There are many ways to do fine work. One approach is to focus on a specific activity where you may have the ability to do great work. If appropriate, you can take the following steps.
You can start by focusing on a specific piece of work and clarify what you believe would constitute great work. Moving into action, you can do the necessary grunt and good work on the way towards delivering the great work.
Imagine you want to follow this approach in your own way. Let’s explore how you can take these steps.
Great Work
The first step involves building on your strengths and translating these into doing a specific piece of work. You can then clarify the specific results you want to deliver that you believe may constitute great work.
The artist may imagine the finished picture they want to produce. The athlete may imagine the performance they want to deliver in the final of the Olympic Games. The mentor may imagine the actual words they would like a mentee to be saying after a mentoring session.
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to start by describing the piece of work you want to do. Bearing this in mind, it then invites you to work through the following steps.
Great Work. The specific
piece of work I want to do is:
*
The specific results I want to deliver that
I believe may constitute great work are:
*
*
*
The specific strategies I can follow to increase the chances
of achieving these results and delivering great work are:
*
*
*
Grunt Work
This step involves doing the grunt work necessary for providing the foundation for doing the great work. Different people will do this in different ways depending on their chosen work.
The gardener continues to create fertile ground in which things can grow. The aspiring actor works in repertory theatres to develop their skills. The sports team attends boot camp to master the basics that will later enable them to deliver brilliance.
People are often happy to do the grunt work providing they can see how it will contribute to doing the great work. Some actually love this part of journey towards achieving their picture of success.
Imagine you aim to do a specific piece of work. What may the grunt work you need to do to provide the foundation for doing the good work and the great work? If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme.
Grunt Work. The specific
piece of work I want to do is:
*
The specific kinds of grunt work I need to do to provide
the foundation for doing the good and great work are:
*
*
*
Good Work
This step involves developing the habit of doing consistently good work. This is an approach that many workers continue to follow throughout their life.
Great workers often have a pattern of starting to produce good work in their early careers. They may do this when working as a writer, chef, teacher, carpenter or in another role. They then begin to develop consistency.
Some young footballers, for example, sometimes produce good performances but then fall away. Some commit themselves to their careers and focus on continuous improvement. This can result in them beginning to deliver consistently good performances.
Imagine you are aiming to do a specific piece of work. How can you get into the habit of doing consistently good work? How can then you embody the Japanese concept of Kaizen and focus on continuous improvement? If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme.
Good Work. The specific
piece of work I want to do is:
*
The specific things I can do to produce consistently
good work and focus on continuous improvement are:
*
*
*
Great Work
There are many models for doing great work. One approach is for people to build on their gifts. It is then to demonstrate the qualities of graciousness and and grit on the way towards doing great work. Let’s explore these themes.
Graciousness
Great workers are sometimes grateful for the gifts they have been given and demonstrate generosity of spirit. They may also show graciousness when pursuing the path they have been given the opportunity to follow.
John Baldoni explored these themes in his book Grace: A Leader’s Guide To A Better Us. He created an acronym to describe some of the qualities demonstrated by such leaders. Here is an overview of his model.
Let’s return to your own life and work. What are the specific things you do well to demonstrate grace? What can you do better and how? What will be the benefits of continuing to do what you do well and also improve in the other areas?
Grit
Great workers demonstrate grit. Such people often retain the mentality of being a challenger. They continue to be positive, focus on possibilities and give everything to achieve their picture of success.
Grit is an interesting topic. A person may demonstrate it in the area they find fascinating and in which they excel but not necessarily in other areas. They may demonstrate it when doing a specific activity, playing a sport, managing certain kinds of crises or tackling particular challenges.
What are the specific activities where you show grit? What are the things you do right then to demonstrate grit? How can you continue to follow these principles?
Great Work
Great workers aim to keep improving. They continue to build on their strengths and follow strategies that work. They then sometimes do something special to perform great work and achieve their picture of success.
Different people do this in different ways. Emma Barnett, the broadcaster, used her skills to promote care for women experiencing endometriosis. Deborah James raised millions for research into bowel cancer by using her communication talents and the twitter name bowelbabe.
Sadio Mané and Didier Drogba are just two of the many Champion’s League winners who have used their wealth to fund social projects in their countries of birth. Tanni Grey-Thompson won 16 Paralympic Medal and then went on to become the patron of many charities.
Roy Orbison, the singer, acted with grace and humility when making use of his talents to give great performances. David Attenborough created compelling television series that increased people’s awareness of the need to take care of the planet.
Let’s return to your own situation. What may be the specific piece of work where you may want to do great work?
How can you do the necessary grunt work? How can you do consistently good work? How can you do your best to deliver great work? What may be the benefits of taking these steps?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
Leave a Reply