When good isn't good enough

A little over a year ago, a friend of mine hired a man for a managerial position. He came highly recommended, works really hard and gets along very well with his staff. However, he has been failing to meet the expectations set for him.

My friend is having a tough time because she has no time to babysit him and teach him how to get better at his job. Yes, he is doing his best - but what should she do when his best isn’t good enough?

Good is just average

It’s not so hard to criticise someone when they are not doing their work. But when someone is making every effort and working very hard, criticising them is not an easy thing to do – especially when he or she is a decent person.

Most people are good at what they do. But good is not good enough. Good is just average. Who would want to employ someone who is just average, anyway?

To achieve goals, we need people who want to do better. We need people who are hungry for more. No one should employ someone who is just good, anymore, if the wish is to meet their goals.

To meet goals, we need people who are fantastic.

Are our ministers good enough?

In Malaysia, thanks to our previous prime minister and the never-ending political scandals we had to endure throughout his leadership, people have questioned the morals and ethical codes of politicians and vilified them for indecency and immoral behaviours.

This is why, today, when we hear of ministers who are nice, decent and down to earth, we are too quick to label them as the leaders Malaysia truly needs. Thanks to Najib Abdul Razak, we Malaysians have lowered the standards we set for our leaders, by quite a bit.

In the past, people rejected leaders who underperformed. These days, we look at underperforming ministers and say:

“At least he/she understands our struggles.”

“At least he/she is not corrupt.”

“At least he/she is decent.”

But is that the standard we want to set for our leaders – that they are friendly, ethical and nice?

Yes, those are good characteristics to have for a leader, but are those standards good enough?

Hardworking isn’t good enough

Like my friend who is disappointed with her decent and hardworking manager for not meeting the company’s expectations so much so that she is tempted to dismiss him, it should not come as a surprise when some Malaysians are pleased to have ministers who are decent and hardworking but not meeting expectations, dismissed.

I do agree ministers who make efforts to fulfil their responsibilities should be given time and opportunity to achieve their goals - but what do you do when your expectations are not met, despite the countless of times you gave them the opportunity to redeem themselves?

In principle, the best way to move away from a mess is to start moving in a better direction.

Likewise, to reform and achieve greatness, we must not compromise on anything that stands in the way of rebuilding our beloved country.

And anyone who becomes part of the team who rebuilds Malaysia, being good is just not good enough.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a director, a struggling producer, a photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot. - Mkini