I am a big fan of podcasts and audiobooks. I love the ability to listen and “do” at the same time, and I say this as someone who cannot work and listen to music; think podcast and laundry!
I recently was listening to Cal Newport’s Deep Questions podcast (Jan 26, 2026) and he had on author Brad Stulber to talk about his most recent book, The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World. In the podcast, Stulber introduces the concept of pseudo excellence (or performative excellence), which is basically caring a lot about what things look like as opposed to “doing” the work. Stulber describes influencers who might have a 40-step morning routine to achieve excellence in the gym, or in entrepreneurship, but the reality requires a focussed, less performative approach and one more rooted in values.
This got me to thinking about engagement and how sometimes things might “look” good, but the engagement actually didn’t achieve excellence, i.e., the objectives. For example, let’s consider an organization that hosts a lovely event, has well-designed communications materials, and does all the “right” things when it comes to planning and implementing the engagement. Was the engagement excellent if it had no influence? What about if decision makers had already made up their minds, or if the results of the engagement were challenged?
Pseudo-excellence in community engagement looks good, but changes very little.
I have come to realize that the work of community engagement starts as an inside job and preparing leaders to learn, consider diverse perspectives, and to be brave, and maybe to even realize that what they thought they knew was only informed by two neighbours not the broader community.
So, what does true excellence in community engagement look like, then?
- The results of the engagement directly helped to inform the options and trade-offs that decision makers considered.
- Barriers to participation were identified, mitigated, and the voices of those who engaged reflected the diversity of those impacted and interested.
- Time and intention were given to understand what was shared in the engagement and how it could be integrated into the go-forward.
- The host or sponsor of the process kept their promises, followed up, and consistently brought curiosity.
- There was integrity, respect and listening by all parties.
We can look to the IAP2 Core values to help define excellence. We can also look to organizational values and take an honest look at the impact of the engagement on the results, changes, or decisions that arise after the engagement. I’d like to suggest that pseudo-excellence in engagement makes engagement look easy or at least a bit of a checklist: make nice information boards, order coffee, post open house on social media, tally attendees, etc.
Real excellence is a bit messy and a heck of a lot harder because it requires deep thinking about change, power, privilege and influence.
As we moved through Lunar New Year in February and into the Year of the Fire Horse, a year associated with explosive energy, enthusiasm, intelligence, and a strong drive for progress, I’ve been thinking about how that energy applies to our work. How can you make your engagement processes truly excellent and not fall into the temptation of pseudo-excellence?
Wishing you well, Jessica