The Quiet Collapse: How Unchecked Competition Breeds Complacency (4Cs of Dangerous Team Behaviors)

Dr. Sara Reed
Sep 24
6 min read

Competition and complacency are the last of the original four dangerous team behaviors (though I am currently reflecting on the negative power of cliques, which may be addressed at a future time). I am discussing competition and complacency together because unhealthy competition within teams or between teams can create conditions that lead to withdrawal, disengagement, or potential complacency of other team members. Both are team behaviors that leaders need to be aware of.

First, just a quick primer on the 4Cs of Dangerous Team Behaviors. These four behaviors may seem small at first but can escalate into more challenging-to-tackle issues. Comparison and complaining have been touched on before. Read more about them here:

Dangerous Team Behavior: Comparison

Complaint Culture: How Small Signals Become Big Problems (A Leadership Lens on Dangerous Team Behaviors)

Graphic of the 4 Dangerous Team Behaviors

Now back to this blog's topic: Competition and complacency and the damage both behaviors can do in an organization.

Big Idea Up Front: Unhealthy competition in teams doesn’t just demotivate; it reshapes the team’s norms. When leaders prioritize winning over growth, some members may opt out entirely.

Competition: Unhealthy competition divides what trust builds

Competing team member behavior and complacent team member behavior both create conditions for undermining goals, either by pitting people against each other or by not providing insights, problem-solving, or other skills to advance an organization. When leaders don't notice that team members may be holding back some of their ideas and talent, it is a missed opportunity to elevate team performance. In my experience, these two interwoven behaviors can actually be accidentally exacerbated by leaders when they celebrate the success of some, not realizing the negative impact it is having on others.

Competition can start out as healthy, and with most things human, in moderation can create a spark of energy and inspiration that can help a team move over a hump. However, internal competition, either between team members or between teams, can create hostility that creates an "us" vs. "them" mentality.

What to Watch For

Unhealthy competition can be insidious. It often festers in environments that breed scarcity mindsets, and where perceived performance excellence pits people against each other instead of being aligned toward shared objectives and goals.

What unhealthy competition looks like:

"Us" vs. "Them" mentality - or even worse, the hero/villain narrative that doesn't belong in healthy organizations. This mentality can show up in who is invited to project meetings, all the way through who interacts casually; if you see teams not mixing, it's time to get curious.
Undermining others: One of the subtle and often most dangerous team member behaviors is when competition turns into undermining others. Teams and organizations thrive and drive high performance primarily when individuals help each other succeed. When behaviors, such as leaving perspectives out or "forgetting" to involve people, that is undermining in action. If you see these behaviors or if a team member expresses that they are experiencing it, pay attention.
Focus on comparison: As I wrote about in a prior blog, comparison is another team behavior. (Read more here: Dangerous Team Behavior: Comparison).
Comparison shifts the focus from the shared goals and objectives to each other, which distracts and detracts from attention on the goal.

Unhealthy competition, undermining behaviors, and comparison-driven mindsets don’t belong in high-trust, high-performance cultures.

These dynamics often hide in plain sight. For example, who’s invited to meetings, who’s casually excluded, who’s quietly (or loudly) compared. When teams stop mixing or voices go missing, it’s time to get curious. Pay attention to subtle signs of undermining, such as withholding information or excluding perspectives. And remember: comparison distracts from shared purpose. The leadership antidote is intentional inclusion, clear norms, and a relentless focus on helping each other succeed.

Complacency: The Quiet Killer of Team Potential

Unhealthy competition within teams often creates an environment of guardedness, exclusion, and quiet rivalry, which erode trust and psychological safety. When individuals feel pitted against one another or perceive that success comes at someone else’s expense, they may begin to disengage, withdraw, or stop contributing fully. Over time, these behaviors can lead to complacency, where team members no longer challenge ideas, offer support, or stretch toward shared goals. Instead of energizing performance, toxic competition drains it, replacing collaboration with self-protection and diminishing the team's collective potential.

