Average Doesn’t Sneak In

sarahjbohnenkamp
3 minutes ago
2 min read

Average doesn’t sneak into organizations.

It gets invited in. Over and over again.

Yes, my friends, AVERAGE IS A CHOICE.

Nobody wakes up and says, “I hope we’re mediocre today.” Yet, most organizations find themselves there anyway.

Why? Because average rarely happens by accident. Average is a leadership decision.

It’s the result of a thousand tiny concessions made in the name of "logic" or "comfort."

Average happens when:

You prioritize harmony over honesty. If your meetings are a chorus of “I agree,” you don't have a team; you have an echo chamber. Groupthink is the graveyard of innovation. No tension. No push. No courage.
You skip the coaching. "Our plates are too full" is just code for "developing my people isn't a priority."
You promote for tenure, not talent. Or worse—you hire from the outside because you don't have the courage to trust your "brightest stars" before they feel 100% ready.
You choose "Safe" over "Smart." Your gut tells you to disrupt the market, but you listen to the fear of customer retaliation instead.

The "Average" Trap

We see it in the performance reviews where a "5" is mythically unattainable because HR says everyone needs "room to grow." (Pro tip: If your stars can’t win, they’ll find a stadium where they can.)

We see it in the retraining loop. You keep retraining someone who lacks the willingness to do the work. You’re making excuses for them when you should be holding their feet to the fire.

We see it in the pay scales. Paying mid-range gets you mid-range results. Maxing out a job tier isn’t a budget crisis; it’s an investment in excellence.

The hardest truth: Average happens when you keep doing the same thing, hoping profits will magically turn around.

Anti-Average Courage

True leadership requires the courage to be "unreasonable."

It’s taking the gamble on the new idea from the front line.
It’s dustng off the strategic plan and making it the heartbeat of your weekly huddle.
It’s setting two Big Hairy Audacious Goals instead of twenty safe ones.