Investing in Workplace Culture: The Power of Effort

Oct 1

3 min read

Let's begin with a #truestory -

I once supported a highly engaged manager at a telecom business who was the definition of a model leader. He provided ongoing feedback, supported his team, and his direct reports often mentioned that he was the reason they enjoyed coming to work.

However, after a closer look, we noticed something interesting: while some projects were advancing rapidly, others lagged behind. After some probing, we discovered that the manager was inclined to assign tasks that his team enjoyed and excelled at, while setting aside more challenging work, hoping someone else would pick it up.

This situation revealed two important truths:

We often direct effort toward our known comfort zones.
Employees—and even managers—tend to focus their effort on areas where they feel confident and skilled, leaving the more difficult tasks by the wayside. This creates gaps in performance and project delivery.
Challenging work requires support and direction.
Without guidance or encouragement, challenging tasks are often avoided. Even in a highly engaged team, difficult tasks can be neglected unless there is the right support to motivate and push employees to step out of their comfort zones.

With this story as the backdrop, let's explore the idea of Effort in the workplace.

In my last article, I discussed the critical employee investment of Time. Time allows employees to learn, reflect, and build meaningful relationships. But time alone won’t move the needle — Effort must follow if we want to see real progress in our cultural microsphere.

Admittedly, it is the most personal of the four investments as the story may reveal.

Effort is about what employees choose to bring to their role in terms of energy, focus, and perseverance. Consistently putting in a sustained and meaningful level of effort strengthens the individual, team, and overall work culture.

By fully engaging and giving 100% effort, an employee shows ownership of the work, influencing both the team around them and the broader culture. This idea aligns closely with what Angela Duckworth describes in her research on grit—sustained effort combined with passion is more critical to success than raw talent alone.

Characteristics of Employees Who Invest Maximum Effort

Employees who bring their best (maximum) effort every day exhibit certain key traits:

A Willingness to Volunteer: Employees who consistently volunteer beyond their role show grit—a concept defined by Duckworth as perseverance combined with passion. Their dedication drives them to seek new challenges, pushing them to continuously improve.
Show Pride in Their Work: These employees embody Duckworth’s philosophy that sustained effort leads to mastery. They take pride in the quality and ownership of their work, knowing that effort, not just talent, leads to excellence.
Model Engagement Behaviors: Employees who give maximum effort are more engaged with their teams and aligned with the company’s mission. Duckworth’s research suggests that people with grit tend to focus on meaningful, long-term goals, which fosters deeper engagement and satisfaction.
Embrace New Challenges: Instead of avoiding difficult tasks, these employees view challenges as opportunities for growth. As Duckworth emphasizes, individuals with grit persevere through adversity and understand that effort and resilience are essential to long-term success (Farnam Street)(Masters of Scale)

Effort and the Work Environment, It's A Two-Way Street!

While employees invest their effort, it’s equally important for employers to create an environment where that effort is encouraged and supported. Employers must provide the right tools, feedback, and psychological safety to ensure that employees feel confident and motivated to give their best effort every day. After all, effort is strongly tied to how supported employees feel in their work environment. This exposes that serious truth about humans at work:

People will invest the most effort in areas where they feel confident and equipped to succeed. Those tasks that expose weaknesses or require significant learning are avoided without the proper support and training.

In the end, effort is the fuel that drives cultural progress in any organization. By investing energy and focus into tasks, employees not only grow personally but also strengthen the cultural microsphere around them.

Thanks for reading!

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Photo by Denniz Futalan

Posted: 01 October 2024