Vanity Productivity: Why Your Culture Rewards the Wrong Work

Episode notes

Find out how to identify vanity productivity in your organisation and build a culture that rewards genuine collective value over quick, visible wins. The 'work smarter, not harder' image is a leadership fixture. But the person rolling a stone ball didn't find a smarter method; they destroyed a useful block, generated waste, and left the consequences for others. That pattern, prioritising the visible quick win over genuine value, is what this episode calls vanity productivity. Lee examines why organisations inadvertently reward the wrong behaviours, where the incentive to look clever overrides the obligation to deliver collective value. He offers three diagnostic questions to help you audit your team's culture, reconnect recognition with real outcomes, and create the conditions where genuine smart working can thrive.