It seems that every time I turn on the TV to watch the Olympics, beach volleyball is on. I had never before seen this event. But I have become a fan of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. I want them to win gold medals.
In essence, I want them to succeed, like I always wanted my employees to succeed, and now, my students.
Watching the Olympics, the point driven home to me with all the force of a Misty or Kerri shot is this: The Olympics is a metaphor for life, especially work/careers. There are winners, and there are losers. Students must get used to it, for as anyone working today knows, that is the way it is in the workplace.
In the Olympics, the best get either first, second, or third place. Everyone wants the gold, but there can be only one gold medalist.
On the job, I believe that most employees want to record good performance doing meaningful work in jobs that matter. Study after study proves this. My own 30-plus years of experience in Corporate America as both a manager and later as a consultant have shown this to be true.
Yet, I am seeing a disturbing trend among my Millennial students. Many have an unreal set of expectations about course performance that I fear will hurt their ability to make it in the workplace. In every class, an alarming number of students appear to believe that they should make only “As” no matter what. It appears that some simply feel entitled to As.
News flash — you earn “As” just like you earn job offers, promotions, and bonuses in the workplace. I have no problem with awarding high grades to students who earn them. I never had a problem with rewarding my employees when they deserved it either.
What disturbs me is the attitude when a student gets less than the coveted “A”: “But I worked so hard in this course! I tried so hard. It’s not fair!”
This is a meaningless argument. We are all supposed to try hard all the time. Life requires our strenuous efforts just to make it. It is not a question of fair or unfair. It just is what it is.
What if you heard a silver or bronze medalist whining, “But I tried so hard!” He or she probably did, and all the world saw it. We expect no less in the Olympics. Trying hard is a given; but there will be winners and losers.
Truth is, instructors and employers expect no less of students and employees, respectively. And there will be winners and losers in the classroom and workplace, too.
The individual has the power to affect outcomes in the classroom and the workplace. Just as Olympic athletes prepare themselves for competition, students and employees must prepare themselves to compete as well. That means training, discipline, and mental toughness.
The best prepared will succeed, and many times that includes those who work and try the hardest. These select individuals will “win the gold” whether that gold is an A grade or a job offer, promotion, or bonus. Others will not.
When we enter the classroom or the workplace, we are not automatically entitled to the “gold” just by being there. We all must prove ourselves worthy. There is an old expression heard frequently in business: “What have you done for me lately?” It means that we must continually prove our worth.
Unfair, you say? Perhaps, but it’s the truth. But the good news for both student and employee is that in both settings, there can be more than one gold medalists — more than one student can earn an “A”, and more than one employee can earn a job offer, promotion, or bonus. All it takes is the right attitude, a strong work ethic, and discipline.
Les:
You didn’t say it directly, but there’s another truth exposed by the Olympics and often ignored by young people today: life is not fair. The best performance does not always win.
Bad luck, bad judging, crooked judging, lousy weather, fans, a gust of wind and any number of other elements can turn an outstanding performance into an average score.”
Same thing in life: as long as humans are involved, mistakes will be made and there will be cheating. Misunderstandings will happen. As long as something larger than human beings is in charge, we’ll face challenges that will test us, and may make us better.
The secret lies partly in the serenity prayer: “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
If we work hard – harder than the competition – and come armed with the proper attitude (see the prayer above), we can increase our odds tremendously and may be able to overcome those things we can’t control.
-Mark
Mark,
Once again, what you say is so true (you are really well-named).
I had thought about saying more about “life is not fair”, but cut it to keep the post relatively short. I could write another post on that theme, because, as you so astutely point out, it is a cosmic truth that we must all acknowledge.
For example, we can do as you wisely advise, “… work hard – harder than the competition – and come armed with the proper attitude (see the prayer above), we can increase our odds tremendously and may be able to overcome those things we can’t control.” Then the Chairman of the Board of your company instructs HR to hire his niece as head of PR even though she just graduated with a degree in Sociology, but she “likes working with people.”
Sadly, it happens all the time. Life can be terribly unfair. Human beings, especially those who have power in organizations, sometimes do things that to innocent, hard-working people, seem incredibly hurtful and wrong-headed. I agree with you about using the Serenity Prayer as a refuge in coping with such situations.
Who knows, the new Sociology major who becomes head of PR may be savvy enough to realize she is in over her head and rely on you to help her succeed. In so doing, she may give you maximum credit, earning you raises and/or bonuses, and maybe even a promotion. Her uncle, the Chairman, may see you as a team player and help open doors for you that brighten your career prospects.
Or, the new PR chief may be a total slug. After securing a new position and getting the offer in writing, you can go to that same PR office and resign.
It is always up to us: “If it is to be, then it is up to me.”
Thanks, Mark. You always add strength to the discussion.
Les
Actually, I remember the chaplain in junior high telling us during our required Ethics class that “life’s not fair,” and I think we were all shocked to hear that from him.
