The Reasons of Mediocrity
Why we slog it out for little return
Most of us have worked in good and bad team environments, but few of us get the pleasure to work in a team of excellence. By definition, there is only room for the best at the top of any industry. But this is not the reason why many of us do not work in a high performance team.
There are many reasons, but what I have found to be the main reasons are:
We don’t know what it looks like – if we have never experienced it, then how can we recognise it. How does it feel to be in a High Performance Team? What do the people say to each other? How do the people treat each other? What do people do within such an environment? There is an old saying, “If we don’t know what the destination is, then how can we get there.” Knowing what great looks like is critical.
We don’t know what it means – there is mass confusion on what excellence is and what it takes to be the best professional, team, or organisation. We view Apple Computers, Disney, Facebook, and Google and see their charisma, intelligence, and amazing talent as the only way to this weird thing we call success. For many of us, we immediately discount ourselves as being able to achieve excellence because we don’t have these traits. But these mystical traits are not the difference makers. It is flat-out incorrect, and in Jim Collin's words, “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.” We do not need more resources, more natural talent, or more bean bags in the office. We do not need the biggest budgets either. And, we certainly do not need to be a naturally born leader. We need something else. There are learnable skill sets we can all access and develop. Through good habits we can build them like we build muscles in the gym. We need to be clear on what they are and learn them. This opens up possibilities we couldn’t have imagined.
We are not willing to do the work – learning and applying the skill sets is a complex journey, and one that takes effort. This effort comes in many forms. It does not always require more hours or harder physical work. Nor does it require more investment. But it does require deep care and consideration. It requires a calm and controlled approach in the many micro-moments we face every day. And everyone needs to be up for the challenge. It will not be a cruise. There will be storms to survive, tough decisions to make, and old habits to break. In the end, a high performer will produce unimaginable results without raising a sweat. It will feel and look like everything is on Autopilot.
I have done the research and collated the insights, case studies, and stories. I have curated a host of resources and packed it all into the Rhythm Principals program. It is built to serve learners as a tool to use for many years.
Those that are sick of slogging it out for low Return On Effort, know that I am cheering for you. I am watching with excitement to see what you can really do. And how great you and your crew can truly be.
