Principal's Update

It’s Mostly Hard Work and Not Talent That Achieves Success

During my time in education, I have certainly seen a shift in the way in which different generations of students demonstrate resilience and hard work. We often talk about the importance of developing strength and determination to help us to achieve our success and all that it brings with it. 

What makes sport stars like Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams or Rafael Nadal great? We might think we know. They are all natural individuals who came into the world with a passion for playing tennis. This may be true, but fortunately, the answer is not as straightforward. The good news for us is that talent has little or no impact on success. It's not the most important item in the success story. There is certainly a strong belief in your abilities that can help you get some of the way. However, the continual learning and development with a commitment to improve, this is the most effective way to achieve success.

In virtually every field of endeavour, most people learn quickly at first, then more slowly and then without commitment, they cease progressing. A few people, however, keep improving and sometimes this can go on for years and eventually they go on to more success and even greatness. But greatness isn't handed to anyone. It requires a lot of hard work. Yet that isn't enough, since many people work hard for years without getting significantly better. What's missing?

The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to the kind of practice that's intended to make you do better, tells you how well you are doing and involves doing the same things repeatedly.  Novak for example trains with purpose and has an objective in developing a style of play, that is to tie down his opponents. Deep ball after deep ball, his opponents typically end a point by hitting a forced error.  Serena for example, has regularly adapted her game over the years, adjusting her strategy and technique to stay at the top and with strength and hard-hitting style of play.

These same attitudes can be brought to many things in life, work and especially schoolwork.  Schoolwork, writing, reading, analysing, sitting tests, understanding difficult material – the list goes on.  Through regular practice and keeping up a disciplined structure of homework and schoolwork these will make you a better. 

Instead of merely trying to get ‘the stuff’ done, the aim should be to get better at it. Take the work seriously and work hard to do it well.

Everything that you do at school, from the most basic task to the most demanding, is a skill you can improve. 

Do the work and do it more deeply and retain it longer by not cutting corners.  Instead, read and try to understand what you are reading by doing the work entirely, and research with more information rather than less.  This will improve a longer-term understanding of the work.

You aren't just getting the work done, you're trying to get better at it.

Feedback is crucial, and getting feedback is easy at school. Just ask your teacher.  As well as teaching, they are also there to support and improve your skills, knowledge and understanding.  Teachers are also like a coach who would prepare Rafael, Novak or Serena to always be at their best.  Some students give up when their work is assessed, as a criticism. The ones who do well appreciate criticism as the way to achieve better results. They even ask teachers to show them where they are going wrong and how they can improve themselves. The important truth is that we can make ourselves what we want.

Here are some ways you can be better and chase that road to success: 

• Approach each school task with the goal of getting much better at it.
• As you do the task, focus on what's happening and why you're doing it the way you are.
• After the task, ask your teacher for feedback on your work. Make changes in your work as necessary. Practise the changes.
• Think about your future and the jobs you will be able to do, the life you want to lead. 
• Do these things all the time, not just now and then. 

Acknowledgement: Adapted from “What it takes to be Great” by Geoffrey Colvin, senior editor-at-large, Fortune Magazine