Promoting Mediocrity

There is nothing wrong with being an average employee. Not everyone aspires to be in management for instance; there is, indeed, no room for everybody to climb the ladder.
So if people meet the requirements of their current jobs, they like the jobs and want no changes, it is perfectly fine. In fact, I could see why some people choose to remain like that. Suzanne Lucas explains it very well on her article "5 Reasons You Should Strive for Mediocrity," which I have summarized as it follows:

1. It decreases our risk of being fired:
   When we do exactly what the boss asks to do, when we do not question anything, when we just keep your head down and say yes to everything... we do not get a target placed on our backs.
2. We are not a threat to bad managers:
   Some managers cannot stand it when we are ambitious or smarter. They will do everything to cut us down and undermine us. By being mediocre, therefore, we do not threaten those managers, and our positions will be secure.
3. No risk of failure:
   If we are presenting new ideas and challenging old ones, we could fail. Failure is embarrassing and depressing. It stinks. However, by just being adequate, we will surely not fail and, consequently, we will not have to face any shame.
4. We can focus on our lives outside of work:
   If we want to spend more time with our families or on our hobbies, striving for mediocrity at work means we will surely have time for that. In doing this, we will not have to deal with late night phone calls, or weekends spent finishing up projects.

Some of us, however, want to do a better-than-average job and, if needed, be promoted accordingly. Even if that leads to change jobs several times in our lifetimes; even if that means we fail countless times in order to achieve our goals; even if we have less time to "enjoy life."
I have to say, though, that one will keep enjoying life to the fullest if the job is fulfilling. The most dangerous risk of all is, in fact, the risk of spending your life not doing what you want, on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.


Then, of course, you have to find the right company; or at least do your best to make it right, because you can make things happen and change them for the better.

But, what is the right company?

The Dilbert principle is a theory by Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams. This theory states that companies tend to systematically promote their least-competent employees to management, in order to limit the amount of damage they are capable of doing.

Sadly, I have seen it happen in one of my previous jobs. In many cases, the least competent, least intelligent people were promoted, simply because they were the ones that were not wanted to do the actual work. They were selected to do the easy work, like ordering stuff and yelling at people for not doing their work the way it was supposed to be done. These people not only got paid more, but they were also recognized individually for collective work that was actually never performed by them. I recounted this last example on a post I wrote some months ago: Working Boy.

Not long after I posted that entry, I chose to quit that job and pursue new opportunities. I realized that I was being tricked with the classic "carrot-and-stick" situation: more and more, for less and less. It is true that my salary was never reduced, but it was not increased either.
I was part of a team that worked hard to gain some special recognition. We eventually got it, but it was others who took the credit. Furthermore, when there were options for starting new projects, they were either promoting the same people or hiring new ones.

Therefore, there were only two options: keep on waiting... or quit. I know it takes time and patience to reach your goals, and I am sure I could have worked harder to make that company the right one. I decided after more than five years that enough was enough. I believe I deserve better and I will consequently achieve it.

Hence, I am copying these next lines from Art Petty's article "Just One Thing—Quit Playing Down to Their Level," as they describe my past job experience perfectly:

... The worst situation comes when there is a team of hard-working, capable people who are hungry to promote change but held back by poor leadership. Many of these people refuse to give in to the reality that the big changes they believe in and need to help the firm level-up are not forthcoming. They continue to raise the issues to little or no response and meanwhile, they execute their day jobs in good fashion, settling for any morsels of improvement they can drive. And slowly, over time, their expectations and their cry for “new” or “improved” reduces to an occasional whisper and they begin to accept the current state. This is when they have let the other players reduce the level of their game...


And this, ladies and gentlemen, is not a good example of the right company.