A phrase I have heard a few too many times throughout my career: “Work smart, not hard”. The original phrase was actually “work smarter, not harder” and was meant as a catchphrase to help under pressure employees remember the conversation around managing their time more efficiently.
Some people set the bar high for various reasons and in the middle of all the rush, they develop a feeling of never getting enough done and always being behind, while the work keeps stacking up.
Part of the responsibilities associated with leadership is to provide guidance and point out risks to their health and growth – sometimes we need to do this by pointing out that people are just not managing their time as efficiently as they could be or (quite often) get side-tracked by things that do not provide a great deal of impact in the short term.
My only concern is that fellow leaders use the term very loosely and most often, directs the phrase to colleagues who are relatively new to the workplace.
How sure are we that the younger members of our teams understand the true meaning and objective of this phrase?
‘Work smart, not hard’ is not an excuse for laziness.
From my perspective, the phrase all too often becomes a tool used to excuse laziness. Allow me to make a broad statement to distinguish what this phrase DOES NOT mean: ‘Work smart, not hard’ is not an excuse to stop contributing after 4 hours of work in your 8-hour working day. The goal is to cut out 4 hours of waste to allow you the opportunity to get more done, assist other teammates or grow your exposure and skills.
More bluntly: ‘Work smart, not hard’ is not an excuse for laziness.
In a profession where creative solutions and collaborative environments are key to the success of your team and eventually your own career, we need to be as effective as possible to ensure we have enough time for each other in the workplace.
There are many other phrases that we love to throw around such as:
“45-minute rule” – which does not mean you may only ask after 45 minutes,
“You need to push back” – does not mean just say no. It means to look for a compromise and explain the impact and risks of proceeding with an idea.
If you truly want to excel in your career, work smarter AND work harder to ensure you can assist those around you better and take action to address areas that pose risks to your environment.
