“The heroes we notice” vs “The heroes we need”

We’ve all seen them: the Heroes We Notice. In the office, it’s the person who pulls an all-nighter to fix a critical bug snafu or the one who heroically juggles multiple deadlines without breaking a sweat (or maybe just a few pencils). These mavericks become legends, their feats whispered with a mix of awe and exhaustion. Our regular saviours of the earth, the supermen or the superwomen. But if they have to turn to these heroics so often, won’t you want to dig deeper? These are the people who do subpar-quality work regularly and hence the need of regular heroics. I mean, you must of heard this “If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority”, right? Basically, you need to dig into the root cause of it.

Here’s the thing: what if the real heroes are the ones we completely overlook? The ones who ensure these last-minute scrambles never(rarely) happen in the first place? Let’s call them the Heroes We Need.

These are the folks who consistently deliver high-quality work, on time, every time. They don’t rely on heroics; they rely on meticulous planning, clear communication, and a commitment to excellence from the initial get-go. They’re the ones who write code that is clear and concise, the ones who anticipate potential roadblocks in projects before they erupt, and the ones who don’t leave cryptic notes in their code for future generations to decipher (looking at you, Kevin from API team).

The problem? Our focus often falls on the Heroes We Notice. The all-nighter warriors, the emergency firefighters — they get the praise, the recognition, and maybe even a free cup of coffee (because let’s be honest, that’s the real reward). This, in turn, can pressure everyone else to cut corners, hoping their own desperate hero moment will come.

So, if “Success breeds Success” is true then, “Mediocrity breeds Mediocrity”

You may wonder, how does a simple thing like this gets unnoticed and our invisible heroes go unrewarded so often? I mean, it’s so obvious to see, right? Well, my friend the answer is, you may have noticed the ones who are rewarding(so-called “leaders/managers/bla-blas”) are also people and most of them would have either belonged to the same subpar-work-superhero category if they were doing the work intead of these superheroes. Or these so-called “leaders” are too naive and still got so much to learn that they can’t tell the difference between these 2 types of heroes. In short, a lot of them don’t deserve to be “leaders” with powers to judge and reward others based on daily earth-saving-vigilante work.

And as you have seen in movies, every time such heroism is done, it leaves some corner of the world in ruins. All this heroism comes at a huge cumulative cost which if not the same superheroes then someone else has to pay for it in the future, maybe our silent heroes.

The saddest part of this story is, once you start noticing, this theory doesn’t just hold in the tech world, this shit happens in every other aspect of life.

But what if we flipped the script? Imagine a world where we celebrate the Heroes We Need. A world where meeting deadlines and delivering well-crafted work is the norm, not the exception. A world where clear communication and proactive problem-solving are seen as the ultimate acts of heroism. A world where some superhero is not needed every five minutes to save the world.

Here’s how we can make that happen, not just in the office, but in every facet of life:

• Shine a Light on the Silent Guardians: Publicly acknowledge the folks who consistently deliver. Let them know their steady excellence is the reason things run smoothly, because let’s face it, nobody enjoys constant fire drills (metaphorical or literal).
• Planning is Sexy (Yes, Really): Make proactive problem-solving the new cool. Celebrate those who identify potential issues before they become infernos, because let’s be honest, everyone hates scrambling at the last minute.
• Invest in Quality Over Quantity: Prioritize well-crafted work over breakneck speed. Give yourself (or your team) the time and resources needed to do things right the first time.

By valuing the Heroes We Need, we can create a calmer, more efficient environment, whether it’s the office, our personal lives, or even our social media presence. So, let’s give a standing ovation to the quiet heroes who ensure the machine keeps running smoothly. After all, a world built on solid foundations is a lot less likely to erupt in flames (or require a superman landing every five minutes).

I am sure there might be other solutions to add to this article. If you happen to know one, please share in the comments.

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Happy not-needing-to-be-a-superhero-every-5-minutes. ✌️