Great at Work

1. Work smarter, not harder: Focus on value and targeted effort

To work smart means to maximize the value of your work by selecting a few activities and applying intense targeted effort.

Rethink productivity. Traditional notions of success often emphasize working longer hours and taking on more responsibilities. However, this "work harder" approach can lead to burnout and diminishing returns. Instead, top performers focus on maximizing the value of their work through selective engagement and concentrated effort.

Embrace the seven practices. Hansen's research identified seven key practices that distinguish top performers:

1. Do less, then obsess
2. Redesign work
3. Don't just learn, loop
4. Match passion with purpose
5. Champion forcefully
6. Fight and unite
7. Collaborate disciplined

These practices, when combined, accounted for 66% of the variation in performance among the 5,000 people studied. By adopting these strategies, individuals can significantly improve their work performance without sacrificing personal well-being.

2. Do less, then obsess: Narrow your scope and excel

As few as you can, as many as you must.

Focus and excel. Top performers choose a limited number of priorities and channel immense effort into those areas. This approach allows them to produce exceptional results while avoiding the pitfalls of spreading themselves too thin or becoming entangled in unnecessary complexity.

Implement practical strategies:

• Apply Occam's razor: Eliminate unnecessary tasks, meetings, and responsibilities
• Tie yourself to the mast: Create rules and systems to resist distractions
• Learn to say "no": Manage expectations and decline non-essential commitments
• Obsess over quality: Once you've narrowed your focus, strive for excellence in your chosen areas

By mastering the art of doing less and obsessing, individuals can boost their performance ranking by up to 25 percentile points compared to those who don't embrace this practice.

3. Redesign your work to maximize value creation

Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.

Create value, not just activity. Many people confuse busyness with productivity, focusing on completing tasks rather than generating meaningful outcomes. To truly excel, redesign your work to prioritize activities that create substantial value for others – be it your organization, colleagues, or customers.

Strategies for effective redesign:

• Hunt for pain points: Identify and solve persistent problems in your workplace
• Ask "stupid" questions: Challenge assumptions and seek innovative solutions
• Show, don't tell: Use vivid demonstrations to convey ideas and inspire change
• Measure impact, not just output: Focus on the benefits your work brings to others

Remember, small changes can yield significant results. Like Dr. Michael Bennick's simple adjustment to nighttime blood draws, which dramatically improved patient satisfaction scores, look for opportunities to make impactful improvements through thoughtful redesign.

4. Don't just learn, loop: Continuously improve through quality feedback

To work smart means to maximize the value of your work by selecting a few activities and applying intense targeted effort.

Embrace deliberate practice. While the "10,000-hour rule" popularized the idea that mastery requires extensive repetition, Hansen's research reveals that the quality of practice matters more than quantity. The learning loop – a workplace-adapted version of deliberate practice – involves trying new approaches, measuring outcomes, obtaining rapid feedback, and modifying behavior accordingly.

Key tactics for effective learning loops:

1. Carve out 15 minutes daily for focused improvement
2. Chunk complex skills into manageable micro-behaviors
3. Measure "soft" skills through specific, observable actions
4. Seek nimble, fast feedback from peers and mentors
5. Embrace the performance dip that comes with trying new approaches
6. Push beyond stall points by continually challenging yourself

By mastering the learning loop, individuals can significantly improve their performance, potentially moving from the 50th to the 75th percentile in their field.

5. Match passion with purpose for peak performance

Purpose asks, "What can I give the world?" Passion asks, "What can the world give me?"

Find the sweet spot. While following one's passion is often touted as the key to success, Hansen's research reveals that passion alone can be dangerous. Instead, top performers match their passion with a strong sense of purpose – contributing value to others or society. This "P-squared" approach leads to higher job satisfaction, reduced burnout, and improved performance.

Strategies to enhance passion and purpose:

• Expand your circle of passion: Explore various aspects of work that energize you (e.g., achievement, creativity, social interactions)
• Climb the purpose pyramid:
  1. Contribute value while doing no harm
  2. Craft personal meaning in your work
  3. Seek a strong social mission
• Hunt for new roles that align passion and purpose
• Keep passion in check to maintain work-life balance

Individuals who successfully match passion and purpose are likely to rank 18 percentile points higher in performance compared to those who lack either or both.

6. Champion forcefully: Inspire and influence with smart grit

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Master the art of advocacy. In today's interconnected workplace, success often depends on gaining support from others. Forceful champions excel at inspiring colleagues and overcoming opposition through a combination of emotional appeal and strategic persistence.

Two key skills of forceful champions:

1. Inspire others by evoking emotions:

   • Line up high-arousal emotions (e.g., make people upset about the present and excited about the future)
   • Show, don't just tell (use vivid demonstrations)
   • Connect daily work to a broader purpose

2. Apply smart grit to overcome obstacles:

   • Empathize with opponents to understand their perspective
   • Make strategic concessions when necessary
   • Co-opt adversaries by inviting them to participate
   • Mobilize allies to advocate on your behalf

Mastering these skills can boost an individual's performance ranking by up to 15 percentile points.

7. Fight and unite: Foster productive debate and team commitment

As few as you can, as many as you must.

Embrace constructive conflict. High-performing teams engage in rigorous debate to explore ideas and scrutinize assumptions. However, they also know how to unite behind decisions once they're made. This "fight and unite" approach leads to better outcomes and stronger team cohesion.

Strategies for effective fighting and uniting:
Fighting:

• Seek diversity, not just talent
• Create psychological safety for open discussion
• Encourage quiet members to speak up
• Ask non-leading questions to promote honest dialogue

Uniting:

• Ensure everyone has a voice in the decision-making process
• Commit to decisions, even when you disagree
• Confront "prima donnas" who undermine team unity
• Sharpen team goals to align efforts

By mastering the art of fighting and uniting, teams can make better decisions and implement them more effectively, leading to improved overall performance.

8. Collaborate disciplined: Select partnerships wisely for optimal results

The goal of collaboration isn't collaboration. It's better performance.

Avoid collaboration extremes. Many organizations struggle with either under-collaboration (working in silos) or over-collaboration (excessive meetings and partnerships). Disciplined collaboration involves carefully selecting high-value collaborative efforts and implementing them effectively.

Five rules for disciplined collaboration:

1. Establish a compelling business case for each collaboration
2. Craft a unifying goal that excites all participants
3. Reward collaboration results, not just activities
4. Commit full resources (time, skills, money) to chosen collaborations
5. Tailor trust-building tactics to address specific partnership challenges

By practicing disciplined collaboration, individuals can improve their performance ranking by up to 14 percentile points. Interestingly, women in the study benefited twice as much as men from this practice.

9. Achieve work-life balance through smarter work practices

Being great at work means performing in your job, infusing your work with passion and a strong sense of purpose, and living well, too. How great is that?

Redefine success. Contrary to popular belief, top performers don't sacrifice their personal lives for career success. Instead, they achieve better work-life balance by working smarter, not harder. The seven practices not only improve job performance but also enhance overall well-being.

Key strategies for balancing work and life:

• Spend your time dividend wisely: Reinvest some time savings into work, but allocate the rest to personal life
• Keep passion in check: Don't let work enthusiasm consume your entire life
• Manage emotional turmoil: Learn to separate personal feelings from professional debates

By adopting these practices, individuals can achieve both exceptional performance at work and a fulfilling personal life. The study found that mastering the seven practices accounted for 29% of the variation in participants' work-related well-being, including improved work-life balance, reduced burnout, and higher job satisfaction.

Last updated: January 23, 2025