Musings: The more you talk, the less you work
(**The less intelligently you work)
Yesterday, after winning our semi-final soccer game, we advanced to the finals. However, the team was tired after playing an intense 40-minute game. We were slower than usual—and far less communicative. Instinctively, I yelled, “Keep talking! The more we talk, the less we work.”
It dawned on me: just like at work, hard work without alignment isn’t effective.
Sports and team dynamics are so similar. In the age of knowledge work, alignment gives you a competitive edge—through communication—by closing loops faster and sharing insights. Knowledge retention is valuable, but knowing how to access and apply that knowledge is even more valuable.
Like in work, those last few minutes of the grind are the hardest. It’s when you want to give up, take a rest, and convince yourself that, because you don’t “feel” it, something must be wrong. But the reality is, sometimes work is tough. Sometimes it’s more hard work than enjoyment. But the end goal is achieving an outcome.
Why people don’t talk
On the field, as in work, we stop talking when:
We fear rejection or negative judgment
We fear conflict or disagreement
We don’t think what we have to say is worth it (i.e., imposter syndrome)
We fear being wrong
We all silence ourselves. Here are two recent reads to help you shut up less.
Anyways…we won <3
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Working hard without a direction creates a lot of momentum but very little progress. But with alignment, you can make this progress exponential by simply connecting the dots in people’s heads.
Layla, good post! I've been reflecting recently on how powerful the concept of a "shared consciousness" within product teams can be in terms of driving impact. Building coherence (alignment) is a big part of that. The analogy of the best sports teams is a useful one - they compete hard, but play with harmony.