Work ethic is an essential component of individual character, and it reflects the dedication, integrity, and discipline of an individual towards his/her work. It is a set of moral principles that govern an individual's work performance, and it is often associated with hard work and its intrinsic value.
In that sense, work ethic itself is not necessarily a skill, however, the idea of work ethic extends beyond just hard work; it includes working smart, being effective, utilizing time well, and finding joy in work. And these are certainly skills you can train and improve upon.
In this blog, we explore many facets of a person's work ethic, using the framing method of shoulda, woulda, and coulda, to examine how it affects individuals, organizations, and society. We discuss skills you can train to grow your own work ethic, but also better understand how your work ethic and character were shaped.
As we explore work ethic, from what vantage are we approaching it, with what metric of measurement will we quantify it, and ultimately, why are we doing it in the first place?
To do this, we will explore 3 frameworks common in Jeff Rogers Coach courses: Shoulda, woulda, and coulda. Personally, professionally, and organizationally. Why, Impact, and Contributions.
But first, let's start at the beginning.....
What is Work Ethic?
What better way to learn about something, than start with a dictionary. Merriam-Webster tells us that work ethic is defined as:
work eth·ic
/wərk ˈeTHik/
noun
1. the principle that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward
The general idea here is hard work somehow has moral benefit and offers a reflection on individual character. Words like virtue, value, dedication, integrity, discipline, teamwork, professionalism, determination and quality present themselves in the research of the topic.
Core Elements of a Strong Character
In the table below, I have assembled these core values into combinations I feel to be key to a strong ethical character. To me these are non-negotiable.
From these root concepts, we may expand as required. But here are the “Must have Values and Behaviors” to own a virtuous work ethic. In the end, a work ethic is a clarified set of moral principles applied to work.
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JRCI Work Ethics Must-Have Values and Behavior |
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Respect and Candor Honesty and Integrity Character Accountability and Responsibility Commitment and Achievement Teamwork and Cooperation Mindset and Attitude Communication Performance and Quality Organizational Skills and Productivity Motivation and Inspiration Self-Confidence and Professionalism Adaptability and Environment |
When opposing moral principles work against each other in certain environments, we see tension and conflict. So then, it is no wonder we see conflict in the family, the workplace, and the world.
The question then becomes, as a leader of people, a manager of business systems, a parent, or a simple human being… ”How can we all get along and row the boat in the same direction?”
If it were easy, this would have been accomplished long ago. This is a very difficult matter, and it was made more difficult by being human. But we cannot surrender just because it is hard. I believe that to compromise on work ethic is to welcome failure personally, professionally, and organizationally.
Identify Gaps in Your Own Work Ethic
I'd like you to take a minute and question yourself - as you explore your work ethic, are you exposing any gaps personally, professionally, and/or organizationally?
If you are like any other leaders I know, your answer is “Yes, yes I see gaps at all levels in my organization! How can I remediate this dilemma?”
Are you doing what you should be doing? As you apply your strong work ethic, are your personal and professional efforts benefitting the organization fully? Or are you going through the motions? Many leaders allow distraction to steal focus and find themselves spinning wheels only to burn out. This can be eliminated with a directed focus on what you should be doing and doing it with your best effort.
If you say, “I would like to have the time to do that!”. Your priority matrix is off-balance, you are doing too many things. Probably even the wrong things. Worse yet, you are busting your butt doing it. Here, focus again on what you should be doing. It is that simple.
If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.
-Jeff Rogers, CPMBC
“If only I could do…”, this is probably the worst of it all. Here there is awareness of opportunity loss. Most likely this is a real opportunity being lost because you are working hard doing the wrong things. Yikes.
My idea with shoulda, woulda, coulda stem from the loss of effectiveness and productivity. Some of this can be related to one’s inability to trust and delegate effectively. More of it can be poor work ethic and lack of dependability organizationally. All of it works to defeat personal, professional, and organizational effectiveness. This leads to personal burnout, professional defeatism, and organizational failure.
Realign Yourself to a Strong Work Ethic
If you are feeling that shoulda, woulda, coulda, sounds like you, you need to realign yourself. Seeking personal development is a great place to start this effort. To better clarify your self-awareness and social awareness, along with your emotional intelligence, builds a foundation for growth. Working hard is not the secret. Instead, a better understanding of self is the real deal, and it is everything. Understanding personal blind spots opens doors to success.
What are you doing right now to drive this concept personally, professionally, and organizationally? If you said nothing or nothing right now, then get on it. You may have answered, but not enough. Probably correct.
In years past, I thought I could simply outwork the whole damn thing. "I got this" was my motto. I was wrong. I thought my tenacity would save the day. Luckily, it was resilience that was my friend. I can bounce back from anything! And I think I can, but why? Why bounce back when possibly there was no reason to be there in the first place?
Here your adaptability is key. Your ability to unlearn is critical for future success.
For you to unlearn the old way of doing things, ways that served you well in the past, is key. But practices that most likely will not help you in the future, these ways must go. This can be difficult.
Here enters the core skills that you can work on to improve work ethic - focus on the skills that allow you to work smarter and not bang your head into walls anymore. Here you develop new and most effective ways to work personally, professionally, and organizationally. Here you enter your One-Degree self!
