Aaron Trahan on his Three Keys to Continued Success: Prepare, Work, Learn

In this episode of Innovators Unleashed, I had the pleasure of interviewing Aaron Trahan, a renowned leadership and performance coach. Our conversation revolved around the concept of a performance mindset and the keys to sustained success. Aaron provided valuable insights into the mindset required to translate beliefs into action and unlock one's full potential.

During our discussion, Aaron distinguished between a growth mindset and a performance mindset. While many individuals claim to have a growth mindset, Aaron highlighted the importance of taking action to bridge the gap between thoughts and tangible results. He described the performance mindset as the catalyst that propels individuals to invest in themselves, seek continuous improvement, and approach their daily endeavors with a sense of urgency.

We delved deeper into the factors that differentiate individuals who plateau at a certain level of success from those who continue to reach new heights. Aaron unveiled his three-pronged success formula: outpreparing, outworking, and outlearning others. Those who consistently find new levels of success are meticulous in their preparation, diligent in their efforts, and committed to lifelong learning.

We also explored the challenges individuals face when stepping out of their comfort zones. Aaron emphasized the need to reframe failure as an opportunity for growth and change. He urged listeners to embrace imperfect action, as waiting for the perfect opportunity can lead to missed chances and regrets in the long run.

Our conversation touched upon generational differences, particularly the desire of younger generations to find purpose and fulfillment in their work. Aaron highlighted the importance of aligning employees with the organization's mission and values to foster engagement and productivity.

Clinton Henry: So Aaron, I'm so excited you're here and a lot of your material, you talk about having a performance mindset, can you define what that is?

Aaron Trahan: Yeah, absolutely. And yeah first and foremost, thanks for having me Clinton. Love what the podcast is all about. Love the message. So happy to be here. Let's talk about what performance mindset actually is. I think we're all aware, especially those tuning in to your pod, kind of the universal standard definitions made famous by Carol Dweck at Stanford on the fixed mindset versus growth mindset. And while that's a good generic starting place, I've really found something pretty interesting when it comes to those who identify with the growth mindset, and that is that just about 70 to 80% of every room is going to raise their hand when you ask, do they identify with a growth mindset. Do they believe that with the proper amount of time, energy and effort, you can develop your capabilities, enhance your intelligence, overcome obstacles? Sure. I believe it all. A lot of people say all the right things, post all the right things, but thoughts and beliefs only take you so far. And if there's no action behind those beliefs, that's where so many people never truly live out that internal belief of what a growth mindset is. And so when I mentioned performance mindset, it is to action what the growth mindset is to thinking and believing. So people with the performance mindset have all the right thoughts, think all the same things as the growth mindset. But the big difference comes in that willingness and desire to actually put those thoughts into practice. They're willing to invest in themselves. They're more focused on what more they're capable of achieving. And there is a sense of urgency with how they approach their day over day with leveraging kind of the concept of continuous improvement. So it really comes down to what thinking is to a growth mindset versus taking the action behind it with a performance mindset.

Clinton Henry: So really it's about having, I believe this, but I'm going to hold myself accountable to action. Those things that I believe about myself. Is that right?

Aaron Trahan: That's right. Yeah. It's that missing bias fraction that a lot of people with a growth mindset have. When you go out and start operating on the edges of your capabilities, it does get a little scary. It can be uncertain. It can be overwhelming. And that's why so many people, even if they may be "successful by external standards, are still kind of stuck in their own status quo." They've developed their own comfort zone and really know deep down they're not playing their best game. They're not tapping into anywhere close to their full potential or being the best version of themselves because this level of success is just comfortable. So they may say all the right things, but when you really take that magnifying lens and look at their daily actions, habits, routines, there's no propeller forward of them continuing to reach those new and new levels of achievement, accomplishment and their own potential. That's kind of what it's that action piece that separates just the growth mindset from the performance mindset.

Clinton Henry:  So what's the difference because you said something very interesting there about people that are successful, but they stop, they kind of plateau. What's sort of the difference between those individuals that plateau at a certain level of success and those that continue to grow?

Aaron Trahan:  Yeah. I love that. I love that question because it's really something that I've been studying and observing since I was a young intern. I was fascinated to watch these different groups of successful leaders and professionals. But I started to notice a group that always continued to find new levels of success. And then there was the groups that just plateaued out. They more or less coasted on prior achievements and accomplishments. And I wanted to examine that further. Was there a formula there? Was there something I could distill down to a simplified checklist that if you do these three things, you stay out of the group that starts off up into the right and then plateaus out and starts to see that gradual decline. How do you keep that overarching up into the right trend? And it really comes down to what I've uncovered as my three out success formula. I've been able to kind of boil down the differences between those two groups into really three very important things and the first thing is the group that finds those new levels. They are always out preparing everyone around them.

