Mediocre, a tough word to hear when it is used to describe us or something we are doing. It is an even tougher word to overcome when your are sent in as the leader to change things. Mediocrity can be a habit, a lack of knowledge, or a mindset. Raising the bar and washing away mediocrity can be tough, sometimes impossible.
Courtney Banghart was named coach of the year in 2015, “for taking charge of a mediocre team that had never made the NCAA tournament” while all the players met the academic standards. She never forgot that the team is only as strong as it’s parts, the women working hard to be educated, play basketball and become the women they were meant to be. Team is important but not at the expense of it’s members. Which means first and foremost knowing the people, their strengths and weaknesses, then helping them to see themselves beyond where they are today.
A rising tide raises all ships, even the worn out, dilapidated and overlooked ones. If they are floating, that boat will rise. There is always hope, with effort anything can change. Hope alone will not change things, it takes much more than that. Behaviors, habits and attitudes must become part of the solution instead of being reasons for failure. It takes concerted effort to believe in people while they change…assuming they want to change. Sometimes it takes a new vision, a new hope AND someone to infuse the group with the courage to change. Day after day the water will rise and the ships will eventually sail again on the high seas. Hooray for the captain, the coach, who dares to step in and help the parts become a stronger whole.
Maybe today you are the person who needs that infusion of hope, or you may be the person who provides the hope. Either way, mediocrity is not a life sentence unless we want it to be. Take inventory of your parts and see how they can be transformed into a stronger whole.
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