Leadership in Action: Mediocrity at the Top: Pulling Away From the Pack

Mediocrity at the Top: Pulling Away from the Pack

Harold Scharlatt and Sloan R. Weitzel

Mediocrity. Various dictionaries define it in terms such as “moderate ability, value, or performance”; “a lack of skill or ability”; “ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding”; and “the quality of being not very good or not good enough.” Hardly the kind of words one would associate with people in leadership positions. Yet a look at data gathered from a Center for Creative Leadership assessment and development program over the past twenty years indicates that more often than not these words describe many of the people who assume the role of leader.

The information culled from The Looking Glass Experience (see sidebar) paints a picture ...