The End of Average
#Non-fiction
Culture & Human Systems
Why I recommend it
This is a thought-provoking challenge to the way organizations use averages to define people. It makes a strong case that leadership gets better when we develop individual strengths instead of measuring everyone against a standardized norm.
What stayed with me
A useful system has to account for the person in front of it. An average may describe a group, but it can hide the variation that matters when we are hiring, teaching, coaching, or designing work.
Who it’s useful for
Leaders, managers, teachers, coaches, and people designing systems that are supposed to help humans learn or perform.
A tension or limitation
Organizations still need shared expectations and ways to make decisions at scale. The challenge is to use those tools without letting a convenient measure become a definition of a person.