Forget about Credit, Do the Work.

It's common for some people to start a new job feeling like underappreciated geniuses. They believe they are forced to do work they don’t enjoy for people they don’t respect, thinking the job is beneath them.

It’s worth reflecting on what it truly means when we talk about the so-called indignities of serving others.

A traditional way to learn a craft was by working under a skilled master. Leonardo da Vinci and many other great artists learned this way learned under this apprenticeship model.

At 14, Leonardo became an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio, a master artist in Florence. He began with simple jobs like preparing materials and watching how Verrocchio worked. While some might have considered these chores boring or beneath them, Leonardo took them seriously and did them well. These “simple” tasks helped him learn quickly and build strong skills in drawing, painting, and sculpture under his teacher’s guidance..

In 1470, Verrocchio was asked to paint The Baptism of Christ, and, as was usual, his apprentices helped with the work. Verrocchio focused on the key figures of Christ and Saint John the Baptist, while the students worked on other parts. Leonardo painted one of the angels so well that it stood out more than the rest of the painting. He not only did better than his classmates but might have even outshined his teacher. One art historian said that Verrocchio never painted again after this, though that might be an exaggeration^[1].

Two years later, Leonardo joined the Guild of St. Luke in Florence, the professional organization that regulated artists, apprenticeships, commissions, and quality standards. He had to join the guild to become a qualified master artist and work on his own. Yet, despite this recognition, Leonardo kept working with and learning from Verrocchio for several more years. Even though he had become more skilled than his teacher, he stayed humble and continued to support him.

This is a mindset everyone can benefit from, no matter our stage in a career. Don’t focus on getting credit, focus on doing the work. Leonardo understood the long-term value of helping his master succeed. He could have left once he became recognized, but he stayed and kept learning. By doing excellent work, supporting others, and thinking long-term, he was able to develop his own unique style.

When we’re just starting out, we’re rarely as good as we think, even if we excelled in school. A classroom is not an office, and much of what we learned is probably outdated and may not apply to real situations.

There are many things we can do to help others look good.

• Propose ideas and make them real. Ideas are cheap—everyone has them, and even smart people have plenty of bad ones. Execution is what matters.
• Fix inefficiencies. Small tweaks to processes, spreadsheets, or file organization can save the team significant time.
• Help other teams. Seek opportunities to contribute, showcase creativity, and expose yourself to new challenges.
• Go the extra mile. Even a 5% increase in output can quickly place you ahead of the average employer and make a difference over time.

Greatness starts with doing the hard, basic work. Even if we are the least important person in the room, our results can change that. Don’t focus on immediate credit. The recognition we don’t get today compounds over time. By solving diverse problems, we learn, build a reputation as indispensable, and create valuable relationships. The moment to collect will eventually come.

Inspiration

The Tim Ferris Show podcast with Ryan Holiday.