The Myth of the Ideal Worker: How Bias Is Built Into Our Definitions of Excellence
Written By Lisa Shoko
Who gets to be seen as excellent? Who has to prove it twice over—and still goes unrecognised?
In times of uncertainty, organisations often cling to what feels familiar —confident communication, fast delivery, “strategic” thinking, visible leadership. But beneath these markers lies a deeper question—excellence according to whom?
The truth is, many dominant ideas about what makes someone a “credible leader,” “ideal team player,” or “high performer” are shaped by systems of bias. They reflect white, middle-class, able-bodied, cisnormative and masculine standards—disguised as neutral professionalism. That means people from marginalised groups are not only judged by different rules, but are often excluded from definitions of excellence entirely.
At Venekai, we believe it’s time to rethink what we reward—and why. In this article, we explore how bias is embedded in workplace standards and leadership frameworks, the costs of conformity, and what a more equitable, human-centred approach to excellence might look like.
The ‘Ideal Worker’ Is a Construct, Not a Fact
Most workplaces operate with an unwritten blueprint of what a “good” employee looks like. They’re visible. Decisive. Calm under pressure. Consistently available. Flexible with boundaries. Emotionally neutral. Energetic but not too emotional. Assertive but not aggressive.
But this isn’t a universal profile. It’s a socially constructed ideal—one shaped by centuries of racialised capitalism, gender norms, and class values. These traits often reflect dominant cultural norms that reward proximity to whiteness, masculinity, middle-class values, and neurotypical behaviours.
For example:
A disabled staff member who works part-time and takes more breaks may not be seen as “committed.”
A Black woman who challenges the status quo may be labelled “aggressive” while a white peer is seen as “assertive.”
A working-class employee who communicates directly may be deemed “unprofessional” or “too blunt.”
These are not one-off misreadings. They are patterns—and they’re deeply rooted in the assumptions organisations rarely name.
The Cost of Conformity
To be considered credible or promotable, many people feel they must shrink, flatten, or contort themselves. The burden is often greatest for people who already experience marginalisation—whether by race, gender, class, disability, sexuality, or faith.
For Black and Brown staff, especially women and femmes, the cost is often emotional labour and hypervigilance. For LGBTQ+ colleagues, especially trans and non-binary people, it’s navigating constant scrutiny or erasure. For neurodivergent or disabled staff, it’s masking fatigue. For people of faith, it’s pressure to keep their spiritual practices invisible.
This is where intersectionality matters. When you exist at multiple points of marginalisation, the pressure compounds. And when excellence is measured by how well someone conforms to an exclusive ideal, the playing field is never level.
Bias in Performance, Progression, and Leadership
In our work across sectors, we’ve seen how performance frameworks, leadership pipelines, and talent programmes often reward the same profiles, year after year. The language might seem neutral—“leadership potential,” “culture fit,” “strategic thinker”—but the criteria often favour those already closest to power.
Let’s be honest:
“High potential” is often just shorthand for confident, extroverted, and familiar to senior leaders.
“Strategic” often favours people who are theoretical, jargon-savvy, and trained in Eurocentric frameworks.
“Good team players” are often those who don’t challenge the status quo or who perform emotional labour behind the scenes without recognition.
It’s not that people from marginalised groups lack these qualities. It’s that they’re often read differently. The same behaviour can be praised in one person and penalised in another—depending on how closely they mirror dominant expectations.
So What Can Organisations Do Differently?
We won’t build inclusive cultures by broadening access to a broken ideal. We have to change the ideal itself.
Here are a few ways organisations can start to challenge bias in how excellence is defined and rewarded:
Rethink Leadership Models
Use frameworks that value relational intelligence, lived experience, collective accountability, and care—not just output and assertiveness.
Redesign Appraisal Criteria
Move beyond subjective judgements. Include 360° feedback, self-assessments, and equity-weighted reviews that account for context and systemic barriers.
Challenge the Myth of Neutrality
Talk openly about how race, gender, class and other characteristics shape perceptions of professionalism, confidence, and leadership. Offer training and create accountability for those making talent decisions.
Reward Emotional Labour and Inclusion Work
Recognise the staff who are building culture, mentoring peers, raising concerns, and doing the behind-the-scenes labour that makes inclusion possible.
Use Equity Frameworks
Embed intersectionality into your understanding of performance. That means interrogating power, not just demographics. Who is allowed to lead—and who is expected to tolerate?
Towards a New Culture of Excellence
Excellence should never be about how well someone fits a mould created without them in mind. It should be about how they lead, connect, build, challenge, and imagine.
At Venekai, we don’t just ask what people are doing. We ask what they’re being asked to survive, to navigate, and to carry—and what structures are rewarding or punishing those choices.
Inclusion isn’t about helping more people climb a biased ladder. It’s about rebuilding the system so that leadership, success, and contribution reflect the full breadth of humanity—not just those who’ve always been allowed to thrive.
The ideal worker doesn’t exist. But equitable, inclusive, and humane work cultures? They’re possible. And they start with naming what’s been hidden—and choosing to value what’s always been there.
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