What makes a High Achiever ?

I was recently asked to attend a high achievers evening at my old high school, Sydney Boys High, along with 20 other ‘high achievers’. As I read the invitation excitement built. Seconds later, my mind turned to the obvious question: ‘Am I really worthy of such a classification?’ Elation turned to introspection.

I pondered the invitation, my own life and what I had achieved. As a society we like to celebrate those who stand out from the norm, particularly people labelled ‘high achievers’. But what does it actually mean to be a high achiever? Is it what we all should aim for, or is there something better? Is there one defining moment, or is it a journey?

To answer my question I consulted the obvious, ‘all-knowing’ Google. We all know if you want to find the answer to something you consult the ultimate authority, at least so I thought. I found little joy. No definition. Instead, the traits of a high achiever were listed, among other things, including: highly motivated, driven people. These do not necessarily sound endearing qualities. To my mind, this doesn’t spell out what a high achiever is, nor how it is measured.

Further self reflection and I wanted to delve deeper. Whilst I have some of those attributes I am not convinced they define all of what I have achieved. Back to basics I went. I grabbed a dictionary.

The definition in the dictionary of ‘achieving’, is to ‘successfully bring about or reach (a desired objective or result) by effort, skill, or courage.’ Now we are getting somewhere.

Add high, and you have someone who achieves greater than normal. The water remains murky, however, I could not pinpoint what troubled me; perhaps it is the addition of the word high to achiever that causes the problem with the definition. If we think of Grant Hackett we have a high achiever, but is he someone we should aspire to emulate?

My pondering continued. What specific acts constitute high achievement anyway? If we look to people like Mother Theresa, Ghandi or the Dalai Lama, are they high achievers? I cannot recall them being labelled as high achievers.

But what is it that has them not fit the high achiever mould? Are they lacking the necessary riches and individual successes? And if these amazing people are not high achievers, what are they? There are many people in the world who achieve amazing things from small scale to large scale. Dare I say, many achievements go unnoticed and uncelebrated and unlabelled.

If achieving is about effort, skill or courage, perhaps I need to look there to obtain a better understanding of this high achiever label.

 

Let’s start with effort.

We all know effort is about hard work, sweat and tears. No work equals no results. The harder you work at something, the more likely you are able to achieve what it is you set out to achieve. Working hard at something does not preclude failures along the way. Success and failure go hand in hand.

I have worked hard, very hard. But so have others who are not commonly known by definition as high achievers. If we look at Mother Theresa, we would have to agree it takes great effort, a lot of work, to feed and look after the poor in Calcutta. On a scale of 1- 10 (with 1 being almost no effort and 10 being maximum effort) she would have to be a 10 plus.

 

How about courage or skill?

According to the definition one only needs courage or skill, not both. Skill is something done well and courage connotes fearlessness. Perhaps a mix of the two is what achievers need. Staying with the Mother Theresa example, we would have to accept it would take skill and courage to set up places where the poor and ill can be fed around Calcutta, not to mention to actually go and do this day in day out: another tick for Mother Theresa. On a good day I think I have plenty of skill and a good dose of courage.

Last but not least, I am going to add the word ‘high’ back into the equation and we have someone who puts in more effort than the average person and more skill and courage. Whilst I think I fit this nicely, so does Mother Theresa and yet, not many people would call her, or the Dalai Lama, a high achiever. They’re called lots of other amazing things for their incredible efforts, helping greater humanity.

I can think of plenty of other examples of people who may be called high achiever, by the strict dictionary definition, yet we do not think of them in those terms. Recently I heard about a person diagnosed as a quadriplegic. With hard work, courage and effort he has managed to walk again. What an amazing achievement. But would he be labelled as a high achiever?

With my head hurting I still struggle with the concept of what, exactly, is a high achiever? I have come to realise high achievers to most people are the CEO’s of large corporations, successful managers of big businesses and sport superstars. Riches and fame seem to go hand in hand with a high achiever status.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with this per se, the problem is many peoples’ achievements go unnoticed and uncelebrated. Many of us feel as though we have not reached our full potential, merely stumbling through Maslow’s’ hierarchy of needs.

At some point in time a light bulb went on for me. What we need is to take the focus off ‘high’ achiever, and aim for something different. Something that will recognise achievements above and beyond what a ‘high achiever’ might have achieved, remembering our egalitarian ethos is about anyone and everyone reaching their full potential.

 

A better Goal?

To do this I decided to turn to the ancient Greek philosophers. Plato spent his life helping people achieve a state he called Eudaimonia, a Greek word that is a little difficult to translate accurately. The meaning is akin to happiness, though better described as fulfilment because happiness connotes constant desire for contentment and smiling all the time. On the other hand, striving for fulfilment accepts the challenges life throws our way, and acknowledges the human need to contribute to a greater society and have meaningful purpose.

Fulfilment is an individual construct and thus can capture a greater number of people if we think of it in terms of reaching one’s Eudaimonia. The mother who puts effort, courage and skill into raising her children, to see them grow into adults will feel a sense of Eudaimonia (as opposed to being a high achiever). The CEO of a large profitable company, who promotes flexible working hours and a home life balance, might feel the same. Spending meaningful time with family is as important in reaching Eudaimonia as running a successful business.

No one would argue that Mother Theresa, Ghandi and the Dalai Lama had reached Eudaimonia. And no doubt many other people come to mind that can also be credited with having achieved this state.

Having concluded my reflection, I do feel honoured to have been bestowed title of high achiever, but I resolve to try and make things better. I would prefer to see those who have attained Eudaimonia replace high achievers on the world’s honour boards.

If we do this, the world might become a kinder place.

 

Keiran Hathorn is the CEO & Founder of Big Wave Digital. A Sydney based niche Digital recruitment agency, Data & Technology recruitment company. Keiran leads a high performance, experienced recruitment team, assisting companies of all sizes secure the best talent.

Big Wave Digital is an award winning digital recruitment agency.

Get in touch and I’d love to catch up for a coffee to see how we can help out.

Let us help find you a brilliant team.

Share this blog