The Myth of Hard Work

Many women believe that their hard work will get them to where they want to go.  Therefore, many of us are working our butts off.  Yet, we are not getting anywhere.  Why?

Answer:  Many of us fall victim to the myth of hard work.

Your hard work means nothing if no one knows how well you are doing, what your accomplishments are and how successful you have been.  I often tell my clients that;

“there is nothing worse than being successful and no one knows about it.”

Although we work hard, most of our superiors, networks and business contacts don’t have a clue of how successful we are.  We have not told them about our work.  Your hard work will not pay off until you let people know what it is you are accomplishing.

If you are successful at your job, there are many ways to let others know.  Here are three steps to help you do just that:

1.  Take credit for your success:

Many of us down play our accomplishments when someone pays us a compliment.  You would be surprised how many times I have heard a woman say, “it was nothing”, or  “it wasn’t all me, it was my team”, or “it’s no big deal,” when someone complimented their achievement.  If you don’t think it is a big deal, no one else will either.  Learning to say “Thank You” sounds easy, but is difficult for most.    When you have a success, learn how to take credit for it by saying “thank you”. Try it for a week and let me know what you find.

2.  Make yourself and your hard work known.

I bet you are accomplishing many things but the world doesn’t know.  You don’t have to scream from the rooftop,  but you should come close to it.  At a minimum,  provide simple project updates that can be presented to your supervisor, department leaders or peers.  This is a great way to let others know what you are accomplishing.  Just got a promotion, ask your PR department to write a release for you or at least put it in the company newsletter. Have a best practice, ask to have a write-up in the company newsletter about your new process.  This will get you recognition within your organization.

3. Ask for feedback.

If you are a bit modest, this may work for you.  When you are working on an important project, ask for feedback from others in your network, from mentors or potential clients.  This is an indirect way to let them know what you are doing and the complexity and level of expertise you have.  People like to be asked for their input.  However by doing so, you are also letting them know more about your work.

Don’t fall victim to the myth of hard work.  Remember, it means nothing if no one knows about it.  Get out and tell them what you are working with!