He takes a nap after lunch every day, but he naps frequently. Take a nap after dinner. He spends three to four afternoons a week at home playing golf or tending to his garden. He has taken a few months off from work and is traveling abroad to a vacation destination. He prides himself on avoiding “hustle.” He recalls:I’m here because I ran away: I worked less, lived more outdoors, and enjoyed the outdoors, sunlight, and exercise. ”
Leadership experts would view such a man with suspicion and mark him with a mediocre career.
In fact, this man was John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men of all time.
No matter what you think of Rockefeller, it’s hard to argue that he didn’t accomplish much in his career.
How can this happen?
Although some elements of his situation were unique, Rockefeller embodies an important trajectory that we should all be familiar with.
When he began his career as a bookkeeping assistant earning 50 cents a day at age 16, all he had was hard work. He worked hard and long hours and invested in learning about the emerging oil industry, with hopes of one day moving up the ranks.
Like Rockefeller, we all must first accept the age-old equation that effort equals reward.
This is what we teach our children. This is what we preach to our interns, new employees, and college students. This is good advice for those early in our careers. By logging extra hours, tackling difficult projects, and exceeding expectations, we can establish ourselves as high performers.
This is because in the early stages of most people’s careers, responsibilities are often task-oriented and personal. A person’s level of achievement is often a linear function of the effort he or she expends.
upper limit of effort
But those who succeed in translating their efforts into success also expand the scope of their role. They are given leadership responsibilities and more complex projects.
At this happy point, the demands of the job begin to exceed what one can accomplish alone. We all have limits in our ability to multitask and handle cognitive load. If you try to apply the effort = reward equation, you are less and less likely to get results. Even worse, mental and emotional resources can be depleted, leading to burnout and poor work quality.
To break through this “effort ceiling,” we must transform from doers to leaders. We need to adopt a different equation: effectiveness = reward. You need to move from run mode to delegate mode. This transition requires a shift in mindset. Success is no longer measured by how much individuals accomplish, but by how effectively teams can work together, handle complex projects, and ultimately deliver results.
As in the Rockefeller example, the idea that reward is no longer measured by effort may feel counterintuitive. This is because our intuition is wired to associate reward with effort. Research shows that people value what they put effort and resources into. Also, people value people who make an effort more highly than people who don’t. These are all healthy and useful intuitions for the first and perhaps most difficult part of our careers.
How to know when you need a mindset shift
There is no warning light that tells you when to stop the effort = reward function. It’s more of a science than a science. However, there are some signs to look out for.
Internal indicators: The impact of our work on us varies from positive to negative. I used to love my work, get energy from it, and feel proud when I look back on my accomplishments, but now I start feeling burnt out, lethargic, and constantly frustrated. . External indicators: Our ability to meet the expectations of others is increasingly impaired. Where before we were used to achieving goals and basking in the glow of satisfied colleagues, we now feel an unfamiliar discomfort when we report that we have only partially met their expectations. The demands on our time and energy always exceed our capabilities. It feels like we are forever behind. The nature of our challenges: Our responsibilities can no longer be neatly described in closed categories. Little by little, stop working on the task and start working on the questions. The answers don’t come easily or quickly. Others have tried to grapple with these questions and experienced the same difficulties. That’s why they rely on us.
Shifting to this new mindset also requires changing what makes you happy about your job. Our primary satisfaction now comes no longer only from accomplishing tasks on our own. We need to redefine success and measure it through our ability to lead others to success. In this sense, we must learn to live vicariously.
This is what Rockefeller and many others learned. Along the way, they achieved success beyond their dreams. Additionally, we made the world a better place by fostering professional growth for everyone involved.