“Don’t work more than your client”

6 principles to achieve more while doing less

“Work hard, play hard.”
Such a toxic phrase.
And, still, so often used as a mantra.

I myself have played hard and worked hard for many years.
Thinking that doing more was needed to achieved more.
That high effort was needed for exceptional results.
That I needed to strive to get where I wanted to.

I have then come across authors who say the opposite.
That we do not need to work hard to be effective.
That we can achieve more by doing less.

It is not a coincidence that books like Tim Ferris’ “The 4 Hour Workweek” have become best sellers.
And that mottos like Claire Pedrick’s “[Coaching] mastery is about doing less” lead professionals to rethink their approach to work.

This applies to managers on their job.
To coaches and mentors.
And to peer relationships.
Essentially, anyone could benefit from doing less.

So, the question naturally arises:

How can we achieve more by doing less?

I have asked a few people and authors.
And abstracted 6 principles that have captured my attention:

1. Just listen

2. Relax your own striving

3. Work less than your client

4. Take a stand of now knowing

5. Drop your agenda

6. Keep the right question in mind

Have a look!

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1. Just listen

Use the power of silence.
Let asking a question be your second option after saying nothing.
And allow the person in front of you to break the silence.

People need their time.
And will always know more than you on their own issues.
Even when you are being asked a question in the first place.

So just wait.
And let the magic happen.

“Watch them! Only speak when they are ready. Changes everything” (Clair Pedrick)

2. Relax your own striving

Stop trying too hard.
Relax any striving to prove, to achieve, to become, and to even help.
So that you can be purely attentive and present.

As the famous coach Tim Gallwey explains, to achieve success the player must master the inner game.
By letting go of any attachment to results and conscious striving.
Like Zen practitioners know very well.

Through the method Gallwey developed, he was able to turn people with no discernible talent into great tennis players.
Just by letting them act instinctively and have fun.
Like kids do.

“The secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard” (Tim Gallwey).

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3. Work less than you client

Keep things simple.
Stick to the basics and make sure they are solid.
And let the person in front of you build on the top of these foundations.

Detailed instructions are not just unnecessary, but also detrimental.
As Eugen Herrigel explains in “Zen In The Art Of Archery”, “The instructor’s business is not to show the way itself, but to enable the pupil to get the feel of this way to the goal by adapting it to his individual peculiarities”.

Or, to use Carol Wilson’s words, while describing the impact of Tim Galley’s work on her sport coaching practice:

“In sports, I had to learn how to teach less so that more could be learned” (Carol Wilson)

4. Take a stand of not knowing

Assume you know nothing.
And that you do not know what you need to know.

The philosopher Eugene Gendlin studied why some people in therapy have successful outcomes, while others don’t.
He found out that “good clients” would invariably, at some point, find themselves lost for words.
They would hit a place of not knowing, from which new insights could emerge.

When something new is brought to the table, simply ask “What makes this important now?”. And wait.
Allow the other person to go deeper and deeper.
So that you can both learn, while doing less.

“Real growth comes from what we do not know” (Michael Brown)

5. Drop your agenda

If you are a manager, stop thinking at the solution you have in mind.
If you are a coach or mentor, stop thinking at the techniques that have worked for you.
Or at the list of activities that you would like to try out.

If you know nothing, and if the replies come from the person in front of you, there is nowhere to go.
And you can become empty.

Just take a deep breath.
And let things emerge.

“What stands in your way is that you have a much too willfull will. You think that what you do not do yourself does not happen” (Eugen Herrigel)

6. Keep the right question in mind

Consistent questioning leads to continuous improvement.
Consistent questioning allows new replies to take you by surprise.

In Zen, devotees practice “koans”.
They ask themselves certain questions.
Over and over again.
Without fixating on the replies.
But giving them time emerge, when they least expect it.
They know by experience that the reply will come.

So, you can ask yourself:

How can I do less today?

Keep the question in your mind, while you engage in new conversations.
To get rid of that which does not provide much value.
And focus on what matters.

“Remember, it’s the asking of the question that’s important” (Michael Brown)

This is not the end…

These are just 6 of the possible principles for doing less.
For sure there are many more.
But I kept the list short, for now.
So that I could “do less” ;)

I will keep experimenting with these principles.
Preserving my commitment to “do less”.
And to share with you what I discover.

Have a happy, lighter journey,
— Livio

30/11/2022

P.s.: Anything else that is helping you to do less? I would be happy to know what might work for you. While I silently wait for your reply! ;)