The serenity prayer is a good one. I would also like to point out, on the Olympic metaphor, that the gold medal quest is an ongoing one. Yes, there are Michael Phelpses in the world (though hopefully not too many, or else all athletic competitions will be quite boring), but many of the Olympic winners were losers at some point. In the U.S., we followed the saga of skater Dan Jansen, who needed several Olympics to win his coveted gold. Even here in Korea there was a weightlifter who won the 77 kg class gold after four wrist surgeries and after his cohorts had come thisclose to winning only to come away disappointed. The true measure is not if you lost but what you do next.
Les,
I am amusingly torn. While I’d like to cheer you on this rant (what you say is true, afterall), I also have to smooth my ruffled Millenial feathers and say “Hey!”
I agree that those who covet an outstanding GPA may find a rude awaking when they hit the real world; however, having been one of those naive students once, I must meekly say “Hey!” with absolutely no real ground on which to stand and protest.
So instead of a true protest, I will mildly defend this typical student behavior with a link to a rather well-versed explanation.
Jacquielynn Floyd writes a great piece on how ‘Millennials’ have been taught a sense of entitlement.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/jfloyd/stories/022208dnmetfloyd.310f03b.html
I love especially her thought that “The underlying foundation of the millennial generation is supposed to be their baby boomer parents (us), who turned them into self-centered praise gluttons by hovering and coddling and bolstering their self-esteem, by telling them “Good job, Caleb!” approximately every eight minutes for their first 20 years on the planet… If we’re surrounded by young adults who expect the world to adapt to them, it’s because that is what their parents have taught them. ”
So what can I really say, in the end? I agree with Ms. Floyd – we’ll “grow up” eventually. Thanks for being one of the professors to help us along the way, Les. Stay true to what’s in your heart and head and you’ll bring ‘em around to reality.
I came around.
Hey Les:
It sure looks as if you taught some pretty smart kids over there in Maryland!
-Mark
Another great post, Les! The Olympics is a metaphor for life in a lot of respects. Whole-heartedly I agree with your points about winners, losers, work ethic and attitude. I will admittedly say, I was at times one of those students who expected “As.” Anything less just wasn’t fun to see on a paper. It took the professors that pushed, maybe graded a little tougher and graded down for even the smallest of errors, to make me put in the needed effort for an “A.”
Tiffany Derville, whom we both know and love, was one of those professors. (Hi Tiffany, if you see this!) And it came down to admitting to myself that the student next to me got an A while I got a B because he/she put in the effort and performance deserving of a higher grade. It wouldn’t have been anything else in Tiffany’s class. She graded fairly and we got what we deserved. Thus, I tried harder.
You don’t see Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh allowing the other team to score 19 points, while they score 21 just to skate to the next set. They crush their opponents. They dive, set, kill and spike the ball like it’s the last time they’ll touch it and that’s a great way to look at life. School, work and life in general should be lived how May-Treanor and Walsh play volleyball: with 110% effort and passion.
Thanks for the post, Les. You never cease to keep me on my toes!
I chose to write about your blog entitled The Olympics has winners and losers, just like real life. I enjoyed watching the Olympics this summer and was extremely interested in it, so this blog immediately drew me in. Every time I would turn on the Olympics it also seemed to me that beach volleyball was always on! I thought it was just me, and I find it very funny that you thought this too. Of course, like any good American I was rooting for Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. I was extremely happy when they won gold, and I’ll admit that I became a little teary-eyed.
I really liked and agreed with the metaphor that you wrote about. You are certainly correct when saying that the Olympics resemble real life. I also agreed with the fact that students are not happy when receiving anything less than an “A.” I think it’s because our culture is accustomed to always having a winner and a loser. I do not agree with that at all. Just because somebody wins, doesn’t mean the other person has to lose. Getting into the Olympics is a huge accomplishment within itself, even if you don’t receive the medal. On the same note, receiving a “B” on a paper you worked very hard on is a great accomplishment, even if you didn’t get an “A.”
I admit to sometimes getting upset over receiving less than perfect grades on tests and papers. It is comforting to know that my teachers (and future employers) don’t expect me to be perfect. You can’t always be the winner (unless you’re Michael Phelps). I think it is most important to always try your best, not necessarily to always be the best.
When I used to think of the Olympics the sports that came to my mind were gymnastics, swimming, and running. This is the first year I actually noticed volleyball in the Olympics and really enjoyed it. I was thrilled when Misty and Kerri won the gold. I never would think to compare the Olympics to real life, but this post showed me that they are very comparable. Everyone will win and lose at different things in life.
After reading this post I started to think about the way I view my grades. When I don’t get an A, I say I worked hard and believe I earned the A. I didn’t realize this until you stated in you post that your millennial students have an unreal set of expectations about course performance. In many courses I take I have gotten an A without doing very much work or studying. Of course I can’t complain about the grade but I look back and think what did I learn in this course.
Currently in your writing class I have received good grades and not so good grades, but I have come to realize I have accepted the not so good grades. It has motivated me to work harder and when I do receive a good grade I feel as if I did the work to earn it. I think the trend among the Millennial students is very dependent on how challenged we are in the course.
This post makes me realize that working hard and doing my best, just as Misty and Kerri, will help me to succeed in school and the real world. The grades I receive I need to earn by doing good work and working hard. I need to motivate myself to do well in every course even if the course isn’t as challenging.