team buoyant and preventing a slip back, while also providing focus and small wins that sustain motivation.

Episodes of The High Performance Leader that cover the same ground.

Jimmy Burroughes, Founder of JBL High Performance

Jimmy Burroughes

Founder

Former British Army officer and corporate GM who has transformed 3,000+ managers into leaders across 30+ organisations. Creator of the Simplify to Amplify methodology, author of Beat Burnout, Ignite Performance, and two-time Global Recognition Award winner.

Want to know where the drag really is?

Before you change anything, get an honest read on the friction slowing your team down. Take a short, free diagnostic and see exactly where the time is going.