Tom Hanks has 3 rules for showing up

16 Jan Tom Hanks has 3 rules for showing up

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Early in his career, actor Tom Hanks was interning for a repertory company when the director gifted him 3 rules. He recounts how during morning rehearsal some of the professional cast were missing their cues, slurring their lines and generally messing up, after over-celebrating opening night. Reaching the limits of his patience, the director exploded,

“Hey, this is my job, and this is your job. I can’t be telling you every moment. Stop asking me where you should be, stop asking what the motivation is. That’s your job. You’ve gotta show up on time, you have to know the text and you have to have an idea.”

Hanks remembers thinking, “Show up on time, know the text, have an idea. I think I can do that.” He continued, observing that a ton of actors don’t do any of those things.

I’ll take it further. There are workers who don’t do those things. There are leaders and managers who don’t do those things. There are consultants and advisers who don’t do those things.

The brand and culture of your enterprise or individual endeavours are a result of how you show up. When something is on the line and when only you will notice. When others appreciate you and when a private fist pump is the only reward—especially in those unheroic times. Because there are so many more of them colonising the nooks of your activity and crannies of choices.

Regardless of what your job is. I’m hard pressed to think of a simpler set of rules for doing necessary work. They are also loose yet pointy—applying broadly to any job or situation and still specific about what’s required.

Show up on time (which means a bit early). Beyond starting work. In meetings and activities. For what’s expected of you. Stop thin-slicing your attention. Put down your phone, close the extra laptop window during video calls and be present in what’s happening.

Know the text. Be prepared for what you want or have to say. Know what’s going on around you. Your part and place in the production. Who are the other players and what’s their (con)text? Where do you sit in the mix? Are you the lead or in a supporting role?

Have an idea. Figure out your individual motivation and purpose. Contribute and suggest what could make something better. What you suggest might not get used. That’s ok. Because you’ve observed the first two rules, what you offer is still valuable.

I’ve participated in too many meetings and seen the group’s work or agenda held hostage to someone’s tardiness. The back and forth of ‘are they coming or not?’ Then getting started, only for them to derail the discussion when they rush in, full of apologies.

Sure, life can sometimes get in the way. But when you look closely, it’s often their pattern. And as a leadership trait it quickly colonises cultures, spreading from meetings to infect how other promises are kept or broken.

When people have only skimmed the details and don’t know their lines or what’s happening, progress on projects or initiatives get stuck. Wheels spin while they get ‘up to speed’. But their lack of preparation doesn’t stay isolated. It always impacts others.

And how many workers sit on their hands, waiting for someone to tell them what to care about or why they should act a certain way. Thinking their motivation is somebody else’s job. The last rule of ‘have an idea’ has fallen to the purpose myth. Yes, when leaders know their text, they ensure others know how their contribution supports the overall mission. But their reason for showing up is not someone else’s responsibility.

Show up on time. Know the text. Have an idea.

Perhaps jot them on a Post-it note and put it on the wall. Put them on your phone and refer to them generously. Turn them into prompts. Am I on time? Do I know the text? Do I have an idea?

Finding relevant everyday advice is a gift for how we work and store value. And I’m all for glorifying how we show up, prepared. In a world of phone it in, fake it and hustle. Be like Tom.

Happy new year and thanks for reading.