Why Work Ethics Work

Work ethic. What a power term. It's a principle and set of values we share that drives us to work hard and strengthen our skills. The ethics of work and the way we work our ethics.

Too often brushed aside as a quality belonging exclusively to workaholics, a strong work ethic is the true magic behind greatness for any person, team or organization, both in business and in life.

What Is Work Ethic?

Work ethic is not always easy to quantify. It isn’t just the hours spent working toward your mission. It’s larger than that. It’s integrity. It’s the tone, timeliness and effect of your responses. It’s your motivation. It’s your leadership. It’s your determination.

When those traits align, awesomeness happens.

How To Find Work Ethic in Your Team

If you manage people, take a good look at your team. How many of them would you say have great work ethic? 

As a boss, it is your job to recognize the traits of great work ethic, foster them to be as productive and creative as possible and then deploy them against your mission-critical plans. 

How do you find work ethic within your teammates? My belief is, you don’t. Rather, it finds you. It is found in the non-toxic people. It is identified in the emotions of mistakes. It is seen in the team mentality.

Regardless of your team’s tools and resources, true greatness will always be found in your people, starting with yourself. Greatness begins with a productive vision, then flows down to the protectors of that vision on your leadership team, then to your people managers, then to the future leaders of the organization. Without a consistent stream of quality work flowing down and then back up, businesses fail to meet their potential. 

Of course, a poor product can derail greatness, too, but the way to ensure a great product is by having great people build it. People who are on your team solely for the paycheck, people who have not bought into your vision, are a far greater risk to your business than a product that hasn’t yet been perfected.

What To Do When You See Work Ethic

As a leader, I will always reward work ethic. I don’t need results all day, every day. I simply want to see the best effort. There are, of course, gaps within best-effort shown by different employees. But those mistakes should be teachable, and I want to see my employees grow from them. When you find someone willing to be better each day, someone with a genuine enthusiasm for your team’s vision, hold on to them, groom them, promote them and surround them with others who share their potential.

By rewarding work ethic and prioritizing the ethic of work, you can build an awesome team, and they will create an awesome company.