Handling Success After a Super Bowl

After Joe Montana won his first Super Bowl in 1991, he became an international celebrity pulled in a million different directions. So San Francisco 49ers Coach Bill Walsh called a meeting with his star quarterback.

Walsh reminded Montana of his obligations to maintain excellence for himself and his team. If Montana became indifferent to the work that had gotten him to this point, Walsh told him, the rest of the team would follow suit.

Handling success is harder than attaining success. Winning one big game becomes meaningless if you lose the next one. No one understood this better than Walsh, who didn’t shy away from confronting the issues that could impede future success.

After winning the Super Bowl on Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams will now have to confront these challenges this off-season into next year.

So what can they do to get back to the top? How do we as leaders not allow monumental achievement to hinder our future influence? How do we balance enjoying the moment while retaining a hunger to succeed?

For Walsh, the answer boiled down to five key principles:

1. Walsh explained to everyone in the organization that his definition of the pursuit of excellence was the only one that mattered. The standard doesn’t change or decrease because of success.

2. Walsh doubled down on being brutally honest, explaining to everyone in detail with video evidence how there was enormous room for improvement. He wasn’t going to allow success to limit his ability to confront. For Walsh, the scoreboard didn’t matter.

3. Walsh wanted to ensure that anyone new — players or staff — entering the organization could raise the level of play, not simply maintain it. He wanted to minimize new hires and instead become leaner. For Walsh, a lean organization was more important after success.

4. Walsh informed the team that change was coming and that he was willing to be courageous with his decisions for the good of the organization.

5. Walsh knew everyone would feed off his energy, his focus, his determination and his behavior. He never wanted to be complacent and instead reminded everyone that perfection is never defined by the scoreboard. His work habits would create the work habits of others.

We as leaders must take time to enjoy our successes. After all, what is the point of setting lofty standards if we can’t celebrate attaining them?

But when the confetti stops falling and the parade floats are gone, remember that the greatest reward for doing lies in the opportunity to do even more.