Coaching practices for The Stockdale Paradox with My Team
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For The Stockdale Paradox with My Team, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- My team is looking to me to read how bad things really are, and I’m stuck
- I keep telling myself it’ll all be fine, but really I mean fine by a certain date
- I keep swinging between forced optimism that won’t look at how bad things actually are and a despair that says we won’t make it
- Everyone on my team is quietly playing for their own scoreboard
- My departments are each winning their own little battles while the whole thing loses
Practices that may help
- The Stockdale Paradox, Made Practical
The Stockdale Paradox — named by Jim Collins after Admiral James Stockdale, who survived seven years as a POW in Vietnam — describes the disciplined combination of two seemingly opposed stances: an unwavering belief that you will ultimately prevail, held simultaneously with a clear-eyed confrontation with the most brutal facts of your current reality. Collins found this combination distinguished great companies that recovered from crisis from those that did not. - Apply the Stockdale Paradox to teams and leadership
As a leader or team member under pressure, model the simultaneous holding of faith and brutal facts — it is contagious in both directions.
The Stockdale Paradox, Made Practical - Separate faith in the outcome from assessment of current facts
Hold the belief that you will prevail as distinct from the facts of your current situation — never let optimism about the end contaminate your view of the present.
The Stockdale Paradox, Made Practical - Confront the brutal facts while maintaining faith in the outcome
Hold two things at once: unflinching honesty about current reality and unwavering belief in ultimate success.
Level 5 Leadership: Humility and Will in Great Leaders - Align around collective results, not individual status
Teams fail when members prioritize their own visibility or department’s success over the shared goal.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Made Practical - Cover and move (teamwork over silos)
Every team and department exists to support the others toward the same mission, not to win locally.
Extreme Ownership, Made Practical - There are no bad teams, only bad leaders
The same people perform differently under different leadership — so start with the leadership.
Extreme Ownership, Made Practical - Confront the brutal facts — regularly and specifically
Name the most uncomfortable true things about your current situation before acting, planning, or optimizing.
The Stockdale Paradox, Made Practical - Set realistic goals and chip away at them — resist "crush it" culture
Aspirational goals that require heroic effort normalize crisis; realistic goals with steady progress normalize calm.
Designing a Calm Company (Fried & Hansson) - Respect stock momentum: do not expect fast reversals
A stock that has been depleting for a long time will not refill quickly — plan for the real timeline.
Stocks and Flows
Related concerns
- The Stockdale Paradox At Work
The Stockdale Paradox — named by Jim Collins after Admiral James Stockdale, who survived seven years as a POW in Vietnam — describes the disciplined combination of two seemingly opposed stances: an unwavering belief that you will ultimately prevail, held simultaneously with a clear-eyed confrontation with the most brutal facts of your current reality. Collins found this combination distinguished great companies that recovered from crisis from those that did not.
- The Stockdale Paradox During A Big Change
The Stockdale Paradox — named by Jim Collins after Admiral James Stockdale, who survived seven years as a POW in Vietnam — describes the disciplined combination of two seemingly opposed stances: an unwavering belief that you will ultimately prevail, held simultaneously with a clear-eyed confrontation with the most brutal facts of your current reality. Collins found this combination distinguished great companies that recovered from crisis from those that did not.
- The Stockdale Paradox For My Teenager
The Stockdale Paradox — named by Jim Collins after Admiral James Stockdale, who survived seven years as a POW in Vietnam — describes the disciplined combination of two seemingly opposed stances: an unwavering belief that you will ultimately prevail, held simultaneously with a clear-eyed confrontation with the most brutal facts of your current reality. Collins found this combination distinguished great companies that recovered from crisis from those that did not.
- The Stockdale Paradox When Burned Out
The Stockdale Paradox — named by Jim Collins after Admiral James Stockdale, who survived seven years as a POW in Vietnam — describes the disciplined combination of two seemingly opposed stances: an unwavering belief that you will ultimately prevail, held simultaneously with a clear-eyed confrontation with the most brutal facts of your current reality. Collins found this combination distinguished great companies that recovered from crisis from those that did not.
- The Stockdale Paradox When Starting Out
The Stockdale Paradox — named by Jim Collins after Admiral James Stockdale, who survived seven years as a POW in Vietnam — describes the disciplined combination of two seemingly opposed stances: an unwavering belief that you will ultimately prevail, held simultaneously with a clear-eyed confrontation with the most brutal facts of your current reality. Collins found this combination distinguished great companies that recovered from crisis from those that did not.
- Jim Collins Stockdale Paradox
The Stockdale Paradox — named by Jim Collins after Admiral James Stockdale, who survived seven years as a POW in Vietnam — describes the disciplined combination of two seemingly opposed stances: an unwavering belief that you will ultimately prevail, held simultaneously with a clear-eyed confrontation with the most brutal facts of your current reality. Collins found this combination distinguished great companies that recovered from crisis from those that did not.
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