what type of driver are you? below average, average, or above average? if i collated the responses of everyone reading this, i would almost be willing to put money that most would define themselves as an above average driver. what’s the problem with that? well, it’s statistically impossible for everyone to be above average.
about 15 years ago, i remember a sports psychologist asking the players in my SASI team this exact question. and, as anticipated, all of us stated we thought we were above average drivers. granted there weren’t any metrics defining what makes an average driver compared to above or below average, but it’s this illusion that we believe we are better than the majority – in social psychology terms, it’s called the dunning-kruger effect.
i was reflecting on this question the other day when considering how many average experiences i’ve had in my life whether it be with doctors, physios, dentists, coaches, coworkers, and the likes. i started to remember learning about the bell curve theory (also known as normal distribution). within this, 68% of the population fall within the first standard deviation – 68% of people are average*.
if i take my experiences as a player, that means that for every coach i have, there’s an 84% chance that they’ll fall within that average or below average category. that leaves only a 16% chance they’ll be above average (exceptional [two standard deviations and above] is statistically even smaller at 2.1%). statistics were never my strength in school, so i’ve been re-educated to learn that stating it might take six different coaches (given that 16% is a one in six chance) before i experience an above average coach is actually not mathematically correct. the point though remains the same; the probability of having an above average experience, in anything we do, is very small. why is this so profound?
it's profound because as a society we expect our experiences to be above average all the time. we expect to get above average service at a restaurant, we expect to get above average treatment in a medical clinic, we expect our coworkers or peers to be above average in their drive and motivation, but the humbling reality is that most people we meet and interact with on a daily basis are in fact, average at their jobs.
since reflecting on this fact, i’ve found it to be liberating. and admittedly, it’s something i wish i had realised ten year’s earlier. it would have alleviated so many of my frustrations for wanting people to fall into above average categories when the reality is, most people will not. most experiences will not. that is why it might take you multiple appointments or candidates before you find someone who falls into this above average category. the unfortunate thing is that most people either don’t have the time, the patience, the resources, or the motivation to endure below average and average experiences before they stumble upon an above average individual. so what you find is people either avoid this process by quitting or not seeing medical professionals, or they become jaded and hyper-critical of those in those positions.
i have been guilty of both. i’ve avoided physios and dentists because i haven’t been able to find one i think excels in their profession. but i’ve also been hyper-critical of coaches; wanting them to all be above average all the time when the reality is, they statistically can’t all be above average. being reminded of this knowledge, now, has allowed me to be more understanding and more patient. it’s liberating. that doesn’t mean we have to accept mediocrity and stop striving for greatness or holding people to those standards, it merely offers an explanation for the gap between what we want and what we more often experience.
so, what type of driver are you now?
*assuming a large enough sample size
**please note, what might be an average experience for one person, might be considered an above average experience for another.
I think it is fair to hope that the person with a professional qualification is better at their job than you. After all, they have the training and experience.
It is also fair to expect those in your charge (coworkers, players, etc.) to live up to your expectations of the professional level you wish them to attain.
So, is that ‘average’? Is it the ‘balance of scales’ in society?
I leave that for you to decide.