Loud working leaders: why visible effort is not performance
Hill I will die on: if you’re a leader and you’re “loud working”, you’re creating a performance problem.
In 2015, Reid’s study looked inside a global consulting firm (one of the usual suspects) where the unwritten rule was 80 hours a week and always reachable. Some consultants really lived that way while others worked normal hours, picked mostly local clients and had better work-life balance while giving the appearance of working as long as the rest.
Their managers couldn’t tell the two groups apart and both groups received positive performance reviews. Meanwhile, those who openly asked for fewer hours were penalized, although their output was just as good.
The performance reviews were rating a "performance", in the theatrical sense of the word.
Visier calls this "productivity theater": putting performative work ahead of the work that actually matters. In their 2023 survey of 1,000 employees, 83% admitted to doing performative work. The most common one? Replying instantly to messages that weren’t urgent. And 70% said they did it to get their direct manager’s attention.
As the manager, you’re the audience in this productivity theater. If you’re loud working yourself, you’re also on stage and, that’s a problem. Here's why:
When visible effort gets rewarded INSTEAD of actual performance, you end up with average output and a team driven by superficial motivators. The organization gets busyness instead of productivity and people get a sense of worth that depends on being seen.
In addition, your team is watching. From you, they learn that a fast answer beats a good one and that being in the room counts more than what you bring into it. Worst of all, they learn to treat each other as competition for your attention.
But Isn’t a Leader Supposed to Be Visible?
Yes. However, building influence and performing effort are two very different things. Influence means strategically promoting your work, and, even more so, your team’s work by putting their results in front of the exec team and publicly recognizing their efforts.
Performative work is answering emails on Sunday night, staying late every day so everyone sees you leave last, and being the loudest voice in every meeting.
If you recognize performative behaviors in yourself, ask what's pushing you there:
Are you new to the role of a leader and feeling insecure?
New to the organization and trying to prove yourself?
Or does your company culture reward loud working so consistently that opting out feels like self-sabotage?
Whatever the case may be, the bigger, underlying question is, what are you willing to do about it?
And if you don't know where to start, let's have a chat. I might be able to offer you a different approach.
🌟Sparking Leadership # 63: a weekly series on human-centered sustainable #leadership. Reach out if you want to become the best leader you can be or follow for more sparkling content. In the meantime, lead with spark! ✨️
