Leadership Chronicles – An Empathetic Tribute to the “Average Joe”

On any given day, flip a newspaper and you are likely to run into some sort of article(s) pertaining to several #EnvyMe personas – Mr. A was the topper in a recently concluded entrance exam, Mr. B bagged an unprecedented salary package at a campus recruitment, Miss C patented an amazing invention. Open LinkedIn, and you are likely to be flooded with a series of posts – Miss D is proud to be speaking at a world-renowned conference, Mr. E is thrilled to be featured in a “40 under 40” list. Kudos to those rock stars, but this article is NOT about them.

Who exactly is an Average Joe? As per urbandictionary.com – “Someone, who is just like everyone else; a normal person”. There may be nothing extra-ordinary about these people, but they are not necessarily laggards or put simply put – do not suck! The society-induced competitive pressure to be extra-ordinary begins pretty much at childhood and rarely leaves us until the ending stages of our life. Pressure to be the topper in a class, amongst the top 5-10% in your work etc.; Despite best efforts it is mathematically impossible for everyone to be in the top. This write up is about the #AverageJoe who represents the vast majority of any population, particularly focusing on the corporate side (since this is a LinkedIn article). I will try to cover this from two perspectives – the perspective of the Average Joe and the perspective of the Managers leading these Joes.

The Average Joe

In full disclaimer, I am an Average Joe myself – was neither a topper in school, college nor a consistent top performer at work. Yet, I am doing just fine and even able to offer tips and career advice to many. Here are 3 thoughts:

·??????Believe that it is OK to be #Mediocre - Thomas Edison may have invented the light bulb, but if a normal Electrician would not have wired your house correctly, would you see the light of the night?

·??????#MediocrityAcceptance is NOT an excuse for Laziness - Everyone needs to work hard, unless they want to be amongst the bottom lot. The goals you set for yourself need not be #EarthShattering. Work hard to reach YOUR maximum potential and enjoy the ride.

·??????Take Stress NOT – You may not get a timely promotion or expected salary hikes even at times when you have given your best. That is destiny and the way the world works. It is selfishly tuned (for obvious reasons) to give importance and recognition to the Crème de la crème. Why take unnecessary stress and spoil your health? Just try your best and you will score a few goals for sure.

The Manager

Every team is bound to have a mix of people with different caliber/potential. Let us say 10% of your team are top performers and 10% are in the bottom. That still leaves you with a whopping 80% of your team who are simply average performers just doing their job. How do you handle them? Here are 3 thoughts:

·??????Lead by Empathy – Understand that everyone is not meant to solve the trickiest of your team’s problems, and that the Average Joe’s are simply putting in their best to get the job assigned to them done on time and at a reasonable degree of quality. That itself is a check mark. Greet them with the same warm smile that you would greet your top performers with. Listen to them with empathy and make them feel you are one amongst them. This simple trick can push their limits of performance further.

·??????Do Challenge but Push Sensibly – Do not set the same level of goals for everyone. Rome was never built in a day. As you push your team to deliver more, it is prudent to be sensible with the kind and complexity of the tasks that you assign to the Joes. You want them to build their confidence as they get better, not fail and go in a downward spiral.

·??????If you must pick a side, go with the #MediocreMajority – Let me make an analogy to a search engine. There are a few search phrases that are the most frequently used when searching for a particular theme or a brand. It is smart to analyze them and optimize for them. Yet, there are hundreds of search phrases, which in isolation do not carry much weight, but together referred to as a “long tail” are cumulatively more powerful and must never be ignored. The culture you create within your team, the decisions you take must cater to the interests of your mediocre majority. If you ignore their powerful sentiment, your deck of cards will come crashing down. For this simple reason, you must always hear and consider the opinion of this vast silent majority. That is bold leadership, which may sometimes pit you against your top performers, but in the spirit of the greater good you must not falter in this approach.

Closing Thoughts

I am sure most of you reading the article either consider yourselves an Average Joe and/or are surrounded by a vast majority of them. Mediocrity is unfortunately a topic that is rarely touched upon. My friend Navin and I, while discussing about other friends/colleagues who have gone places used to instill self-confidence in ourselves with a jovial remark - #MediocrityRocks. I truly believe it does. We are the living proof. If you agree with my views please share it within your network. Go Conquer brethren!