Conversation: The Change Frontier

If I had given my consulting practice a book title when it began, it would have been something close to “In Search of Excellence.” Now, nine years later, experience has led to a subtle title shift. Today it would be “In Search of Effortlessness.” I was describing this new clarity to a colleague recently and he immediately chuckled, or choked (I couldn’t tell which). Either way he essentially stopped breathing. Once he collected himself, he leaned in and in a near whisper said, ‘I don’t get it, Shannon. I can’t think of anything about you that is lazy. Where is this idea of effortless coming from?”

And there it is. Bill’s assumption about effort reflects most of what we experience in the halls of corporate America. Effort equates to value, goodness, and virtue. We heard this explicitly confirmed later that day in a stakeholder analysis session when a senior team was discussing how to get the support of their division head. They noted that he was generally tough to impress or influence; and, the surest way to gain credibility with him was to make it clear that “you are putting a lot of effort” into whatever you are doing. In those cases, he had been known to be more respectful and patient.

So Bill’s reaction is very normal and from what I’ve learned, to be expected. Effort, especially extreme effort, is something to be proud of and the mere mention of effortlessness moves the conversation into hushed tones of shamed secrecy. What’s interesting to me is that most of the change leaders we work with are ultimately looking for some version of ‘do more with less'; some measure of increased efficiency. This is funny. What could be more efficient than getting results with no effort? If we equate low effort with less virtue and morally questionable personal character, then how will we ever maximize efficiency?

In executive coaching, we often get to the point where we realize that something we thought was working for us is actually the very thing that is keeping us from crossing our next important professional or personal threshold. For many seasoned change leaders, that ‘very thing’ is their perceptions of effort and its role in personal satisfaction and success.
 

Three Signs That Effort Isn’t Really Delivering Like We Expect It To

1. ‘Un-Plugging’ Is NOT An Option. When the suggestion of checking work email just once a day makes you laugh out loud, it is probably time to begin exploring the role that ‘working hard’ plays in your life. For many highly successful people who put a high value on effort, voluntarily disconnecting from activity that leads to their success, feels literally impossible. Typically the affect of this weaves its way into our lives in some inconvenient and uncomfortable places, like our health and personal relationships.

2. A Closer Relationship To Burnout. When you hear yourself saying, ‘there has to be a better way’ at the end of another successful initiative or milestone met. You hear someone mention ‘burnout’ and your entire system says, ‘I know exactly what that feels like.’ Or, for some change leaders, it is as subtle as when their enthusiasm for the work they love seems to dry up.

3. Who Me, Sick? After a long history of being the poster child for physical health, you find yourself in a doctor’s office getting a diagnosis you never imagined: a blood clot, high-blood pressure, adrenal failure, or worse. Your body had to yell ‘chicken’ first because it can no longer deliver vitally while being so out of balance.

As engrained as hard work is in our culture, there is often an easier way to get things done that can also bring success, satisfaction and inner peace. And, as hard as it is to believe, many highly accomplished people have successfully made the transition to getting the same or better results with less effort. What would your life be like if you could do that?