We are preparing the company for a future exit, but some of my leadership team members are comfortable with our current performance and lack the appetite for the rapid changes and learning required to reach our goals. How do we instill a Grow or Die mindset in senior leaders who have grown complacent?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When you are preparing for a clean exit, your leadership team must operate with a relentless Grow or Die mindset. If senior leaders become complacent and prefer the comfortable status quo, they will act as a drag on your company valuation and fail to build the self-running organization that buyers covet.

To address this complacency, you must make your core values the absolute filter for your leadership team. If Grow or Die is a core value, it means continuous improvement and comfort with change are non-negotiable requirements for holding a seat.

Bring your leadership team back to the V/TO®. Share the long-term vision and the specific operational milestones required to prepare the business for an exit. Ask each leader directly if they are truly committed to doing the hard work required to build a company of that caliber.

Use the GWC™ tool to evaluate them against their evolving seats. A seat that was managed perfectly two years ago might now require a completely different level of strategic capability. If a leader admits they lack the drive or the desire to grow into this new version of their seat, you must address it. Offer them a different, more stable seat in the organization, or begin planning a respectful exit transition. You cannot pull complacent leaders up the mountain; they must want to climb.