What is Hardwork

Expect Hard Work and Teamwork

Any degree of suc­cess or achieve­ment requires hard work.  Work­ing hard is cru­cial, espe­cially in an increas­ingly com­pet­i­tive busi­ness envi­ron­ment.  There is no need to apol­o­gize for it.

At the same time, every job or posi­tion fits within a con­text where team­work is the essen­tial glue.  The entire team must work hard, and they must work together.

With­out team­work, orga­ni­za­tions become dys­func­tional and lose their com­pet­i­tive advantage.

The guid­ing prin­ci­ple for hard work and team­work is always to do right by your cus­tomers and employ­ees. There is no com­pro­mise for integrity or for doing what you say you will do, every time.

Plan for Hard Work

Work­ing hard every day is a neces­sity. I’m not talk­ing about the prover­bial “salt mine,” with twelve-hour days, seven days a week. Of course, there may be times when suc­cess — or even sur­vival — requires long hours for weeks or even months at a time. This is espe­cially true when you are just start­ing out, or when mar­ket con­di­tions become espe­cially difficult.

The point I want to make here is the need for the full engage­ment of man­agers and employ­ees to per­form their roles effec­tively, effi­ciently and con­sis­tently. They need to work hard and smart daily. Lead­ers must set the example.

I have seen orga­ni­za­tions where employ­ees are idle 20 per­cent of the time or more. I have seen employ­ees read­ing books or mag­a­zines with no appar­ent work to be done, or idly chat­ting with other employ­ees, dis­tract­ing those who have impor­tant work to do. There are cer­tainly peri­ods when work slows down, but there should be a plan for how to effec­tively use the extra time when this occurs.

Man­agers and super­vi­sors need to be in touch with what is going on and keep a short list of tasks that are not urgent but are help­ful when com­pleted. Keep peo­ple engaged pro­duc­tively. Employ­ees need to know what can be done to add value to the busi­ness and to help their team­mates dur­ing these slower times. Man­agers need to ensure their employ­ees are work­ing on the right things every day.

Think Team­work

Team­work takes lead­er­ship and encour­age­ment, and that begins at the top. It may seem basic, but too often the lack of a clear direc­tion can derail teamwork.

Within most com­pa­nies there are many smaller teams. Each team needs to work effec­tively, with all teams mov­ing together in a com­mon strate­gic direc­tion. This requires a com­mon vision and direc­tion that is com­mu­ni­cated it to every­one, and often. It also requires that you fos­ter a cul­ture of col­lab­o­ra­tion and openness.

No team or com­pany is per­fect. There are always areas that need improve­ment. Don’t be afraid to get peo­ple face to face and tackle the issues or brain­storm solu­tions. Bring­ing peo­ple together breaks down bar­ri­ers and strength­ens team­work. Work together to solve key issues that impact your abil­ity to exceed expec­ta­tions, par­tic­u­larly those of your customers.

It may take time, but soon you and your employ­ees will see that if you think beyond your­selves and focus on exe­cut­ing the vision and strat­egy, then you will con­ceive of actions that lead to improve­ment and greater success.

Good peo­ple want to con­tribute to the suc­cess of their team and com­pany. Too often they don’t have all the infor­ma­tion they need to under­stand how or where their hard work should be applied. Lead­ers must be open and trans­par­ent, mak­ing sure every­one is informed and mov­ing in the same direc­tion. When teams come together, good things happen.

Build Trust and Respect

Trust and respect are crit­i­cal to suc­cess­ful team­work. When lead­ers at all lev­els act with integrity and use good judg­ment, trust increases. So does employee respect.

Lead­er­ship becomes a whole lot eas­ier when your team trusts you to lead the way. When you say what you mean and mean what you say, you com­mu­ni­cate openly and clearly with all employ­ees, and you pro­vide them with all the facts, you’ll find that this sets the tone for a cul­ture of respect. Your peo­ple will be will­ing to put in the hard work it takes when they trust you to do the right thing.

It is worth adding that this should be fun. Lead­ers who rec­og­nize and reward hard work and team­work make it enjoy­able to be a part of the team.