Last month many 18-year old’s taking UK A-levels found out their grades and due to re-basing of the marking back to pre-covid levels, many missed out on their selected university. A few days after the results were announced, a self-professed multi-millionaire that I am connected to on LinkedIn issued a post saying exams are useless, grades mean nothing, and teenagers should go and set up their own business just like him. “Look at me, I’m hugely successful, you don’t need to pass your exams” was the message.
Needless to say, the comments were not all aligned to his point of view; “The last thing we need is another multi-millionaire telling kids they don’t need to study” was the general tone of the ‘against’ responses. However, there were also those who recognised that there are many successful people who were never star pupils. And this is where I think the opportunity to create positive influence was lost.
When we are in a position of influence, as the individual who made this post clearly is, we have a responsibility to consider the impact of our words. While not having achieved good grades may have done him no harm (and I have no idea whether he was an A* student or left school at 16 with 2 GCSE’s!), there is no benefit in advising young people that exams and grades are a waste of time. This is a negatively weighted message. The same desired result could be achieved in a more constructive way.
If I was writing that post, I would have started with something along the lines of “Your grades don’t define you.” I would want all those that read the post and had failed to get into their choice of university to realise that there was more to them than their grades, and that they still had every chance of success in their life. The desired result of the two messages is equal, however by reframing the message around a positive outlook and not trashing exams and grades, we inspire others. This is a positively weighted message.
A week after the A-level grades were announced, Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon, two pole vaulters at the World Athletics Championships, shared the gold medal. This is a very rare occurrence, and many criticised their decision because they believe that world champions, like gladiators, should battle until there is only one winner. As Moon explained, fatigue becomes an issue after a long competition and with the pole vault, one small error can cause serious injury. The two champions decided to share first place.
Being a champion comes in different guises, not only being a winner. When I was in my 40’s I completed 8 ultra-marathons. I never won, but then again, I never expected to. My definition of success was completing them safely.
The traditional definitions of success, whether high grades or being a champion exist for a reason; they are definable measurements of success. However, they are far from the only routes. Everyone has a champion within them and every one of us will achieve many of our own successes. When things don’t go how you plan them, remember that.
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