Being the Simone Biles of Your Office

This past week, I was walking with a friend who told me a story that started with (paraphrasing), “Because of all the stuff I had going on in my personal life, I could only operate with 50% of my brain capacity at work.” It was amusing to hear the story end with, “I got promoted twice in 18 months.”

I told her, “You’re the Simone Biles of work.” 

I was referring to Simone Biles’s uneven bars routine in the gymnastics team final the previous evening. Because Biles suffered a leg injury earlier in the week, she did not reach for the most difficult skills she could do.

As the commentator said: “She’s sticking with her normal routine—still very difficult.” Of course, Biles’s performance was more than good enough to help the team win the gold medal. She is so good that, even when she does not meet her personal standard, she can still more than meet the bar. 

My friend’s story of getting promoted even while working with only half her capacity reminded me that most people who have extensive experience in their roles and fields operate at a level where their “good enough” is better than what others can produce, and usually more than what the recipients of their work are expecting.

It then becomes a choice whether to add the extra flips and twists or be comfortable with the good enough effort. We might want to do the former for personal reasons, but Biles shows it is not always worth risking your health.

Leadership Wisdom 

USA swimmer Regan Smith won the silver medal in the 200m backstroke, her third in the Paris Olympics. She lost to Kaylee McKeown and Summer McIntosh in her three events, the same result as last year’s world championship meet.

Smith’s reflection in her post-match interview was insightful (starting at 5:20 in this video). 

Melissa Stark: How proud are you of what you’ve accomplished here?

Regan Smith: I’m incredibly proud. I think, of course, gold is always the goal—that’s what we want for Team USA—but I put together three incredible swims, and I’m going up against the best that the sport has ever seen. Ever. So to be right up there, I challenged all the gold medalists in every event, and I’m not a quitter, so I went for it in that race. It wasn't quite enough, but I’m very pleased with that time. 

Stark: You have had a smile on your face these entire games. What has this experience been like for you?

Smith: Yeah, I don’t want to do this if I'm not enjoying it. I think it could be so easy to walk away with three silvers thinking, “Oh my God, I was this close three times; I’m such a failure.” That’s not fun. Why would I want to do this if I had those thoughts going through my head? So I’m having so much fun with this crowd. It’s been insane, and I love representing Team USA. I’m racing really well, so I have nothing to be upset about. I'm just having fun.