“I Will Work Harder” By Alec Hill

What Animal Farm Teaches Us About the Will to Work Harder.

How many times have you said, “I will work harder?”

Recently, I reread George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm. A heroic horse named Boxer jumps off the page. Whenever the community needs him, he says, “I will work harder.” Repeatedly, he comes through in the clutch, saving the day. He is loyal, caring, and reliable.

But Boxer is also a tragic character. Lacking the ability to say no, he grinds down over time. While his exceptional work ethic pushes him to accomplish great things, it eventually crushes him. Only too late does he realize that he should have paced himself better and shared the workload.

Might Boxer sound a bit like some of us? If so, what can we learn from him about leadership?

Working Harder Can be Counter-Productive

As a Type-A person, I confess to spouting a similar “I will work harder” mantra for much of my career. And it mostly worked. Promotions and accolades came my way.

However, as I accepted more managerial responsibilities, it became harder to fix significant problems through individual effort alone. I found myself overwhelmed by playing the hero role.

I discovered that what is effective when supervising five staff members often fails miserably when overseeing fifty. As Marshall Goldsmith points out in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, this is a common trap for rising leaders.

Three Lessons

First, we are not messiahs.

Boxer suffered because he carried too much emotional weight, feeling that his community would collapse unless he came to the rescue.

For many of us, playing the role of mini-messiah feeds our sense of identity. It gives us purpose. But once we allow this attitude to take root, we believe we stand alone between success and ruin. Like the Greek mythological figure Atlas, we are left holding the world on our shoulders with no relief.

To state the obvious, we are not Jesus.

Avoiding a messianic identity is easier said than done. Many of us relish being the “go-to” leader so much that it has seeped into our core identities. Changing that core is hard work. It is not something done all at once but a task we repeatedly return to.

Second, we need to share the load.

While serving as president of a large ministry for 14 years, I had a wide range of responsibilities. Humanly speaking, the buck stopped with me.

That burden could have eaten me up. But thankfully, by that time in my career, I had learned to better partner with others. Pulling together with a trusted team made all the difference.  

Rather than simply working harder, I learned to work smarter. Abandoning my star performer mentality was surprisingly liberating. As an African proverb advises, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

And third, we need to live a Sabbath cadence.

Boxer was mentally and emotionally on the job 24/7. Some leaders I know regard this attitude as a virtue.

However, we will slowly wear down without boundaries, leaving us increasingly vulnerable to resentment. I know a former senior leader who became deeply embittered by what he saw as a gross imbalance between his sacrifices, on the one hand, and his community’s lack of appreciation, on the other.  

We must learn a sabbath rhythm and take regular time off lest we believe we are indispensable. We rest because God rested and know that even as we take time off, He still works in our ministries.

Final Thoughts

On the surface, a work ethic based on Boxer’s mantra “I will work harder” is appealing.

However, as we move into positions of greater responsibility, the slogan sees diminishing returns. Indeed, it becomes counter-productive over the long run.

To experience lasting fruitfulness, we need to remember that we were not mini-Messiahs, that we do our best work while empowering others, and that entering into the Lord’s cadence of rest is essential for us and the communities we serve.

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Alec Hill is president emeritus of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA.