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June 30, 2023
Career goals are important to a lot of people. We spend so much of our lives working, we want to know that we’re putting that time towards something productive and fulfilling. If you decide you want to take your work more seriously and become more successful, the only thing standing in your way is you.
We’re all in charge of our success in the workplace; often, it’s simply a case of adopting the right attitude and playing to our strengths. So, if you’re ready to accelerate your success in the workplace, try following these simple steps.
Reflecting on your own performance in the workplace is the first step to being more successful. You need to be aware of what you are doing and where you could improve. When you encounter difficult situations at work, take a moment to assess how you handled it and how you might have handled it better.
We’re often not even aware of how our own attitude can hold us back in the workplace. For example, if you’re often the first to shy away from challenges because you decide that it “isn’t your problem”, think about how this might look from a management perspective. Then decide if this is the kind of attitude you want to be known for in your workplace.
Once you have reflected on your own performance, it’s time to ask others what they think. You can ask management to appraise your performance, but you can also ask your colleagues for feedback on your contribution. Management will often only see the end results, but your colleagues will know what it’s like to work with you on an everyday basis.
You could ask for a formal appraisal from your boss, or you could simply chat to colleagues about what they think about your performance at work. Be prepared for some eye-opening feedback. You might need thicker skin to be able to handle the most harsh feedback from colleagues.
It’s one thing to ask for feedback, but you then need to come up with a plan to act on the feedback. Think about how you can adjust your behaviour and attitude at work so that you do less of the things that might be holding you back.
If someone highlights that you aren’t very good at a certain part of your job, for example, look for training opportunities that could help you to improve. This will allow you to tackle your skills gap and ensure that you are taking proactive steps to improve.
If you are comfortable in your role, you might be less willing to say yes to opportunities. You might be settled into a routine that is holding you back from progressing and being as successful as possible.
When new opportunities arise, be willing to say yes instead of no. This can have a transformative impact on your career and your success. Opportunities don’t always look like opportunities when they are first presented to you, so being open to new things and new experiences at work will help you to explore new avenues.
Success at work shouldn’t be your only goal. If you focus too much on work and neglect other areas of your life, you’ll quickly head for burnout, and this can be detrimental to your career.
Don’t neglect things like family, friends, relationships, exercise and hobbies. These are the things that will help to keep your mental health in check when you show a little bit of extra dedication at work. Giving it you all doesn’t really mean giving it your all. It’s really about giving it your all during working hours and then prioritising other aspects of your life outside of these hours.
Success doesn’t have to come at the expense of being popular and well-liked. In fact, you’re more likely to find success if you have plenty of people on your side. It’s common to see your work colleagues as competition when you are focusing on success, but try not to fall into this trap.
Being uncooperative or unfriendly in the workplace won’t make you more successful in the long term. It can make your role more difficult if you are hard to work with or too competitive. Try branching out and making friends in the office if you want to find success. If you’re in the running for a promotion and you’re going up against someone who is an unpopular workaholic, you’re more likely to land the role if you are generally well-liked in the office.
It’s common for employees to invest their time and energy into becoming the type of employee that they think their employer wants. But this can backfire, particularly if you’ve got it wrong. You need to be aware of what your employer is looking for and be able to adjust to their expectations. When your employer gives you feedback on your performance, take this on board and be willing to adapt to the changing needs of the company.
This could mean going on training courses to update your skills and ensure you are at the cutting edge of your industry. And if your company is going through an expansion, being willing to take on a leadership or mentorship role for new hires could be incredibly valuable to your employer. Rather than making assumptions about what is needed, be ready to ask for feedback and adjust accordingly.
Anyone can be successful in their line of work if they are willing to put in the time and effort to learn what their employer needs and adjust accordingly.
If you want to be more successful at work, be open to feedback, say yes to new opportunities and be responsive to change. You should also be friendly and open in the workplace, while also ensuring that you have good work/life balance to keep your mental health in check. These simple steps will establish you as the one to watch within your organisation.
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