The Myth of “A” Players

I know I’m not the only person in the tech or eDiscovery industries who has been told that a given company “only hires A players.”

The best of the best. Only the highest achievers and brightest stars need to apply.

You know the drill.

Of course, it’s not true. If you’ve worked in any of those organizations, I also know you have had some coworkers who were not, in fact, A players.

If you need help understanding why that happens, this article has the math covered:

“A Players” And The Mathematical Myth Of Exceptional Talent

We struggle to accept that exceptional talent is actually as rare as it is, mostly because of our own biased belief that as a person we think are mostly better-than-average, which is, of course, statistically impossible.

As mentioned in the article, we should start thinking about how we manage the ordinary humans who work for us. This can mean rethinking:

• Job descriptions. – Are you asking for the moon and having trouble finding anyone?
• Meets Expectations – During employee evaluation, have you ever told someone who does a fantastic job for you that they are meeting expectations because you expect everyone to be exceptional? (Hint: Don’t be surprised when they leave.)
• Training – Do you bother trying to train and upskill employees who came in perfect? Are you missing opportunities to help develop your people?

These are risks when it comes to employee retention and engagement. Treating your employees as if they could only be the best of the best is not dealing with reality, and most employees will not enjoy working for a boss who has trouble with reality. It is implausible that everyone in the organization is an exceptional hire. Accept that. It’s OK. Companies have worked with many average folks who do a solid job for decades. It works, and it allows you to reward and recognize exceptional achievements instead of always downplaying them.

The math doesn’t math.

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