Avoiding mediocrity
Most people are mediocre at their vocations. No, not average. Average is a nice way to say mediocre (which is a slightly more harsh way to say bad?). If you’re not good at what you do, then you’re performing at some level of bad. Average is just a way of saying someone (or something) is acceptably bad at something. Just not bad enough to get paid for doing something.
Before you start firing off an email or some other missive, I’m not saying you have to be good at everything. Just the important things in your work. And your life. Or most of them at least. Good news is you get to decide what is important.
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Many people will use being average as a rationale for not losing a job. They are better, after all,? than “bad”performers. This declaration is made without realizing at best they are on the rung immediately below the truly “good” level on the ladder of professionalism. Or understanding how vulnerable their position truly is. “Average” equals expendable.
If you get rated or know you’re average you have three options.
For those of you opting for number three, you might hang in there and even get promoted. Though the world (and yourself) will truly know you suck. But hey, you could become president of something. Like a country! Or a company that makes vehicles which spontaneously bursts into flames. Maybe one that produces planes that have unplanned disassembly events mid-flight.? Hey, maybe there is a future in being mediocre?!
As a side note, mediocrity can have power in numbers. A thousand mediocre soldiers will most likely overrun ten commandos without air power and other support. At the same time, the odds of a mediocre soldier in the initial attack waves surviving that battle are not too hot.
To be fair (?), it is possible a person does not sense their own mediocrity. Is ignorance bliss? Perhaps reading this has prompted you to assess your performance at those important things?
There is good news. Most people can get better at what they do. Usually underperformance is due to a lack of investment (i.e. work) in one’s self and the necessary knowledge, practice, and application and proper motivation. There are many reasons for this, but fear is typically the culprit. Fear can be overcome.
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How can you be good, even excellent at those important things? And avoid mediocrity? It usually comes down to these steps.
When I shared this draft, a colleague asked what I called these steps. They need a name! My initial suggestion of “How not to be a **** up” was frowned upon. So was “Most people suck at their job. Don’t be one of them. Here is a simple way to do hard things well”. So it shall be called “Simple steps to being a professional”.
“Ha! Those three steps are simple!”, many of you are thinking. I’m tempted to sell this secret for only $99, but those offers on Instagram and elsewhere make me cringe. I shall not do the same to you. Here they are, a gift to you as we strive to make the world a better place.
These steps are simple. And typically hard to do. So hard that people often accept being mediocre. It’s so much easier to avoid making decisions and not hold anyone accountable for their actions. Keep in mind accountability yields positive (promotions, pay raises, etc. ) and negative consequences (firing people, changing procedures, ditching friends, etc.). Poor quality people resist making changes stemming from accountability. They don’t want anyone to get a raise or go through the pain firing a poor performer. Inaction is a classic indicator of a mediocre performer.
These steps foster success. This model works in most any situation, but how does it apply to communication? Here’s a very general example.
None of these three steps involve any specific communication methods, strategies, or practices. These steps lay the path to professional competency and mastery through confidence, persistence, and maturity. Then skills and practices are used to achieve that desired outcome.
The dirty little secret? Just by trying you will be better than what you were before. If not good quite yet, you’ll be getting closer to true competence and mastery than the mediocre masses.
In communication and beyond, what will be the quality of your work and the measure of your outcomes? Good? Even excellent? Or mediocre? You know what is easy and what is hard (though simple). It’s your decision.
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