Aaron Trahan:  They're typically going to be the best students. They're always doing their due diligence. They always do their homework. You're never catching these people off guard, unprepared. Doesn't mean they're right all the time. But they're such thoughtful insight and analysis that goes into their position, their approach, their thesis, whatever it may be. And so there was this sense of preparation where they're just never going to stop being prepared. So that was the first thing. Second thing was they outworked everyone around them. And this isn't some hustle culture speak. It's they weren't walking around wearing a badge on their sleeve saying, I worked 80 hours this week. When I say outworked, it's really around production. They outexecuted everyone around them. And we both know that time is a finite resource. We all only have 24 hours. The group that was always finding new levels of success just got more done within their 24 hours and they optimized their approach. And you knew when they got involved with something, it was going to get moved forward. They just pushed the ball forward more so than the other group. And the last one, the third one, this is the really important one and the most demonstrable, the group that found new levels of success consistently out learned everyone else around them.

Aaron Trahan: So when you have success and experience, it's easy to let your foot off the gas a little bit. And it's natural to feel like you're the smartest person in the room because of my achievements and you're not really learning. You're more in a position of wanting to guide and advise. But this other group that continuously found new levels were just lifelong learners. They were learning machines. It doesn't matter if they were the highest ranking person in the room. They're going to show up and make sure that they learn something from everyone. Where they get more context, they get a better understanding of the why. And they firmly are always looking for the catalyst around why things are working as the way they should be or more importantly, why they're not. And so that out prepare, outwork and out learn was that formula that always proves true that if someone can consistently check those three boxes, I've yet to see that individual not find new levels of continued success.

Clinton Henry:  That's interesting. I know you have a lot of coaching clients that you work with. Is there one area of those three where that's usually the gap or is it kind of evenly spread?

Aaron Trahan:  Yeah. I would probably wait the last one, kind of the heaviest that the out learning aspect and it's just natural. It's like after you, and it goes into that equation. It's like success is great, but it can't be unchecked. You can't let it all go and fuel your ego. Sometimes we win when we really didn't deserve to win. And so are you really learning on even your wins and your achievements? How can I get better or does it completely validate you? And so that equation of success plus experience. If it goes unchecked, it really starts leaving some doors cracked open for complacency to set in. Once complacency starts setting in and you feel good about your achievements and where it's gotten you, you being able to out learn everyone else around you is just not a reality. And so it's that success plus experience, complacency sneaks in. And when I see someone who is constantly wanting to show up and be the smartest in the room, they're not in learning mode. And the second that you stop learning is when that up and to the right trajectory starts to get a little flat. If you can't get it back, it's going to ultimately lead to a deterioration in your ability to generate better performance.

Clinton Henry:  Gotcha. I know you talk a lot about your comfort zone and kind of getting out of it and maybe part of that, maybe the blocker of not wanting to learn more is because I'm very comfortable in my current state. Is that the reason people don't want to get out of their comfort zone or why is it difficult for people to leave their comfort zone?

Aaron Trahan: Yeah. I think it's certainly one of them and there's no overarching silver bullet. But I think it does show up on both ends of the spectrum. I think sometimes people have had a level of success that even prior they may have for a period of time even outperformed their own expectations. And when that happens, it goes back to how hungry can you stay. And there's tons of sports metaphors of what happens to championship teams after they win or in combat sports, after you get the belt. You come back for that fight to defend the belt a little heavier, a little out of shape than you normally do. And so how do you stay in attack mode? How do you stay in learning mode and that new mindset becomes comfortable that then blocks out further growth. But then on the other end of the spectrum, I think there's a fear level there and it's a fear of being judged. It's a fear of the unknown, It's a fear of failure. As you go up the ladder, failure starts to carry more mental weight than it ever has before.

Aaron Trahan: I have got a lot more people looking at me. I've got a whole new identity here. If I try something new, if I stretch myself too far, if I really challenge myself and I fail, there's almost like a partial identity crisis that comes with that people stay away from. And people ultimately become their environments. James Clear of atomic habits fame has a brilliant quote that says your environment is the invisible hand that shapes your habits and behavior. And if you get in that environment to where you're not going to be stretched and challenged to get out of your comfort zone, it just inevitably makes it so easy for you to stay there. When people don't realize that staying there for too long seems like an illusion of safety in the short term, but it will always carry regret over the long term when you look back in hindsight and realize that was a ten year period where I wasn't even close to playing at the top of my game. But it was all around just that uncomfortableness that comes with doing things that make you uncomfortable.

