Every organization needs the best and brightest people to join its team. It needs trailblazers who hit the ball out of the park and light a path for others to follow. Why in the world would anyone penalize these shining stars for their excellence? But the sad fact is that we do it every day. That’s no way to achieve exceptional performance!
Think of the salesperson who breaks a sales record. Instead of recognizing him for a job well done, we cap his earnings because we’re afraid he makes too much money. (Does that make sense?) Think of the young teacher who’s so good at what she does that her kids don’t want to go home at the end of the day. Instead of promoting her as a role model, we resent her for making the other teachers look bad. (Is that fair?) Or think of the entrepreneur who goes from nothing to the pinnacle of success. Instead of celebrating her as proof of the American Dream, we bad-mouth her for being successful. (Give me a break!)
Why do we demand excellence and then penalize people for achieving it? Don’t we see that we’re turning them off? Don’t we understand that we’re discouraging others from following their lead? Don’t we realize that we’re promoting mediocrity when we lower the bar, again and again, just so we don’t offend anyone? It makes no sense! The fact is, when you discourage excellence, you get less of it. Period!
If you want excellence, you can’t give the mediocre student the same grade as the terrific one; you can’t grant the mediocre employee the same reward as the superstar; and you can’t award the team that finishes last the same prize as the one that finishes first. “Why not,” you say? When you fail to recognize and/or reward exceptional performance, you raise the obvious question, “Why should I care if they don’t?”
Next time you look around an organization and experience a sea of mediocrity, where no one cares, ask yourself, “Is apathy their fault or the organization’s failing?” When people say, “I can’t” or “I won’t,” it produces the same results. People stop trying when there’s no benefit for being exceptional and no consequence for being mediocre.
Exceptional Performance Begins with You
You should want the salesperson to break the bank because if his sales are off the charts, your company is benefiting, too; you should want the teacher to go above and beyond because if others follow her lead, all of our kids benefit; you should want every entrepreneur to be a raging success because it provides hope for everyone else –– “If she did it, I can too.”
It’s time to raise the bar. It’s time to bring out the best in people. It’s time to demand excellence, and to recognize and reward it, too. We don’t gain anything from lowering the bar so that everyone can clear it. We also don’t gain anything by denying people the rewards they richly deserve. If we really want exceptional performance, we have no choice but to treat exceptional people in an exceptional way.
What Do You Think?
Additional Reading:
You Deserve It, But…
Mediocre Behavior Is a Choice
Step Up Your Game
Do You Do Your Best Or Just Enough To Get By?
Rewarding Today’s New Breed of Employee
10 Ways That Helping People Makes them Helpless
Thanks for a Job Well Done
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BRILLIANT.
Thank you for speaking out for those who work in excellence, who are our top performers, who don’t get the credit or the recognition that they deserve.
As you say, “It’s time to raise the bar. It’s time to bring out the best in people. It’s time to demand excellence, and to recognize and reward it, too. ”
Amen!!!
Thanks for your kind words, Lolly. It means a lot to me coming from you.
There are a lot of talented, hard-working folks out there. It’s time to recognize and reward their excellence.
Have an awesome day!
Frank
I have mixed thoughts on this messaging. On one hand, I do think that we have taken things too far in rewarding everyone the same, regardless of real or relative performance. I also think though that distinctions need to be made on what is motivating the excellent performance. People who perform at high levels because what they are doing is aligned with their values and their purpose are inspiring. However, it’s a slippery slope for others who are not so passionate about what they are doing to compare their results to someone who is. The person who is not performing as well in this situation is bound to feel bad about themselves, rather than recognize that they don’t have the drive because their work is not aligned with their values and their purpose. Those people should be encouraged to find a role that is more connected to their values and purpose so that they too can perform at a level of excellence.
The more insidious high performer is the one who is striving for the wrong reasons and in the wrong way while sacrificing their future in the process. These are the people who are sacrificing their family, or their health, or their real dreams just to perform at a high level for something that doesn’t even matter to them, just for the sake of being the best. These people are not inspiring and should not be held out as role models for others. They tend to burn-out early as the sacrifices they have made are too great to sustain for the long-term.
Hi Heather
I believe, as you do, that people should live a life of purpose. In fact, I dedicated an entire post to the subject. I encourage you to read it. “Living Life With a Purpose.” https://www.franksonnenbergonline.com/blog/living-life-with-a-purpose/
I believe that success in life begins with purpose. People who live a life of purpose have core beliefs and values that influence their decisions, shape their day-to-day actions, and determine their short- and long-term priorities. People who live a life of purpose have an inner peace. They’re satisfied with what they have and who they are. To them, the grass is greener on their own side of the fence.
I also believe that people stop trying when there’s no benefit for being exceptional and no consequence for being mediocre. It’s time to demand excellence, and to recognize and reward it, too. We should invest in our people, inspire them, and demand their best. The alternative is lowering the bar so everyone can just climb over it. The fact is, when we discourage excellence we get less of it.
Best,
Frank