In the age-old debate, should you work hard or smart? Let’s unpack the differences and why you should work hard in a smart way.
If you are a leader who constantly feels too busy or overwhelmed, then keep reading!
The easiest way to describe working smart is being efficient with your time. If you are feeling snowed under or consistently have no time, you are likely being inefficient with your time. As leaders, we need to learn to be efficient with our time, allowing us to have a greater impact.
Ask yourself, can this be delegated? And if not, is there a more efficient way of doing this?
An easy way to understand if someone works smart or not, is how they talk about time. Are they constantly running late or saying they don’t have time for that? They likely not managing their time properly and are not working smartly.
The common misconception is that you have to work hard to get somewhere. Yes, you do have put in effort, but you need to work hard in the right way.
If you train hard at the gym, you’ll leave feeling great. If you work too hard, you’ll leave feeling lightheaded and out of energy. It is the same as a leader, you need to work hard and efficiently, not too hard and in a way that could hurt you.
Do the workout!
As leaders, we set the pace and the example for all those who follow you. If you are not putting in the effort, you can’t expect others to. And similarly, if you don’t manage your time well and efficiently, you can’t expect your team to.
You must inspire others to do better and be better, so become the inspiration. Similar to how active parents have more successful kids than helicopter parents, so to will active inspiring leads see vastly better results.