I saw a bumper sticker today that read “Mediocre Is The New Fabulous.” This really got to me because it’s a little too true. It is also sad. Mediocrity is a sad state. It’s a state of moderate quality. Ordinary. Middling. We don’t want mediocrity for our families, our towns, our teams, our country, or ourselves. We want fabulous! We want awesome!

But calling things awesome doesn’t make them awesome.

The self-esteem movement is part of the problem. The desire to make everyone believe in their unique value has been confused with making everyone believe their actions are outstanding and their contributions are incredible – beyond belief. This is particularly true for children. Children have numerous wonderful traits such as creativity, silliness, and sweetness that really are wonderful because they inspire wonder. Many children also have impressive talents, but that doesn’t mean they all should get a softball trophy just for showing up. I’m all for encouragement, but let’s be clear, not confusing!

Children aren’t the only ones getting confused. Grade inflation does not exist only in the schools of Lake Wobegon. It exists in almost every school. Furthermore, it exists in corporate America. Most employees believe they are above average. And they have performance reviews to prove it! Let’s be clear here. They aren’t all above average. Many are completely average and average is OK, especially if you have a lot of good employees. But when you give employees the equivalent of a trophy for showing up by rating them “Exceeds Expectations,” good luck explaining why you are letting them go or denying them a promotion or a top raise. Good luck avoiding those lawsuits too.

Words like fabulous, awesome, fantastic, and amazing are not just overused. They are weakened. They are basically being used as synonyms for good or great. As a result, their original meanings are diluted. Fabulous actually has to do with fables. A fabulous author is one who writes fables. Awesome produces awe that is awful as often as good. Fantastic applies to fantasy and living only in the imagination. Amazing means causing consternation, which can also be negative as well as positive. By using these powerful and intriguing words in place of good or great, we are stealing their clarity! And, ironically, we are making them mediocre!

So let’s fight mediocrity and increase clarity:

• Thank people for their contributions, especially when they help you personally. Heartfelt appreciation is weakened and feels condescending when mixed with obvious exaggeration.
• Give employees honest feedback and plenty of encouragement. Make both specific enough so they know what they can do to be even better.
• Eliminate performance ratings. Employees aren’t in secondary school anymore. They don’t need report cards. They need meaningful work, challenges, and feedback that will help them grow and contribute even more effectively.
• Celebrate the richness and uniqueness of words. Save powerful adjectives for truly magnificent moments, noble and heroic behaviors, and amazing accomplishments. ‘Wow,’ ‘really nice,’ ‘very impressive,’ and ‘greatly appreciated’ are perfectly adequate for expressing gratitude and appreciation. Save the best for the best.
• Last, but certainly not least, figure out what would truly be awesome and make it happen!

I am a big fan of exuberance and enthusiasm, but it’s a crying shame if mediocre is the new marvelous!

Ann Latham is an expert on strategic clarity and author of The Clarity Papers.

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This article first appeared on Forbes, May 2nd, 2018