Career tip: Impact and scope are not the same

I once received feedback from a peer that my priorities were dispersed, and they noticed I dropped a few things. It inspired reflection on incentives and what really matters.

Working on the Lyft driver team, our prior was that drivers want to minimize work and maximize earnings. You don’t need a Phd in Labor Economics to grasp this.

White collar culture flips this on its head. Perception is: If you are ambitious, you should maximize your scope. Never say no. But this is, at best, short-sighted, and at worst, counter-productive.

Even if you’re laser focused on career growth, scope is not the goal. Impact is.

Impact is a function of the volume and value of your work. Acquiring scope appears to be a fast track to increasing your output volume, but that’s not necessarily true. You may be able to stretch yourself, but your time is a finite resource.

Enhancing the value of the work you do is a more sustainable path. Work smarter, not harder. Advice saying, “Do your job…but better” may sound blatant, but internalizing this perspective will inspire you to deepen rather than widen your focus, and invest in learning rather than production alone. In fact, promotions typically bias to the strength of your skillset — which is a leading indicator of your future impact — more so than one-off and unsustainable wins.

So the next time you’re invited to step into more work, evaluate it against your current slate. Can you drop something to make this happen? If the answer is no, be honest. Set clear, realistic expectations for yourself and your coworkers.

Your team, career, and sanity will benefit from it.