And Why “Good” Isn’t Good Enough
When you think of excellence in the workplace, what else comes to mind right after? I would argue many of us equate the idea of excellence in any category with overachievement, burnout, intensity, and a “whatever it takes” mentality – but why does the idea of doing something consistently well end up associated with so many other negative patterns? Let’s reframe this idea as a more simplistic concept defined as consistent care, competency, and integrity in the small things.
Even outside of the workplace, we all have goals we want to achieve. People who do achieve their goals regularly return to the most basic question involved. What’s going to deliver results?
The answer to this question is usually found in boring details. For example, people who lose weight and keep it off or people who build great muscle definition at the gym (two groups of people most of us also aspire to one day be in) will tell you that the results come from doing the same boring things over and over again. Professional athletes say the same. They don’t stray from the plan and they show up for themselves out of habit rather than motivation. The same can generally be said for consistent high-performers in the workplace. Their priorities are in order and they attend to routine, everyday tasks with care, competency, and integrity at a pace that allows presence and focus while honoring their individual capacity. If the arrival of quality results can be summed up as the compound effect of small, repeated decisions (the right decisions), then it follows that excellence is a learned behavior as opposed to innate talent. Let’s remove the boundary of reserving excellence for the “excellent”.
This conversation matters now more than ever as the workplace standard has evolved to echo fatigue, disengagement, and “good enough” culture. Corporate environments who push the “work til you drop” narrative are in large part responsible for this response and that should be acknowledged; however, the greater societal casualization of commitment also contributes to this dynamic. It’s as much evident in our relationships and personal lives as it is anywhere else like work. We have to acknowledge this as well.
There is a hidden cost to mediocrity. I was told throughout my childhood and adolescence that I had “so much potential”. I was led through conversation after conversation with teachers expressing their exasperation to my parents in regard to my absolute refusal to operate above the bare minimum. I was so clearly capable! At the time, I couldn’t have told you what it was that held me back from better engagement. A lack of interest? Was I really just lazy? Who knows.
What I do know is that the older I got, the more my lack of contribution paired with lack of return. My lack of contribution to much homework returned a lack of good grades. My lack of giving my all to my sports team reaped a lack of kindness from teammates. My lack of true interest in investing with a genuine interest in others rewarded a lack of deep friendship. Somewhere along the way when I was graduating high school, I convinced myself it would be fun to apply to Brown University. I wanted to see if I could meet whatever their quota was at the time for accepting “youths with potential”. That was met with a rejection letter.
Fortunately over time, enough consequences caught up to me that I found it worthwhile to give a little more. I had faced enough hardship that after some good old-fashioned humbling, when an opportunity presented itself I accepted it with intention. When my effort was noticed, my returns increased – then so did my efforts. Opportunity begets more opportunity. Eventually I was standing on the other side of the tracks, and I got to see first-hand the frustrations that are imposed on the people who DO carry the weight. That set me right for good.
Mediocrity creates friction that others must absorb. Think about projects that you thought you were done with that now must be reworked, details that were missed as casual “oversights”, or the confusion that’s caused when someone doesn’t deliver what they say they will. There’s not a person out there who doesn’t relate to the dreaded “group project” dynamic, because whether it’s in college or the workplace, we all end up on a team. Who’s going to pull their weight? Who’s going to end up creating more work? You can save a lot of time, effort, and money by just doing things the right way the first time. Don’t we wish everyone would?
If we don’t always give our best, there is a tax that is passed to our team, our customers, and our relationships. “Just getting by” erodes trust, over time, that you will be able (or willing) to deliver what you’ve committed to. Most of us will check reviews before we commit to almost anything right down to where we get tonight’s dinner. Aren’t we endlessly in search of reliability? Reliability is the foundation of credibility, and the opposite is also true (i.e. not reliable = not credible).
Contractors are a great example of this in today’s world. There are so few skilled laborers that it’s become easy for business to lack communication, lack follow through, lack work ethic, not achieve deadlines, and the list goes on because so much work is available that the money is there either way. So they get the work now. But will you call them back? Will you recommend them when someone else needs that work done? This is a game of diminishing returns. Teams like this won’t be able to sustain a turn of the tide when, eventually, one inevitably comes. Alternatively, consistently high standards expand opportunity over time. Do you want your legacy to be for people to think “they were fine”, or “they did okay”? Quite uninspiring.
People trust those who do small things well without being asked. We are all in our roles for the unique skills we can bring to the table, and companies want to be able to rely on that. We rely on companies in turn for our paychecks. Operating in a manner of integrity and excellence reduces the need for control, micromanagement, and correction. Given our constant pursuit for reliability, trust becomes social and professional currency. When you’re rich in currency, you’re rich in leverage.
So what constitutes the behaviors of workplace excellence? This can usually be answered by what’s going to be valued from your output. Preparation, listening, clarity, responsiveness, and attention to detail all communicate respect not just for yourself and your job, but also for others and their efforts. Additionally, if you’ve developed habits that reflect consistency to the set standard, this provides an anchor during times of stress and chaos. You can act with calm competence instead of reactive performance.
Burnout, cynicism, unclear expectations, and misaligned incentives are all barriers to excellence. If any of these are in your way, what can you do to relieve them? Have you communicated that the expectations feel unclear or unrealistic? Have you asked for an action plan on how to organize priorities? Have you even asked what the priority is?
Sidenote: If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Document these conversations to ensure that you can advocate for yourself through unfair blame if this is an issue in your workplace.
People take cues from what is tolerated and modeled. If what’s tolerated and modeled is mediocrity, how can you expect yourself, others, or your team to rise above it? Mediocrity isn’t neutral, it’s contagious. It’s much easier to lower a standard than to raise one. If what’s modeled is excellence, this will influence culture much more than the company slogan. If you have a personal standard for excellence it will naturally raise the bar for others. It creates a call to reclaim pride in everyday performance. A call to display care for the work, the people, and the outcome. Excellence doesn’t have to be about being exceptional; it’s simply about being faithful to the moment in front of you.
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
Head to my Leadership Consulting page to learn more about working together!