Leadership’s Antidote for Mediocrity

By

Dr. Alfred M. Coke

Tom Peters did America a serious disservice when he published his first book, In Search of Excellence. In doing so he led business people to believe they were wonderful. At the time US outputs were being hammered by Japanese quality. Everywhere you turned examples of Japanese efficiency and the resulting product quality were being touted as superior to the rest of the world. Peters surveyed a few companies, developed limited examples, and announced his cheerful findings. The bottom line was his implication that we were not as bad off as we thought. He gave us hope. After all we really were pretty good but just not appreciated. Wrong conclusion!

We were and still are average at best. When compared to the rest of the world the United States is far ahead across the board. Our leadership is studied, respected, and copied around the globe. Business leaders travel afar to explain our American way. Foreign businessmen and businesswomen tour our facilities and universities for sessions on how to emulate their American counterparts. I spent three days at a prestigious eastern university explaining American management theory to a group of thirty-five curious Korean business leaders. They made copious notes as if my words were the definitive answer to their problems.

When compared to what we could be in terms of untapped potential, unused capacity, and unappreciated talent the US still leaves vast sums of success on the table. In fact we are pretty average, maybe mediocre in most cases.

Every day I witness simple cases where leadership acts would change the outcome of the transaction for the better. These stories are so common they are frightening because they are examples of non-existing leadership. Sadly it is universal in North America.

When I first became aware of this malaise I began to see examples everywhere I looked. It was if an epidemic of “averageness” was taking place. Scanning papers each day I found dozens of cases where reading between the lines revealed examples of management’s failure to be good stewards of their enterprises.

This flood of mediocre doesn’t have to be the standard. There is an antidote. A good stiff shot of leadership across an enterprise structure would certainly be a step in the right direction. Fixing these problems will not take vast sums of money or the construction of new facilities. The corrections are attentive leadership and managership on a daily basis. The fixes are simple, requiring only good judgment, common sense, and an attitude of caring on the part of those in charge.

Specifically, leaders need to start acting like leaders by:

1. Making decisions – (amateurs freeze up)
2. Taking responsibility – (unprofessional people avoid)
3. Being accountable – (laypersons shirk)

In Summary

Breaking out of average requires leaders to be on the playing field fully engaged. Enterprise leadership doesn’t permit people to sit in the stands. Leaders are actively involved, step up to their responsibilities, and accept the consequences.