Clinton Henry: I think we agree that it's important to change your perspective around failure if you want to grow and upskill. How do you go about doing that, especially for somebody that might be stuck in that? Like, Oh, I've been in this role for like three years. I don't have a lot of hay in the barn yet, but it's a pretty cushy gig. How do you go about taking someone like that and making them embrace failure or at least reframe what failure is to them?

Aaron Trahan: Yeah. It's such a great question because it's one that I really do encounter almost on a daily basis. I hear this phrase in all of its varieties almost daily where now's not the right time or I've got some other things here. I'm just waiting for this to happen and that to happen, for this to set that up. What sits behind that is we're always looking for the pure play move that is going to be a lock on an ROI of our energy effort, whatever. So even though we kind of deep down know that there's no guarantees in life, we're all playing the game of probabilities. When it comes to taking action to move out of your comfort zone, people forget all that. It's like selective amnesia and it's like, Well, I need that perfect opportunity. I need the clouds to part. I need someone to show up on my doorstep and deliver this perfectly presented opportunity on a silver platter. When the reality is, there is no perfect opportunity. There's never going to be a right time. The second that you think things will slow down and calm down in the future and that will make a better time is the biggest myth that exists.

And so the big perspective shift here is there is no perfect move. There is no perfect time. There is no perfect opportunity. You have to get more comfortable with taking imperfect action and knowing and understanding that all actions are going to be imperfect by some degree. But you have to start somewhere. And that first step is what ultimately leads to that second step. And then there is no substitute for taking action. There never has been. There never will be. And taking that imperfect action then kicks off that competence confidence loop. So when you can take imperfect action, develop any amount of increased competence in a given area, it's going to give you more confidence that then creates that flywheel, making it more easy to take more imperfect action and get the flywheel spinning faster. But that will never ever happen if you're continuing to sit back waiting on a perfect opportunity that just will never show up and too many people spend essentially their full adult lives in career waiting on the opportunities that they've set the expectations for in their head that just never materialize. So it's really that perspective shift around what type of action to take, being honest with yourself. There is no perfect action and get comfortable with imperfect action.

Clinton Henry:  Yeah, that's so insightful. The idea that if you haven't failed recently, you probably aren't trying hard enough and failure is a good thing. I love the concept of your confidence breeds confidence. I think that is so true. Is there a generational divide? I was just talking to someone the other week about the millennial generation, which is effectively like 40% of the workforce now versus the younger generation coming up versus people in their 50s. Is there a difference in mindset or perspective or are we all the same with different labels on us?

Aaron Trahan:  Yeah. That's an interesting one. I think the big difference that I see is especially with the younger generation is you see a lot smaller percent of the talent pool that's just willing to do something for the next 40 years of their life that they don't enjoy doing. That would require them to grind through. And they have zero connection to the overarching purpose or mission of the organization, to the leadership team or the company. I think those days are starting to end. I do see the big gap really being around what's going to create that sense of purpose and fulfillment in the work. Like, do I understand the mission? Does it mean something to me? And as leaders, are we properly and transparently conveying that? Are we making sure that that context is making its way down to more and more levels within the organization that allows more and more people to put the right people in the right positions, in the right environment that's able to support and challenge these younger people coming into the workforce that gives them the opportunity to do their best work and be the best version of themselves.

Aaron Trahan:  So that's the big thing that I'm noticing with older generations versus younger generations. But we can even pull back a quote from 100 years ago from Henry Ford. And it still comes down to whether you think you can or think you can't, you'll always be right. There still needs to be even if the situation going back to being imperfect. I think there's a downside to that. In that younger generation, you can't wait for the perfect company with the perfect mission and the perfect role and the perfect opportunity. Sometimes you don't know what your passions are until you go through some trial and error and experience, and there is going to be a grind and grit factor there to really find that out. But it should not create inaction. I think the biggest thing is with people on the younger side of their career, just starting out is be active, experience, develop those skills, fail, but more importantly be incredible students of that failure and take those learnings to apply it for the rest of your career. Inaction is the absolute worst thing possible. That's going to be the Kryptonite.

Clinton Henry: Yeah. Wow. I mean, that was so well said. I think ending it there makes a lot of sense because I mean we have a lot of people that are leaders that listen to this podcast and the point you made about empowering your people and giving them a bit of purpose in the organization is an important takeaway as well as we work ourselves too. So thank you so much, Aaron. I really appreciate everything that you do. I'll post all your links in the show notes. So again, thank you so much for spending time with me and the audience today.

Aaron Trahan: Yeah, thank you for having me. This was a fun one.