Focus on Outcomes, Not the Number of Hours You Sit at Your Desk

Work smarter, not harder.

The new way to work is about outcomes, not hours.

Don't be busy, be productive.

Work success is no longer about how many hours of work you put in each day. This is a big misconception that you need to get out of your head.

Work performance is shifting toward the outcomes you produced to help the business grow.

Just because you spend many hours at your desk doesn't mean you will be effective at work.

You should think about your success based on your daily performance, not "chair time."

People can log many hours working but spending time at your desk doesn't mean you are productive and concentrating on the right things. This is a big misconception.

The global pandemic is a significant catalyst in defining what work means. The workplace is now more flexible, and work is about results, not how many hours you spend in front of a computer screen.

As a top performer, you should build a culture at work that values trust, flexibility, and a philosophy that results matter more than how many hours you spend sitting in a chair.

Here are five critical tips for succeeding in the workplace.

1. Communicate Effectively

In a hybrid work setting, you need open communication with your boss and colleagues. Your communication should be empathetic, and you should try to understand what your colleagues need.

Effective communication at work can make you more successful. You can avoid the game of telephone where your messages get changed, diluted, and misunderstood when you are clear, concise, complete, and confident. When you put yourself into your colleague's shoes, you show that you consider their professional and personal situation.

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said." — Peter Drucker, an Austrian management consultant, educator, and author

2. Measure Your Results

To be successful at work, you need to define the metrics you are judged and measured on clearly.

• What are hard deadlines for specific projects?
• What numbers do you need to hit this quarter or year?
• What are your top three goals that will make or break your job performance?

When you have specific metrics, you have the structure you need to meet your objectives. Allow the results to speak for themselves during your annual work evaluation. When you focus on a results model, you are more likely to meet your goals.

"In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result." — James Allen, a British writer

3. Set SMART Goals

Your goals must be digestible, scalable, and attainable. The best way to do this is to create Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART) goals. This will make sure you are not overloaded and have well-defined goals.

When you set your goals, you must know how they align with the department and the company. You must understand how your day-to-day job impacts your team and the company's growth goals.

When you check your goals monthly, quarterly, and yearly, you will see how you are making progress toward them. Achieving your goals is better than a predetermined amount of time in front of your desk.

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." — C.S. Lewis, an Irish-born author, and scholar

4. Manage Up

Managing up is critical to your success at work. Managing up is about doing whatever you can do in your job to make your manager's job easier. It's essential to help your manager do their job well.

There are five key ways to manage up:

• Communicate your priorities every day and seek feedback, especially on hard vs. soft deadlines
• Anticipate your manager's needs based on what's going on at your company
• Find out what makes your boss tick
• Discuss problems with your manager the right way
• Be a well-rounded resource of help beyond your job description

When you manage up, you don't have to be a suck-up. Your boss will appreciate that you are trying to make their job easier, and they will keep you top of mind for a promotion.

"Request, don't complain. Inside every complaint is a request. Find it and make it." — Mary Abbajay, a public speaker, consultant, and trainer

5. Embrace Constructive Feedback

It would help if you welcomed constructive feedback. Don't look at it as negative, but to grow yourself and your career. Two-way communication enables you to build trust with your boss and colleagues.

Constructive feedback is powerful because it provides you with actionable advice on how you can improve. Feedback should help you do better at what you want to do. It will help you look at yourself more holistically and drive the best results for you, the team, and the company.

"Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things." — Winston Churchill, prime minister of United Kingdom

Bringing It All Together

The workplace is changing, and the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. model is changing in today's new hybrid work world. It's essential to adopt a work mindset about outcomes, not the number of hours you sit at your desk every day.

When you communicate effectively, measure your results, set SMART goals, manage up, and embrace constructive feedback, you'll be successful at work. To succeed today, embrace work outcomes and not just work inputs like how many hours you sit in your chair.

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else." — Albert Einstein, a German-American physicist

Join my email newsletter for a free eBook and more helpful insights.