Average is the New Black
The anti–high performance approach to getting things done
Should I add “High Average-Performance Coach” to my LinkedIn profile?
(Asking for a friend).
We’re drowning in high-performance culture.
My feed is currently a graveyard of everyone 23x-ing their output using Clawdbot and optimising their morning coffee for maximum neuro-impact.
Or worse, drinking matcha… (sorry, not sorry).
Anyway, back to my original question.
The reason I’m pitching ‘Average Performance Coach” as something aspirational is that I believe the (usually self-imposed) pressure to be extraordinary slows us down.
Here’s what prompted that thought this week.
On a whim, I flew to Sydney yesterday for a lunch curated by Suzi Dafnis of Her Business. I’d planned to spend the day writing my book, but the temptation of hanging out with smart women in real life tipped me over the line.
We went around the table doing intros. A bunch of women shared creative projects they do outside of business. Ceramics, painting, leather work. Beautiful, slow stuff.
I ended up in a group conversation with Valerie Khoo, host of the podcast So You Want To Be A Writer. She was encouraging another lunch guest to get back into writing. Her advice was simple:
“Just buy a journal and start writing your thoughts over coffee.”
Then she added this cracker caveat:
“Oh, and buy yourself an average journal. Don’t get anything too fancy, otherwise you’ll feel like you have to write something amazing.”
That is the whole problem, isn’t it? We make the container too precious, so the content has to be precious, too.
And suddenly… we don’t start.
Lower the stakes
This is why deadlines help - specifically, deadlines that feel slightly too soon.
Back in 2018, I flew to Singapore for a 2-day workshop hosted by Sean D’Souza on how to write a sales page. After the session, he said to our group: “Please send me what you have before my flight tomorrow morning so I can review it on the plane.”
If he’d given me two weeks, I would’ve agonised over every sentence and built a masterpiece in my head that never saw daylight. Because I only had until “tomorrow,” I felt fine sending something average.
He gave me feedback fast. I improved it. The momentum continued and I got the sales page online. Done.
Whatever deadline you think you need, cut it in half. The tighter the deadline, the less room there is for perfectionism to show up and start redecorating.
Be “Barely Adequate”
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received came from author of The Coaching Habit, Michael Bungay Stanier. When I asked him what advice he had for first-time facilitators he surprised me by sharing this phrase , “Be barely adequate.”
“It takes time on your feet to master the content. So, the first few times you run something, you’re just striving to be barely adequate. That’s it.
Go for barely adequate because setting any higher standard that that, you just disappoint everybody, including yourself .
You don’t want to be inadequate because then you failed but if you’re barely adequate with the content and you have the right energy in the room, people will love you”
- Michael Bungay Stanier
Watch the clip here (or, the full interview if you like).
Leanne’s tips for lowering the stakes
Here’s what I like to do to reduce the pressure on myself.
1. Buy the average journal
This is more of a metaphor than a shopping trip. Every project comes with a set of heavy assumptions that slow us down. When I launched my daily podcast last year, Leanne on Demand, people were stunned. They assumed a podcast had to be a 45-minute polished interview.
Who says?
I did 3-to-10 minute voice notes. By lowering the production bar to average, I actually got the thing out the door every single day.
Look at the project you’re avoiding. What rules are you following that are actually just roadblocks? If the “standard” version of your project feels too heavy, change the format until it feels average enough to start.
Oh but if you do want to take this advice literally, I’d recommend getting a notebook from Muji or even Kaisercraft.
2. Set a “Micro-Deadline”
Whatever time you think you need, you’re probably overestimating. Speed is the best filter for perfectionism, set harder deadlines.
3. Define the “Floor”
Before you start a task, ask: What does a ‘3 out of 5’ look like here? We usually aim for a 6 out of 5.
4. Use the “placeholder” method
If you get stuck on a specific word, a title, or a piece of data, don’t stop. Type [TK] (journalism speak for ‘To Come’) and keep moving. You can go back and fix the “average” parts later, but only if you have a draft to work with.
Hope this helps get you started!
Tell me: What would “average” look like for you, in a good way, this week?
🌴
Leanne “Your Average Performance Coach” Hughes
p.s. If you thought this was an average article, hit the Heart 💙 and let me know (it’ll warm my heart!)
Was just pondering similar for myself today ... frustrated that everything feels 'hard' then realised it was my over-engineering and push for perfection that was making things harder than necessary. Barely adequate is a confronting, but powerful starting point!
And sorry I missed that lunch! Spending time with Valerie and Suzi is always powerful!