thecareersalon

We like group projects. You get to interact with people of various skillsets with diverse ideas and take on enormous tasks by collaborating. When it’s all settled, everyone has their individual pieces to contribute to the success of the team. Of course, in many group projects, there is this thing that starts to rear its head after introductions and the division of work in a project. You start to realize through your regular updates and team meetings that a few team members are not doing the work. You try to put in extra time and effort to cover the gaps. You try not to bring it to your leader’s attention for fear of being a tattletale but you have to admit you’re extremely agitated. In some cases, you do bring it to a leader’s attention but the results are still the same, nothing. Everyone sees it, they are tired of the shenanigans and yet the project is over, it was a success and those slacking team members’ reputations are still intact. What just happened?

MEDIOCRITY ——–>>>

Is this the norm now? We accept mediocrity as above average or excellence?

It’s the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. We’re going to let you in on a little secret, employees are not ignorant and they know what’s going on. Employees who do the work tend to notice when promotions and special opportunities have been made into a political game, a result in “who you know”, or a learn on the job leadership experiment.

Making mediocrity the norm changes the whole landscape of the work culture, causes resentment, and can lead to toxicity on teams. Organizations should play chess not checkers when it comes to strategically placing people who will foster a culture of excellence. When leaders accept mediocrity in the name of protecting people who look like them or because they were once a good individual contributor (of course they would be a good leader) or simple laziness, we literally create “work monsters”. Work monsters, who will make other employees lives a living hell. Mediocrity has the nerve to:

Do performance reviews/make comp decisions
Question others who are bringing value to the team and know what they are doing
Make more money than the people rowing the boat
Continually be given the grace to hold, keep, and move up in leadership positions

For some reason, we thought that hard work, dedication, and commitment to being strong servant leaders were some of the ultimate goals in organizations. If we look closely and ask the people working in most of these environments we will see that it’s not always the case.

When we tolerate mediocrity in our work environments we are asking our employees to pay a price. The price of not having a safe space, not having equal opportunity, suffering at the hands of a know-it-all by proxy of promotion, or favor and not being recognized for the real hard work. THAT PRICE IS TOO HIGH!

#dobetter

This video and meme of KeKe Palmer swept across the internet this past year, after she stated she did not know “This Man” referring to a global figurehead and former Vice President shown to her in a picture. It was quite funny, yet she was apologetic because she just knew he was a person that she probably should know, but she didn’t.

How many times have you been asked if you knew someone because they indicated your name on an application as “someone I know” or asked to give a referral? Asked to pass a person’s resume along to a hiring manager/Human Resources? Professionals need to evaluate more closely who they decide to put stock into when these requests are made to them. Even on LinkedIn there are easy options to endorse individuals for various skills. People have endorsed us on LinkedIn and they’ve never worked with us or experienced our quality of work. The gesture is nice, but we would caution you to think about who you are endorsing without more information. It may seem cruel, especially if you have a long history with a person. If you do not recognize the clear signs of someone you shouldn’t be referring, maybe consider the points below to protect your reputation:

They volunteer your name in an interview process without talking to you first
They have been separated (not laid off) from several jobs in the last few years and cannot explain why or do not feel comfortable talking about it
They are unpresentable
They’ve shared information with you regarding policies they have violated at previous jobs, such as stealing
You’ve seen no progressive track record or work history since you last worked with them

As a quality professional, we’re sure you want your stamps of approval to have value. Remember to do your due diligence or in the words of Keke Palmer, just say “Sorry to this Man (Woman)”.