Attitude is unheroic work’s superpower

10 Mar Attitude is unheroic work’s superpower

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Seems like every time I open a newsletter email these days someone is touting what I call unheroic work. Which makes me happy. We’re well past time for people to start talking about it.

Perhaps the rise is a commentary on our times. When the world feels daunting and dangerous it’s natural to focus on what you can control. So, why not revel. Jump in and roll around in activities, which at first glance, seem mundane. Even boring.

Our efforts are dominated by everyday tasks. So honing what author Liz Gilbert calls that 90% of work which dominates creative or so-called meaningful endeavours is worth considering. First, because there is simply more of it.

Farnham Street and Knowledge Project host and author Shane Parrish expands on the idea, “Your relationship with the work shapes its weight more than the work itself.”

In other words, attitude is unheroic work’s superpower.

Perhaps it’s people in shipping who always pay special attention to how they stack the palettes. The accounts person who double checks that invoices are paid on time. Manufacturing teams who closely inspect their work for defects. The manager who reads their email out loud to see how it sounds before they send it.

It’s seriously unsexy stuff. Not a whiff of wow or culture theatre. But those seemingly bland actions and the attitude that backs them are the foundation of extraordinary things. They multiply, accumulating value across activities and over time.

When people notice an everyday activity it’s usually with an eye to things that have gone wrong. And sure failure has plenty to teach. But so does what’s working well.

Well-stacked palettes mean more space in the warehouse and less damage in transit. Paid invoices keeps supplier relationships strong and supply chains humming. Catching defects before they ship drives industry-leading quality standards. The email supports and encourages workers to keep going during a tough project.

You’ll have hundreds of examples. And sure, even a good attitude applied to the wrong work can send you careening off course. You need it to align with whatever mission you’re trying to achieve.

Here’s where a leader’s unheroic work plays an outsize role in making sure people know what that is. Walking and talking what’s most important at every chance. Quietly noticing when people do the small stuff well and saying thanks.

So, here are three suggestions for boosting people’s attitude about their unheroic work …

1. Give an award for unheroic effort that focuses on a usually unrecognised task. The admin who always makes sure there’s milk in the fridge. The data analyst who found a missing chunk of revenue. The cafe worker who straightens the chairs between customers.
2. Spend a chunk of your next brainstorming sessions looking for places where everyday effort is in, or out of sync with what you’re trying to achieve. Use those examples when you tell the story. It will help people relate their work to the mission.
3. Look for bright spots where people’s everyday efforts are improving how things happen. Then share the examples across teams. While what they’re doing might not match. How they’re doing it can usually plug and play in lots of places.

Your brand is a store of value created by everything you do. Even and perhaps especially people’s unheroic work.

Thanks for reading.