11
What Every Leader, Manager, Supervisor, and Employee Must Know About Excellence
The organization did figure out “where to go from here” and came to understand that they must strive for passion, competency, flexibility, communication, and ownership, that all five of these qualities were important in their work. Because of this, Excellence finally returned. Leadership wanted to do everything that could be done to keep Excellence front and center. And so he brought everyone together again to debrief. If there was anything they could learn from the crime of Average, Leadership wanted to share the knowledge across the organization.
Leadership had invited other Gorman-Scott Inc. leaders, managers, supervisors, and employees, and Excellence got straight to the point. Looking around the room, she smiled and then said, “First, I want to thank the employee who sent the ransom note and let Leadership know that I was missing. When I first heard about the ransom note, I somehow knew it was a way for the employees to let Leadership know there was a problem. Often, it is employees at the front line who are the first to recognize that Average has slipped in. Let me say it’s good to be back. I suspect there is no one here who wants to be just average.”
She paused to reconsider. “Well, there might be one or two in the organization who do just enough to get by, but for the most part we have a good group of people here.” She paced for a few moments and then said, “So if most of the people here want to be their best, I want to answer two questions you may have: (1) Why did so much time go by before we realized that Excellence was missing, and (2) when we finally did recognize Average, what took us so long to get Excellence back?”
She took a few moments to allow her questions to sink in. “First off, let’s admit that we’re all in this together. We have people here from all different levels of the organization, and we are all culpable.” People looked either surreptitiously around the room or down at the floor. “I do not say this to cast blame,” Excellence continued. “I say this to encourage you to look in the mirror, not across the room.
With a wave of her hand, Excellence acknowledged her team. “You all have met Passion, Competency, Flexibility, Communication, and Ownership,” she said proudly. She turned back to the group and stated seriously, “If you want me to stay, if you want to have Excellence in your personal and professional lives, if you want to be your best, I am suggesting that you get to know them better.”
Again, Excellence paced for a few moments. “So, now back to the first question of why it took so long for you to notice my absence. You didn’t notice my absence because you must have all of these for true excellence.” Excellence again gestured to Passion, Competency, Flexibility, Communication, and Ownership. “Do you remember what the ransom note said?” she asked with emotion. Holding it up, she read, “‘If you ever want to see your Excellence again, open your eyes and pay the ransom.’ Well, this is the ransom each organization must pay to get its own Excellence back: you must work consistently at the highest levels with Passion, Competency, Flexibility, Communication, and Ownership. And when I say ‘organization,’ I don’t just mean those in designated positions of influence and leadership,” she added authoritatively. “I mean all of you!” she said, pointing around the room. “Organizations are made up of individuals just like you, and you cannot attain organizational excellence,” she said, smiling and thumping her chest, “until you have collective individual excellence.
“You see, Average’s skill does not rest in promoting the substandard. It rests in nurturing mediocrity. He calls his method the Law of Average, and here is how it works: Average doesn’t work to suppress Passion, Competency, Flexibility, Communication, and Ownership all at one time. He just makes sure that at least one or more of these aspects of excellence is subdued, not at its best. He knows that if he can quell just one or two of them at a time, he can keep true excellence away. And that, my friends, answers the second question of why it took so long for me to return after you realized that Average had replaced me. Attaining and keeping excellence is not for the faint of heart, nor is it a walk in the park. It takes commitment, courage, and hard work.”
Excellence could tell that she had the group’s attention. “Let me give you an example,” she continued. “All of you know someone who is highly competent in her job. Not only is she highly competent, but also she is passionate and takes full ownership of her job. So far, so good, right? But this same person doesn’t listen to others’ ideas and opinions and is very rigid in the way she does things. When this person looks in the mirror, she sees herself as a team player because of her competency, passion, and ownership. The team, however, does not see the same thing because of her poor communication and inflexibility. By the Law of Average, mediocrity will ensue.”
Looking around the room, Excellence added, “Or perhaps some of you know someone who is the nicest person in the world. He excels at communicating and exudes passion. He bends over backward to make situations work, and he takes full responsibility. And yet, when it comes to getting his job tasks done, he is consistently late or has mistakes in his work, and you end up doing more work or having your work slowed down because of his issue with competency. While we like to be around these people socially, when it comes to work, having four out of five of these qualities does not meet the standards of Excellence.
“So what is my message to leaders, managers, supervisors, and employees? What is my message to you?” Excellence inquired as she surveyed the audience. “Each of you should take an honest look in the mirror and beware the Law of Average.” Smiling, she stated, “I have been asking you to take a look in the mirror. Actually, I am asking you to look deeper than that. You understand, I’m an inside-out character. Excellence,” she said, pointing to herself, “starts on the inside of each individual. Once you understand and commit to my five key qualities, then your behavior begins to change. I am asking each of you to take an inventory of your actions and behavior in the areas of
• Passion
• Competency
• Flexibility
• Communication
• Ownership
“It takes practice and self-mastery in all these areas for you to gain and maintain Excellence in your lives.” Excellence started to leave but then turned back to the group. “What I am talking about is not separate and distinct from your personal lives. This works at home too.” She smiled and then said, “Don’t follow the Law of Average—follow the Law of Excellence!”
Keep a constant awareness and vigilance
to always
be your best
with
Passion,
Competency,
Flexibility,
Communication, and
Ownership