There are many strategies for becoming a top leader. Each has one thing in common: Hard Work. When you want to be a great leader, what is required? Hard work. When you want to attain the vision, how can it be accomplished? Hard work. If you want to grow your company, what is the obstacle in your way? Hard work. You get the picture. There is an old saying that, “There is no substitute for hard work.” Everything in life that is worth obtaining requires hard work.
I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. ~ Sir Winston Churchill, May 13, 1940. Speeches That Changed The World: The Stories And Transcripts Of The Moments That Made History
I really like the quote by Sir Winston Churchill because he understood the value of hard work. If you are a leader that wants to succeed, you probably understand and value hard work. You know that the completion of your work requires hard work, dedication, and a willingness to put forth all your effort to accomplish your goals.
The value of hard work
Several years ago, I was given my first opportunity to be a leader. I was the leader over three of my peers. I was expected to be a strength to them. In addition, I was expected to help them be motivated to accomplish the overall goals of the group. I felt very overwhelmed. I didn’t know what attributes I had that were special or unique from anyone else. I did understand, however, that I was willing to put forth more hard work than anyone else to get the job done.
You may be saying, “Well, hard work isn’t the best way to do it. You should do smart work.” I believe in smart work 100% because it makes things easier. However, if it is easier, you can do more in less time, but you still need to do hard work to get those things done.
Becoming a top leader happens after the process of hard work. As the Winston Churchill quote indicates, all you can give of your blood, toils, tears, and sweat. You can put forth hard work by giving your best effort. Your biggest asset in becoming a top leader is your work ethic and willingness to do hard work.
Have you ever worked for someone that only put forth half of their effort? How did that make you feel? What benefits have you seen from hard work? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
There is no substitute for hard work and honest endeavour, unfortunately this does not mean that you would always get the recognition you deserve or have rightfully earned.
The hardest worker and vast producer can get penalised as to promote them to supervis/management roles means you lose this individual work input, the person coming in to fill the role they once had is slightly less productive so you have a productivity shortfall/downward trend, the person who promoted the hard worker then faces a problem – productivity is down due to his/her direct actions by effectively removing the best asset from the production process.
The person promoted puts the same “shoulder to the wheel” ethos into his management role and immediately alienates those who he once worked with, this causes self doubt………………
The work horses get flogged to death carrying goods to and from the market……….the show ponies get brushed and groomed and fed the finest hay………………….it sometimes pays to be a show pony and I have been a work horse so I am talking from experience…………
Welcome back David!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! As you pointed out, sometimes the best leader doesn’t always get the credit they deserve. The hardest workers tend to put their shoulder to the wheel as you mentioned. As they put their shoulder to the wheel, it can get very easy to focus only on the work and forget the people behind the work. The true key to being a leader, whether you are in a leadership position or not, is keeping the right balance between the work and the people. You must work hard on your projects and the day to day work while still maintaining focus on the people you work with and meeting their needs. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Hard work is certainly important in becoming a great leader. But everyone in the organization must be equally committed and work hard together to achieve their mission. The leader, no matter how hard he works, will not truly be successful without the concerted efforts of those he leads. It’s everyone’s hard work that eventually makes the leader great.
Welcome Tagrid,
You make a great point. Leaders need to work hard to be successful themselves, but their organization will still fail if everyone around them is not working hard. The leader needs to work hard to lead by example AND get everyone else to work hard as well. If the leader can do that, they will be much more likely to have a successful organization.
Thank you for reading this post and sharing your thoughts.
So in your first experience as a leader, how were you able to work “smarter” that lead to your group’s ultimate success? What would be an example of working harder instead of smarter?
Most of us, if not all, need road signs on highways and roads to warn us when to “change gears” – speed up, slow down, or stop. Leaders are no different. Real life examples and experiences are worth way more than all the academic textbooks put together.
Joe,
Thank you for your feedback! You make an important point. In leadership it is very beneficial to learn from the successes and failures of others and that, in many cases, is far more valuable than the theoretical knowledge.
I will put together a post for next week to discuss an experience that I had working smarter not harder. In that post, I will identify some road signs that indicated how and when to work differently.
Thanks again for your valuable feedback!
Yes, I agree! Top leaders are hardworking. This is one trait that make us a great leader.
You are a Top Leader like Me, Brandon! Keep it up!
Master Melvin,
Thank you for your encouragement and support! Top leaders need to be willing to work hard and get others on board to work hard as well. When they can do that, the will see major improvements happen. I appreciate your words of encouragement!