Doing the Invisible Work.

A story of doing your work in private.

In 1929, the builders of New York were in a race to create the world’s tallest building. Two rival buildings were under construction at the same time, 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building.?

As both projects neared completion in October of that year, they stood roughly even with each other in height. The designer of 40 Wall Street saw an opportunity and modified his design to make the building two feet taller and claim victory.

Unbeknownst to the 40 Wall Street team, the lead architect of the Chrysler Building had thought further ahead. He’d secretly received permission to add a stainless steel spire to the top of the structure. It was constructed within the building, hidden from view until the last few days when it was suddenly hoisted up.

The Chrysler Building became the tallest in the world by a few feet, taller than 40 Wall St and the Eiffel Tower. It was beaten just a few months later by the Empire State Building but that spire remains today, a symbol of foresight and that secretive internal work.

Although the end result was visible to all, the effort and planning behind it was naked to the eye. Imagine the temptation, as someone involved in that project, to shout about the amazing thing you were working on.?

There are parallels here with our own personal growth and how we choose to fulfil our potential.?

In many modern organisations of all sizes, learning and development is almost always further down the priority list than other tasks that seem higher value and more urgent: running the business, winning new clients, managing the team. Taking a couple of days, or even a couple of hours off, for some training, can seem a distraction at best or unthinkable at worst.

So the hurdle for personal development becomes high and narrow, an idea that ‘If I’m going to take time out for training, it better be something useful that I can use straight away to improve my performance or show my colleagues’.?

There’s a muddled ROI and cost/benefit discussion going on in our heads about whether we should actually take time out to work on ourselves, despite our rational minds knowing that all high performers spend a lot of time training.?

So training that is more likely to deliver high-impact and short-term results usually wins in this scenario.?“What efforts can I show to others?”

I worked with a consulting partner once who was known for retreating to his shed at the end of his garden to ‘think about stuff’. It was his space for unstructured, open-minded, deep learning. A kind of contemplative practice. Although he was considered slightly eccentric for this, he was also known as one of the brightest minds in the firm.?

How would it feel for you to do this in your role?

What is the growth and learning for you that can’t be ‘implemented’ or ‘certified’ as you do it or once you’ve finished it?

There is much work for each of us that can be done internally, out of view and unreported.

This is the?Invisible Work?of real growth. Keeping it out of sight means there’s no pressure or incentive to publicise it. You can experiment and go at your own pace. You can explore territory that you might not otherwise consider in a public or organisational environment.

There’s no certificates, no grades or scoring. Nothing you can post on LinkedIn or Facebook. No prestigious institute you can attach your name to.

Simply a deep, consistent commitment to your own development in ways that are completely unique to you – questioning your beliefs, reflecting on your motives, challenging your own perspectives, broadening your mindset.?

This work that goes on in private, pays off in the long-term.?

You’ll know when it has because one day someone will remark on what seems like a transformation, as your invisible work becomes visible. To them it will seem sudden, whereas you can take satisfaction in knowing the effort that has gone into it.?

What is the investment in yourself that you can make, that no-one needs to know about??

What can you work on, so that like the Chrysler Building, the people around you one day notice something awe-inspiring?

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