This is Why Your Team Doesn’t Work Well Together

The conflict of work values: proficiency vs. efficiency.

Over my career I’ve witness a conflict around work ethic. Some people appear to not be working hard, yet get a lot done. Some people work hard or nonstop, but are not producing results quickly. But why? What does it mean to “work hard?” Input or output? Why do people work so differently when we are all trying to accomplish the same goal? A theory: “we do not work the same, because we do not value the same things.”

Generally, workers fall in one of two things, Proficiency or Efficiency. To clarify, Proficiency and Efficiency are not mutually exclusive. They work together. They are fluid with you focusing on one or the other, or a mix, depending on the needs of the task at hand. However, to focus on just one, is often at the sacrifice of the other. I worked in various industries over the years, being both proficient or efficient at one time or another.

Whether we are proficient or efficient determines (1) how YOU work and (2) how you view the work of others.

Proficient workers often value consistency and expertise. They spend their time focusing on perfecting their craft, trade, or skill-set to master a process or task. These are the workers who know what their role is and they generally stick…