Do the work anyways.

We’re in the process of growing in leadership. 

That’s what we’re doing—starting where we’re at, and growing into the leaders we can be. 

We’re growing into the leaders our people will need us to be in the future. 

So do the work anyways. 

What does that mean, do the work anyways? 

It means even if no one sees what you do, do the work anyways. It means even if the decision is to go in a different direction, do the work anyways. It means even if you don’t have the leadership title, do the work anyways. It means even if someone else gets the promotion, do the work anyways. It means even if you don’t get the appreciation you deserve, do it anyways. It means even if you had to spend extra time writing out the plan and pouring all your creative energy into a solution only to have it slightly glanced over and forgotten, do the work anyways.

Why? Because doing the work isn’t about you.

I recently had a conversation with a leader about focus in our career growth. In a moment of pure wisdom, he simplified the work we could do in our respective roles down to one idea: How can I make someone else successful? Every day I can ask two questions in my work for this idea: “How can I make the company successful?” and “How can I make my boss successful?” 

It all comes down to helping others succeed.

We do the work, we show up every day in the ambiguity of transition and change, because it’s not about us, it’s about helping make the company successful. It’s about helping our boss be successful. So we’ll jump on the meeting, ask the hard questions, build out plans, make presentations, refine the hypothesis, do the work—towards the goal of helping someone else be successful. The work isn’t about us, it’s about being part of something bigger, it’s about elevating something completely other for the goal of making it—or them—successful. And sometimes, our idea won’t win out. And sometimes it does. Sometimes the plan is faulty, sometimes it’s forgotten, sometimes it isn’t completely wrong, just incomplete. But every time we do the work, go through the process, it gets better—we get better. 

We grow. 

We grow in our leadership. 

We have more clarity thinking through all the scenarios, collaborate more inclusively, communicate more effectively. And the result makes everyone more successful. 

Yes, even you.

There’s a balance we play as we grow in our leadership, walking the razor thin line between following the vision of our leader and leading the work we do. Many more of us live in this tension every day than we realize. We’re following, and we’re leading. 

And so, we do the work anyways. We play a pivotal role in the progress of our work, our families, our communities. Because we’re working to make it succeed, whatever “it” is. We have the hard conversations with our kids to help them succeed. We write multiple business plans because we’re working to make it succeed. We volunteer, spending precious time in the service to others, to make others succeed. We help with our kids homework, to help them succeed. We make dinner to help others succeed. We work out and stay healthy, to help others succeed. 

What would it look like if the work we do meant helping someone else succeed?

Maybe you’re in the process today, maybe your work wasn’t seen, or maybe it was, but glanced over. Whatever it is, or was, don’t stop doing the work. Don’t stop putting in the energy—for it will be seen, and the work it’s done in you is preparing you to succeed.

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Photo by Alexandra Tran on Unsplash