In February 2022, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl. McVay was 36 years old, the youngest head coach to ever win it. By almost any measure, he had reached the top.
The following season, the Rams went 5 and 12. The joy that had once powered the team’s culture was now gone. McVay reflected that after winning, the team stopped playing for the love of the game and started playing under the weight of what they had achieved. Expectations replaced enthusiasm. Protecting the outcome replaced pursuing the process.
McVay spent the next two years rebuilding, not just the roster, but the culture. Getting back to why they played, how they showed up, and what made the work worth doing on an ordinary Tuesday in October, not just a Sunday in February. By 2024, the Rams were back in the playoffs as an NFC contender.
The Outcome Trap
Joy is easy to find at the start. The work is new, the stakes feel manageable, and the process is the point. Over time, success raises the bar. Expectations grow. And gradually, the focus shifts from how we do the work to what the work produces.
This is the outcome trap. It doesn’t show up all at once. It creeps in through pressure, comparison, and the fear of falling short of what we’ve already done. And once joy is gone, the work gets harder, the team pulls apart, and the results eventually follow.
Protecting Joy Under Pressure
Protecting joy doesn’t mean lowering expectations. The Rams still wanted to win. It just means keeping the focus on the process, the work, the people, and the purpose behind it, even when the pressure to perform is high.
Teams that sustain joy ask different questions. Not just “did we hit the number” but “are we doing the work in a way we’re proud of?” Not just “what’s the result” but “what did we learn?” The outcome still matters, but it can’t be the only thing that does.
