Effort Does Not Count, Results Do

The first time I heard “Effort does not count, results do”, it really got under my skin. I was strongly relationship-driven and effort meant everything to me. Today I consider it one of the most useful sentences I have received as a manager. It changed how I lead people – and how I answer my own bosses.

Four statements about effort

• Effort does not count, results do.
• Effort expresses my relationship to the other person.
• Effort cannot be seen from the outside.
• Effort is the foundation of a result.

This does not mean effort is useless. Without it, there is no result. But effort belongs to the relationship, while the result belongs to the work. You always have two relationships with a colleague at once – a working one and a personal one – and it helps to know which one you are communicating in. Otherwise you risk paying for missing results with relationships.

In business the world is simple: if a company does not deliver value that clients pay for, it goes under. If I have someone on my team who tries harder than anyone but delivers no results, that is my signal to act – not to keep praising the effort.

Spam: words that do not serve the result

Spam is the volume of words and communication that does not help achieve the result.

Imagine asking when the sales report will be ready and getting this:

I’ve already contacted Peter from sales, but I need to check whether I have everything, I need to confirm and add the impact of the marketing campaigns, but Alena is on holiday and…

That is spam. It describes effort, not status. After an answer like this you still don’t know what you needed to know.

The ideal answer I coach my people towards is:

It will be ready on the date we agreed.

Or:

I have a delay on the inputs, but I will still deliver with at most a one-day delay.

An answer like this tells me I am talking to someone who knows what they are doing, has things under control and owns their responsibility. The person who assigned the work needs to hear just one thing: is it within the agreed frame or not? And if not, what are you going to do about it? That answer creates certainty and is part of professional behaviour.

Behind a good answer is ownership

Effort is closely tied to your capacity to own responsibility. When that capacity is low, you tend to answer evasively – listing everything you have done, who is communicating with you and which obstacles you have already overcome.

Being responsible for something I have accepted means I take care of it, develop it and actively repair the consequences of poor care. Responsibility is always accepted voluntarily.

Two things belong to it:

1. Responsibility and authority must be in balance. If I have less authority than I need, I cannot be fully responsible. And if I am afraid of power – for example because I don’t want people pointing fingers at me – it limits how much responsibility I am willing to carry.
2. I only take on new responsibilities when I am sure I can fulfil them alongside my existing ones.

What to do as a manager

Treat spam as an invitation to curiosity. When you notice someone drifting into descriptions instead of giving a direct answer, get interested in what is really going on:

• Is it because you don’t enjoy this task? What exactly?
• What would you need to be different?
• Is it a temporary personal situation? If so, what do you need?
• Is there a hidden frustration you are afraid to voice?

Check responsibilities. With each direct report, confirm specifically that you share the same view of what they are responsible for, that they accepted it voluntarily and that they have the matching authority. Don’t do the work for them. Ask questions instead: what do they need to deliver, do they have it, can they secure it themselves or do they need to ask someone?

Let people carry the consequences. If someone damages what is in their responsibility, let them repair it. Your job is to help them understand how and why it happened and what needs to be done differently next time.

And finally, a playful invitation that has worked well in my teams:

Let’s stop talking about effort and start describing what we need to achieve the result.

Invitation to reflect

• Recall your last three answers to a question about the status of work entrusted to you. Did you describe what you were doing? Or did you confirm everything was fine – and if not, admit it, propose a solution and confirm it with the person who assigned the work?
• Take 15 minutes and write down up to seven responsibilities you carry. For each one ask: do I carry it voluntarily, with joy, and do I want to keep carrying it? If not, what do I need to do so that I do?
• If you lead a team, look at how your people answer. Who owns their responsibility the most, and who tends to step away from it?

This article is based on my upcoming book Management Essentials. If you want to bring these principles into your team, have a look at mentoring for IT managers.

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