Workplace Doctor: Hard work will not bring you success. Smart work will

Working hard isn't always a guarantee of career success, but working smart is.

Does hard work really pay off? I work long hours to make sure I am doing the best I can and have always believed that putting in the maximum will reap the rewards I want for my career. But others spout on about work-life balance and making time for themselves and still seem to climb up the career ladder. Who's getting it right? HN, Dubai

Traditionally, hard work should be paying off. Working long hours and having the right attitude seems like the ideal formula for success. However, the more I work with managers like yourself trying to step up the career ladder, the more I realise that the relationship between hours of input and career output is anything but linear.

Firstly, I fundamentally believe that raw talent at work, either through intellect or interpersonal skills, is only enough to get you up the first few steps of the career ladder. After that it comes down to hard work, attitude, persistence and commitment.

We have all seen younger people born with a musical or sporting talent who don’t think they need to practise to excel and who are eventually surpassed by less talented, but harder working peers. Research has shown that hard work, meaning focused, intentional practise, can outshine innate ability in many different areas of our life.

Yet just as being bright is a necessary but not sufficient condition for career success, neither is work ethic. The belief that all you need to do to earn your organisational stripes is to give time, sweat and tears is actually untrue. That time needs to be focused, purposeful and in service of a clear future. This is also known as “working smart”.

If you are spending your many hours fighting fires, doing tasks that are unconnected to how your performance is measured or simply trying to please others, then unfortunately your hard work may go unnoticed. On the other hand, if it is deliberate, intentional and forms part of a bigger plan then I would say continue, as it will create a consistent message of your worth. Otherwise you are volunteering your time and goodwill with very little in return.

This doesn’t mean you don’t work hard, but work harder on where you spend your valuable time. Make sure that everything you do is helping the business and also driving you forward on the road to success, rather than spinning around in circles. Select projects that are challenging rather than simply filling your desk with shallow, menial tasks that keep you feeling busy.

In my own experience, as I write this at 8pm, I realise I am not the ideal spokesman for work-life balance in the traditional sense of the word. Yet in today’s 24/7 connected society, balance is what we make of it. The time I am putting in working is certainly paying off. I am spending time on higher value “deep work”, like writing this article. And to put it frankly I enjoy it, so it doesn’t actually feel like hard work. Similarly, I still make time for sport, friends and relaxation. Yet I also know putting a few extra hours in now and then will always be of help.

Your colleagues who spout on about work-life balance and still progress in their career have probably already come to this realisation and are doing something right. First and foremost, they restrict their time at work, and this constraint means they will have to work in creative ways to focus on what is important, ignore the unnecessary and ultimately deliver their objectives.

Most importantly their evenings and weekends are likely to be filled with activities that re-energise them rather than drain them further. They will spend time with their family, see friends and play sports, so when Sunday comes around they are fully recharged to face the week. Unfortunately, others like you may return to work still running on empty.

You ask who is getting it right; it is clear that many of us search for having the best of both worlds; a thriving career and a satisfying personal life. This requires smarter, focused work where we know what is important, and we are confident enough to also say no if required.

Doctor’s prescription:

It is not unusual for motivated people to push exceptionally hard when in reality we need to learn to work a little differently, known as working smart. Remember that hard work alone is not what is going to help you stand out from a crowd of workaholics. On a positive note, at least you have become aware of this and can start rechanneling your time and your energy.

Alex Davda is a business psychologist and client director at Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School, and is based in the Middle East. Email him at [e-mail] for advice on any work issues

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