I’ve had encounters in managing the SEO Hacker team wherein someone would suddenly turn into ‘Hero Mode’. That person would just burn hours working through the night, foregoing sleep and rest and just force his way into doing what needs to be done.
You may be wondering, “Well that’s a good thing isn’t it?”
Hell no.
When someone turns on “Hero Mode” he’s burning more than just his physical strength, endurance, creativity and brain cells, he’s burning his will and his soul. Just like an airplane flying on empty will crash and burn, your people who try to wing it on Hero Mode will sooner than later crash and burn out.
Yeah it feels so damn good when you’re the hero. I know coz I’ve been there. It feels like you’re flying – like everyone’s cheering you on. Shouting “You can do it Sean! Save us! Save our team!”
It may feel that way but the reality of it all is that you’re running on less than 30% of your creativity, focus, willpower and discipline. In short, you’re being paid for 70% less than what you should be delivering.
And the worst thing about Hero Mode is it sticks.
You think that you’ve flown miles and miles and you deserve recognition and praise. You think your name and face should be plastered on the walls of the office when the truth is, you haven’t gone that far.
In fact, it would’ve been better for you to juice up with a good night’s sleep and use 100% of your creativity to create a solution that will make the effort you need to put in 900% more efficient! Chances are, when you’re running full steam, you need only 10% of your time to create a smart way to finish the task.
Apart from losing most of your professional assets, you become stubborn, irate and demoralized. Things that are going to affect the rest of the team.
So the next time you think of putting on that cape, mask and heading down the bat cave, remember that you’re not going to impress anyone.
In fact, it may just come back to bite you in the ass.