What to Watch For

Success without reflection: When teams are successful and don't take time to pause on why, they can fail to notice how to capitalize on the success. Was some of it luck? Who played key roles? How do they duplicate and/or amplify the success?
Reliance on key players: Success isn't always because everyone contributed, and teams can over rely on key people, potentially even triggering the "social loafer" syndrome where other team members believe someone else will pick up the slack.
Lack of Challenge: The "I can do this with my eyes closed" mentality can keep teams from staying aware of changes in context. While all teams and team members need slower time periods to be prepared for surge periods, there is an important difference between recovery or downtime and boredom. (Too much challenge can also lead to burnout; I suggest keeping teams at a healthy jog, and if there is a marathon ahead, don't expect it to be run at a sprinter's pace.)

Like other behaviors, complacency is contagious.

When high performers see mediocrity tolerated, they either disengage or leave. Unfortunately, complacency can often masquerade as “stability” or “consistency,” especially in organizations where change is perceived as risky. In my experience, complacency is rarely a person-specific phenomenon, but rather a context-specific challenge, which is where the role of a leader is especially important.

Competition can trigger complacency

What to Watch For

Part of the challenge with competition is how it can trigger complacency; when unhealthy competition makes the team environment unhealthy, common team member responses are:

Withdrawal: When a team member withdraws or is unusually quiet (being quiet is often a key point, as quiet, often introverted team members can be wonderful, and creating conditions for them to shine is an awesome leadership opportunity), it's a sign to watch for.

Minimal effort: When a team member feels like they aren't going to make a difference or don't want to play the game that unhealthy competition often is rooted in, they might do just what is needed, which rarely creates a high-performing team.

Avoidance of collaboration: Related to withdraw, often when a team member does not want to be pulled into the unhealthy team dynamic they will avoid circumstances that trigger it, which can impact collaboration. If they don't avoid collaboration, then they may participate less, which can impact team effectiveness.

What Can Leaders Do?

Reframe and Communicate Success as Shared Wins

How leaders communicate about success matters, as it sends both intentional and unintentional messages to team members. Therefore, by shifting the narrative from individual or siloed achievement to collective impact, the leader is both noticing and acknowledging the work of others. Leaders can spotlight cross-functional collaboration, celebrate team-based milestones, and use language that reinforces “we” over “me.” This communication approach helps redirect competitive energy toward shared goals and reduces the zero-sum mindset that fuels disengagement.

Role Model Vulnerability and Curiosity

Leaders' actions and words are always on display and being watched, and leaders set the tone. By acknowledging their own blind spots, asking open-ended questions, and inviting feedback, leaders create an environment where feedback can be open and team members can openly discuss when competition or complacency are sneaking into the team dynamic. These behaviors cultivate psychological safety, encourage team members to speak up when competition turns toxic or when disengagement creeps in. They also signal that that learning is embedded within a high-performing team. (A great book on this topic is "The Performance Paradox" by Eduardo Briceño.)

Facilitate Reflective Debriefs After Key Projects

Organizations are busy, and when leaders do not create rhythms and processes after projects or cross-functional efforts, competition and complacency can sneak in. Leaders need to create space for teams to examine not just outcomes, but also interpersonal dynamics. By using methods like Stop-Start-Continue or any multitude of tools to debrief and integrate learning and reflection into the regular rhythm of a team. These structured reflections build awareness, normalize vulnerability, and reinforce a culture of continuous learning.

Ultimately ... or in Conclusion

When left unchecked, competition and complacency can quietly erode the trust, energy, and cohesion that teams depend on to thrive and deliver results. While healthy challenge can spark innovation, toxic rivalry breeds isolation, and complacency often follows in its wake, disguised as detachment or quiet resignation. Leaders noticing these behaviors and then naming them are the beginning steps toward shifting them. By fostering cultures of shared purpose, psychological safety, and mutual accountability, leaders can transform competitive tension into collaborative momentum and guard against the slow drift of disengagement. These dynamics deserve our attention as leaders, not just because they’re common, but because they’re corrosive, and like other dangerous team behaviors, and entirely addressable.