We’ve had a few people ask us recently about how to best push their careers forward and continue to develop and grow their abilities.
We asked our team what they thought were the most important career success tips and here is what they came up with. These are just a few key areas that will lead to continued career success and growth.
1. Always do what is uncomfortable
This has become a bit of a cliché, but it is without a doubt true. If you are pushing yourself to do things that are uncomfortable then you are trying new things which you haven’t mastered and expanding your breadth of ability. Take the plunge and take control. By deciding to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation, you are taking control of that discomfort and forcing yourself to get used to being in an uncomfortable situation. This in itself is a skill that will let you become more comfortable when you are faced with a new situation. One easy way to practice the discipline and feeling of taking control and making the uncomfortable decision yourself is to try taking a cold shower.
Not only will this help you adapt quicker to new or changing situations without stressing out, but it will mean you are constantly trying to push yourself beyond what you are already comfortable with and know.
Companies that become too comfortable and fail to continuously innovate are the ones that get left behind, the same is true with employees and advancement. Don’t be IBM.
2. Network, Network, Network.
Cultivate a network of industry contacts both within your company and within other companies. This is a great way to get your foot in the door at nearly any company with a strong recommendation. Once you find yourself in a leadership role, recruiting will start to become important as you build out your own team below you. Some of the most important business relationships in history have come from within people’s network. Your network will be transformative to your career, never stop cultivating it!
3. Refine your Leadership Skills
Advancing through your career path will undoubtedly find you performing more and more leadership roles within your company. This can also be a great way to push your way up the corporate ladder
4. Always have a goal in mind
Try to set your goals higher and higher as you achieve continued success. This will set you on a path to constantly achieving more and put your team in a competitive advantage. Consistent bench marking against these goals will help you stay accountable to what you want to achieve as well.
5. Dollars Talk
If you work in private industry, regardless of your position, ultimately dollars do a lot of talking. Figuring out innovate ways to reduce costs, increase revenues, develop additional revenue streams, close new clients or maximize asset usage will be a quick way to ascend through the ranks. Many managers end up a situation where they are managing a P&L division of a company, and understanding how to drive those numbers will be a major factor in a successful career.
6. Never stop learning
This is somewhat similar to the first point, but always be learning something new that is related to your career. It could be a new software suite, a new way of closing customers, a new manufacturing method, it’s an endless list. But those that rise to the tops of their career paths will be the ones that are always pushing themselves to learn new things.
7. Try to Coach those under and around you
Help those under you succeed by coaching them on their personal development, as they succeed so will you. Many of the top CEOs are masters at coaching and cultivating talent to reach new heights. Those that you coached could be your next team, or if as you are promoted, you could very likely hire them to replace you or directly work from you.
8. Put in the hours
This one isn’t as fun, but the top achievers in any career path are the ones willing and driven to put in the hours needed to get stuff done. Output is key in any job, and ultilaremly those that spend more time in it generally are the ones that get more done. Management also recognizes those that put in the extra time and go above and beyond.
9. Be Right
Probably the hardest on the list, but Jack Welch of GE fame and Jeff Bezos from Amazon both emphasize that ultimately making the right decisions is very important. It’s not always easy and sometimes it is a guess, but at both of those companies employees that continually make the right decisions regarding nearly anything strategic in nature will find themselves moving much faster up the corporate ladder than those that don’t.
10. Be your Own Boss
This may sound odd if you aren’t self-employed or own a business, but essentially this means to hold yourself to higher standards and levels of responsibility than you really need to. This will ensure you always go above and beyond to make sure any task is done right and you maintain the discipline needed to truly excel.
There are countless tips on how best to build a successful career, but those are ones that we felt are important day in and day out regardless of what industry or role you are in. Let us know what other tips you think are important!
Volan Media is a video production, augmented and virtual reality, web design and advertising agency for small and large businesses. We’ve worked with companies across the country ranging from tech startups to large automotive franchise groups. Check us HERE.
