Why working harder doesn’t work 🔥
↩️UNFOLLOW University — July 28, 2023
Happy Friday!
Entering my senior year at Florida A&M University, I did a summer internship in the marketing department of a retail brand. The CEO of the company was a relatively young executive and a rising star in the industry so I was excited to receive an invitation to meet with him.
While sitting in his massive office - the kind I wanted to have one day - I asked if he had any career advice for an aspiring over-achiever. He dropped 2 gems on me:
The best way to predict your future is to create it.
The best way to succeed is to work your butt off in your 20s.
I took it to heart. Over the next decade, I became a poster child for being the youngest, the first and the best in every position I stepped into.
I was on fire. My secret weapon wasn’t much of a secret. Weeknights, weekends and holidays were out of bounds for most of my older colleagues with spouses and families. Not so for me. I outworked them all.
Hustle became my habit, and winning was my accelerant. As the awards stacked up, the opportunities rolled in and affirmed what I already knew. Hard work pays off, but harder work pays better.
My career was on fire and so was I. The same flame that ignited my ambition caused me to ignore my intuition. I was burning out.
And when you’re burning the worst thing you can do is run faster.
Luckily, I remembered what to do if you ever find yourself on fire. The first step is to stop. 🛑
🤯 Radical Truth
Overworking correlates to more stress, not success.
Being a workaholic works for short-term wins but undermines any chance of enduring success.
To win is to strive, struggle and fight to gain something (seriously, look it up). Winning demands conflict and conformity.
To have success is to accomplish a happy outcome - to have a good result come after you. True success requires succession.
In my 20s, I was winning but I wasn’t successful. So what do consistent top performers do differently to create true success?
They are good at what they do and stay true to what works for them. 💪🏽
They nurture diverse sources of happiness and achievement across work, family, community and personal pursuits. 🌲
They regularly ask for help. 🙋🏾♂️
They avoid unnecessary meetings and busy work, opting to do the right work at the right level. ⛔️
They learn fast and keep going, especially after failure. 🚦
Working harder doesn’t work long-term. The CEO couldn’t warn me about a lesson he hadn’t learned yet. Ironically, the wisdom we need often comes from the failures and lessons of people on the same path. That’s why this newsletter exists.
I love these takeaways from Patty Azzarello’s book, RISE: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader and Liking Your Life:
Delivering work is not the same as delivering value. The most effective leaders have mastered a useful kind of selfishness and laziness.
It is up to you to put yourself in a job where you can thrive. To redefine the terms under which you are willing to work. Stop doing your job as defined.
They shoot workhorses. Don't be a workhorse. Be recognized for getting the important work done but not doing it all personally.
You get paid the first $250,000 for your brains. The second $250,000 for frustrating, time-wasting, disheartening big company slowness and bureaucracy. Anything north of $500,000 a year is the hazard pay for the company acting like it owns you.
Your boss wants you to push back. Your boss needs you to help her with her thinking. You are being paid to judge and decide, not to just do everything you are told.
Winning or working hard is not a wrong way to build a career, but it is an incomplete way to build a life. Once you gain a fuller view of what lasting success looks like, you can stop burning out and start tuning in for the moments that matter.
⚡️Courageous Question
How bad is it if I fail at this project? Is this a business priority or self-inflicted busy work?
🗣 Wonderful Words
“No one cares how hard you work. As a leader, you are expected to be able to deal with an overwhelming workload and not be overwhelmed. That's the job.”
🙏🏽 Prayer Package
God, you designed my work to be good from the beginning. Your intent for my life extends far beyond the borders of my job description. Bring me back to where I am dependent on you, not on my own striving, struggling and fighting. When control, performance and achievement become my bullseye, interrupt my assumptions with your timeless truth. I am already enough. Amen.
🎵 Trust in God - Elevation Worship ❤️🔥
🛠 Practical Tool
Building a career should feel less like playing Jenga and more like a series of lessons, challenges and connections that help you create meaningful work. RISE is one of the few books written by an executive that attempts to share hard-fought wisdom instead of showcasing personal accolades. It's a reality check not a highlight reel.
Patty's follow-up book, MOVE: How Decisive Leaders Execute Strategy Despite Obstacles, Setbacks and Stalls, is equally as notable as she focuses on leading large-scale transformations.
I've purchased at least 50+ copies of this book for teams, mentees and peers. Patty takes the peer advice normally reserved for close friends and lays it all out like an episode of TMZ (without the celebrities). I appreciate her candor and directness as she shares her personal motivations for wanting to succeed while giving readers a dose of corporate reality.
If you’re new to UNFOLLOW University you can learn more about me here or check out my previous posts.
See you next UNFOLLOW Friday!
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Every Friday I’ll send you 5 courageous ideas to help you redesign your work life by making better career decisions:
🤯 Radical Truth - A story from me
⚡️ Courageous Question - A challenge for you
🗣 Wonderful Words - A quote worth remembering
🙏🏽 Prayer Package - A moment of meditation
🛠 Practical Tool - An actionable resource
