No. 12 - WORK ETHIC BY YONCÉ

WORK ETHIC BY YONCÉ

May 28, 2025 • Issue No. 12

Full disclosure: I’m writing this in the past. Usually, I like to write and send The Sparkle Sheet on the same day to keep things hot and fresh but today is a ~special circumstance~. The East Coast Sparkle Gang may already know: the Queen has come to town. Beyoncé will be performing at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey this evening and I will be there. As you’re reading this, I’m on my way to NJ to spend a full day in anticipation and glam with my best friends who are in from out of town. But less about me, today it’s about HER and the ways WE can emulate her work ethic + bring a little DIVA energy to the office. Don’t worry if you’re not a big fan, I aimed to give enough context for a wide audience. You ready, B?

STAYING POWER

🐝 BEY’S CAREER: Beyoncé released her third solo album the same year that New Yorker journalist Malcolm Gladwell published his third pop psychology book. Gladwell’s 2008 Outliers: The Story of Success popularized the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery and invalidated the myth that some people are both with talent and some of us aren’t. Gladwell allows that natural aptitude gives you a leg up, but it can’t do all the work for you. Imagine: two basketball players, one 6’4’’ and the other 5’4’’, both rack up their 10,000 practice hours in tandem. The taller one will have an advantage, but at that level of mastery both players might make it to the league. Beyoncé’s singing ability is a true gift and her enduring physical stamina is a helpful capability, but she doesn’t solely rely on these characteristics when she puts on a show. She practices…hard.

Footage of Beyoncé in her own rehearsals anchors her films and documentaries, along with the critique that she takes it too far. In the 2023 film Renaissance, which is equal parts tour video and documentary, there’s a clip from a rehearsal meeting where her own daughter, Blue Ivy, tells her it’s time to give it a rest for the night! Vintage clips from the music video for “Grown Woman” show Young Bey running practice in her living room for her first singing group, Girls Tyme. In other words, Beyoncé doesn’t play about practice (and seemingly never has!). She’s far surpassed the 10,000 hours of practice and performance needed to ascend to the echelon of mastery. Despite her decades of experience, she still continues to apply herself and push against the limits of what’s possible for a woman in music and entertainment. Her willingness to practice is what sets her apart from the peer acts that may have started when she did, but ended while she was still going strong.

 💎 YOUR CAREER: The best way to get better at something is to practice and then continue to practice…forever. You can find joy in the work of setting goals, accomplishing them, and leveling up if those goals are aligned with your values. Find the aspect of your work that delights you, focus your effort, and “get in the gym.”

DEFINING THE MOMENT

🐝 BEY’S CAREER: When the single “Break My Soul” from Beyoncé’s 2022 album Renaissance hit streaming services, she put us all on notice that we were about to experience a new era of her artistry and the music would be something different than we’d heard from her before. Renaissance would mark her foray into electronic, dance, house music, a genre that held a dear place in her heart and connected her to her departed Uncle Johnny. She attended the 2023 Grammys in a futuristic silver and gold bustier dress and gracefully accepted 4 awards, bringing her career total to 32 Grammys. She broke the record for most awards by a single artist but still went home without the prestigious Album of the Year (AOTY) distinction.

In 2024, with no new music out, she attended the Grammys as a spectator and viewers quickly took note of her new look. It was still the high glam, meticulously-styled level of ensemble we’d come to expect from Mrs. Carter but commenters wondered what drove her to dress “like a Texas oil tycoon”. Seven days later it would all make sense. After the KC Chiefs won the SuperBowl, she released “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”, the two singles for the forthcoming country-coded Cowboy Carter album, which would (finally!) win AOTY in 2025. Beyoncé’s shift to ten-gallon hats, chaps, and platinum blonde hair marked a transition to another new period in her career. She’s gone from Beyoncé-Lead-Singer-of-Destiny’s-Child to Beyoncé-R&B-Diva to Beyoncé-Dance-Music-Phenom to Beyoncé-Country-Music-Aficionado (and so many more!) right before our eyes. She transforms her look and transcends genre but her fan base stays with her because it doesn’t feel like she’s changing, it just feels like she’s leveling up.

💎 YOUR CAREER: When you’re planning a pivot, it helps to define your new era (shoutout to the Swifties in the audience!) You don’t have to announce your era to any one else unless you want to; it’s an internal accountability measure. Give it a title and a time period: “I’m in my Networking Era until the end of the summer” or “I’m in my No Distractions Era until I finish my medical school applications.” When invites roll in for work socials, industry happy hours, conferences, and 1:1s with new colleagues use your mantra as a measuring stick to help you prioritize. For example, someone in their “networking” era will probably accept the invites, but someone in a “no distractions” era may need to strategically decline. If adding a costume or accessory will help you feel even more empowered, make a wise investment that aligns with your goals. I won’t fault you for wanting a few sharp blazers for your Leadership Era or a cute paper planner for your Organization Era!

MEASURING SUCCESS, PLANNING LEGACY

🐝 BEY’S CAREER: By 2009, Beyoncé’s success was undeniable. She’d completed two world tours and the music video for “Single Ladies” had even been spoofed by Justin Timberlake on SNL. The then-27 year old from the suburbs of Houston had established her solo career, despite critics predicting that she would have little appeal without the backing of Destiny’s Child. Through her album titled I Am…Sasha Fierce, she’d made clear that she (Beyoncé) and “Sasha Fierce” — the alter ego she’d created to channel confidence during her performances — were one and the same. She also proved that she could make pop music and shatter power ballads like “Satellites”, “Halo” and (strangely) “Ave Maria”. She was on top. And then she announced that she would take a break.

She stepped back from the spotlight and released her father as her manager, the only one she’d ever known. In interviews after her return, she explained that she’d wanted to live life and mature so that she could become a better artist. The album she released after the hiatus was 4, her fourth record, and it marks a moment when she took creative control of her career. She was expressive about her intentions for self-redefinition. She wanted to make bolder, more artistic music that she could still sing at 40 and at 60. (This is another goal she accomplished! She’ll turn 44 this year and “Love On Top” from 4 made the cut for the Cowboy Carter set list.) Despite all the hard-won success and acclaim, Beyoncé took a break to find out what really mattered to her and then came back to pursue it full force. While she often sings about money and having a big ol’ bank account, it’s touching that the penultimate song on 4 measures her impact in hearts touched.

💎 YOUR CAREER: Take a ten-minute hiatus to step out of the present and look ahead. If you can, imagine your life 5 or 10 years from now. Think about what you do, where you work, who you work with, and your quality of life. Consider your markers of success, both present-day and in this imaginary future. You may already have (or be working toward) a hefty paycheck, a corner office, or a weighty title, but it may or may not bring the contentment you had hoped. Reconfigure the vision until it paints a picture of what matters. Stay vigilant that the benchmarks you’ve set for yourself represent what YOU want for you.

Now, I could quote and analyze Beyoncé all day, but I’ll hold back and leave you with just one more lyric from her song, “Bigger”. When I find myself pulled too deeply into my work or feeling so detached that I’ve lost the plot, I hum it to myself. When I wonder why my work — as a professor, a writer, and an executive coach — matters, this is my reminder.

“If you feel insignificant, you better think again
Better wake up because  
You’re part of something way bigger 
…Not just a speck in the universe”

💎 You matter. You’re a part of something. You’re here for a reason. 💎 

Now, I’m off to go shake something! Pray that I don’t get drenched at the show. 🙏🏾

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