“Good Job” are the 2 most harmful words in the English language?

Please excuse me, but I am and always have been pre-occupied by individual and team performance. How about you?  Do you ever find yourself mesmerized by the intricate precision of a band’s sound or the rich flavor of single musical note?  Have you ever been consumed by a dance performance executed so elegantly that it delivers a 5^th dimension to a musical piece?  Have you ever been stunned by an athletic feat that seems to defy the boundaries of what is humanly possible?  How are these levels of performance attained?  So much needs to come together to allow these virtuosos to rise above the expected.  Is it possible for an individual or a team to rise to such a level without sacrificing other critical components of healthy living?  Should one try?

Personally, I believe in the pursuit of such personal and team excellence.  I also think it is important to be done within the bounds of what is physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally healthy.

The tension between performance excellence and holistic health is the theme behind the 2014 film Whiplash. In this cutting, often vulgar and disturbing drama, we’re introduced to Andrew Neiman (played by Miles Teller). Andrew is a driven, ambitious, socially awkward, young drummer enrolled in the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City.  Driven to be more than excellent … Andrew is motivated to be historically recognized amongst the greatest drummers of all time, in the same breath as the iconic Charlie Parker.  His compulsion brings him into the path of jazz maestro Terence Fletcher (played by J.K. Simmons). Prestigious in reputation, Terence Fletcher, is beyond a perfectionist, he is ruthless, brutally abrasive, vulgar, psychologically manipulative, and physically abusive.

After seemingly endless bouts of physical, verbal, and emotional attack between the mentor and mentee … and following Fletcher’s dismissal from the Shaffer faculty, these two main characters engage in a reflective conversation in a dark, underground, NYC jazz club.  Claiming to have been misunderstood, Fletcher says “I was there to push people beyond what’s expected of them. I believe that’s an absolute necessity. Otherwise, we’re depriving the world of the next Louie Armstrong … the next Charlie Parker.”  He continues his rejection of performance complacency … “There are no 2 words in the English language more harmful than Good Job”.

Neiman, having never received true, authentic, sincere approval or affirmation from his former mentor questions, “But is there a line?  You know … maybe you go too far, and you discourage the next Charlie Parker from ever becoming the next Charlie Parker?”.

“No man, no … because the next Charlie Parker would never be discouraged” retorts Fletcher.

Well, you’ll have to watch the movie yourself to see where this ends, but it begs to us all the question of balance.  I believe there is a balance … and, as with any balance, we can go too far in either direction.  Performance complacency allows us to accept substandard performance from ourselves, our teammates and/or our teams … maybe not less than what is expected, but well below our fullest potential. On the other hand, focus of approval of ourselves or others based only upon performance causes us to sacrifice the holistic health of ourselves and/or others. So how does one strike that balance?  In a recent CSUVetCE team meeting, we found ourselves pausing, perhaps too briefly, to consider that balance. We decided that healthy teams push one another to be great while lifting one another up to be well.

Abusive behavior under the justification of pursuit of excellence cannot be justified, but do we too often allow ourselves or our teams to perform below our given potential?  Do we have more to offer the world, but are accepting of “good job”?   I suspect that the balance, and particularly how it is achieved, is variable based upon the make-up and mission of the team and its people.

Part of the CE Elevated experience includes our acknowledgement that “you are more than a learner, you’re a whole person”, followed by our encouragement to “stay awhile and rejuvenate the ALL of YOU”.   I’m curious about your thoughts.  How do you balance your drive for excellence with your dedication to your personal and team well-being?

Ross’ career has spanned both private practice and academia. Along the way, he has always admired high level performance, especially when it can be attained while maintaining individual and team health. Ross is a professor Orthopedics at Colorado State University, Associate Director of Education at the Translational Medicine Institute, and a frequent educator here at CSUVetCE and around the world.  If you, too, seek to balance your holistic well-being with your pursuit of excellence, please get to know us at www.CSUVetCE.com because nothing fuels our passion like rubbing elbows with those dedicated to improving themselves so that they can better help others.

Image by pvproductions on Freepik