Most leaders have a complicated relationship with normality.

Usually, they want to lead something special. Many want to stand out, outperform, and be recognized as leaders in their field. Many include language that affects their vision statements. And…many of my clients are special in those ways.

But…even though they want to be special, they are also concerned if they are normal. “Are our profit margins normal? Is our level of turnover normal? Is this kind of stress normal? Is this uncertainty normal? Are these problems normal?”

It’s often a relief when I can say, “Yes, that is normal.”

But normal doesn’t mean “good”.

But…“If all of your friends jumped off of a bridge, would you?”

The classic parenting question. Challenging the adolescent tendency to want both autonomy and a new herd to join. I doubt it has ever caused a teen to reconsider life choices. But that doesn’t mean parents don’t try it.

Speaking of bridges…in my late teens, we used to play on a covered walking bridge that spanned a highway. If we jumped in unison, directly in the middle of the bridge, we could get the entire thing to bounce. Like a giant, steel trampoline.

And just like a trampoline, if you caught the bounce wrong it could send you crashing into the roof of the bridge. We thought that was fun.

Late one night, we came up with the clever idea of climbing on top of the roof of the bridge. Naturally, we walked to the middle and started bouncing. Vaguely, in the backs of our still-developing brains, we knew a bad bounce from the top of the bridge could only end badly. But…we still bounced.

So, no. I never jumped off a bridge with my friends. That would be stupid. But I jumped on a bridge a lot.

I was being normal. Or at least what I thought was normal at the moment. (Not that I gave it much thought.)

Of course, normally, I never see people jumping in or on that bridge.

My point: What we think is normal may not be. Even if we are normal, it doesn’t mean we are making a good decision.

What is normal?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “normal” as, ‘Conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern.”

Here’s what normal usually means for leaders:

Normal is the average: For example, industry standards are normal. Of course, industry standards are rarely standards at all. They are what is considered to be “average acceptable performance.”

Average lumps all the low performers in with the high. In most industries, basic survival or just being “good enough” is the norm. That’s the fat part of the bell curve. As a result, industry standards are often heavily flavored by plain old low standards.

At a sort of sad minimum be average. Be normal. But take a good look at aiming higher. A little focused effort is usually all it takes to stand out.

Normal can be useful: Or at least knowing what normal can be. I often use industry standards when analyzing organizational performance or valuing a business. It’s helpful to know how a client compares to their peers.

Because I understood industry norms, I’ve been able to help clients who had very inaccurate senses of normal. For one client, revenues were 50% lower than what is considered normal for their level of staffing. They had been in operation for decades and were surviving. But no wonder they were constantly struggling financially.

They didn’t think they could do better. So they never tried. Understanding what was normal in their industry was eye-opening. Their reality didn’t have to be so hard.

Normal is underperforming and unhealthy: According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), 42% of Americans are obese. I couldn’t find numbers on percentages of people who were “fit” but the CDC says only 23% of Americans get enough daily exercise.

If we can use regular exercise as an approximation for “fit,” this tells us that US fitness norms aren’t great. The norm is to be unhealthy. The biological and lifestyle nature of these particular norms also encourages getting “stuck” in unhealthy patterns.

It’s similar for organizations. As in the example above, most organizations don’t run optimally. Most just get by with enough wins at the end of the day to cancel out the losses. Many don’t even do that. Average, or normal, is often a reflection of under-performance and poor health.

Norma might be dragging you down. Maybe killing you.

Normal is contextual: For all kinds of reasons, people appeal to “normal.” But what is described as normal is often out of context.

For example, a fast-food restaurant may have up to 150% annual turnover. That’s normal. But it’s only normal for the fast-food industry.

The restaurant industry, as a whole, has a 55% turnover rate. Which normally would sound high. But not when you contrast it to 150%. A shift in context changes what appears to be normal.

But keep looking and consider Pal’s Sudden Service. Pal’s is an oddly named fast-food chain with dozens of locations in Tennessee and Virginia. They’ve pushed their turnover down to low single digits. Their normal caught the attention of Harvard Business Review.

Make sure you understand what normal is for your context. But be open to what normal could look like for you.

Normal is often made up: Our perception of what is normal is often inaccurate and manipulated. There are many examples of this. Here are two common ones:

• Internet algorithms constantly surround us with ads and messages that will “fit” us. Soon, all of the messaging starts to sound and look the same. Many people marinate in their completely individualized versions of normal. This is primarily done to influence their behavior – usually (but not only) their buying behavior.

• Confirmation bias is another way we redefine our normal. We only choose to acknowledge information that fits our preconceived understanding of reality. Information to the contrary is filtered out or explained away. “Normal” is warped to mean what we like, agree, or are familiar with.

Either way, it’s easy for our sense of normal to not only not be normal, but possibly not even real.

Why am I saying all of this? 

Because collectively many leaders look around them and compare themselves to others. It helps them know how they are performing. Are we good enough? Am I good enough? Are we keeping up with the corporate Joneses?

My message is:

• Practice discernment. Ask questions. Don’t accept normal at face value.
• Normal is a low bar and easily cleared. Be superb.
• Normal may not serve you well. It may harm you. Learn to recognize what health and performance look like.

Normal isn’t intrinsically wrong. But be careful around it.

Take good care,

Christian

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