I’m always looking for ways to improve my performance at work and excel in my career. Recently, I’ve been wondering how can I excel in my career? What are some things that I can do to stand out from the rest and move from good to great? After doing some research, I’ve compiled a list of three career success secrets that you can improve your performance at work:
How Can I Excel in My Career?
How can I excel in my career? No one answer fits everyone, but there are some general things you can do to excel in your career. First, find a career that you are passionate about and that fits your skills and talents.
Once you have found the right career, work hard and be the best at what you do. Be a good problem solver, be proactive, and be a good team player.
Finally, always learn and grow in your career by taking on new challenges, seeking new career advancement opportunities, and continuously improving your skills.
Successful People Care
Caring about your fellow employees is a hallmark of a good employee.
Our basketball team at USF used to show for the speakers at the Chicago Nike clinic.
On Saturday, our basketball athletes had to show their skills to legendary basketball coach Bobby “The General” Knights. They were nervous about meeting him because his reputation was for being hard on his players and because there were 800 other coaches at the seminar.
The very first drill that the Coach gave our players was not ideal. Our guys did not do well with it.
The coach’s laughter was infectious.
After coach knight heard what the kids had to say, he went straight to his coaches and said, “These kids are here early every morning, and they’ve helped me teach you how to play. So, here’s what we are going to do.”.
“If I catch any of you guys laughing at me, I’ll choose 10 of you and have you demonstrate in front of the class. The kids will laugh.”.
You’d never guess how loud 800 Coaches got when I told them about this new trick!
Coach Knight showed that he cared for his players and that they were excited to be working with him for the remainder of the camp.
A great high school basketball coach once told me that people who care about what they do would show up.
When my dad passed away, I went to his memorial service. While there, our parish priest said a prayer.
I was surprised to see President Dr.Jack Orr come into the office. I knew he had never met Robert.
However, Jack cared about Bob’s daughter Terri because she was a student at St. Francis.
Success comes from caring.
How to Excel at Work and Achieve Career Success
The successful people whom I’ve worked with always remained modest. No matter their success level, they never let their egos get out of control. People at the top of their fields in businesses, schools, or hospitals were usually very down-to-earth. The people who had the potential to succeed but hadn’t yet reached that level were the ones who were full of themselves. This seemed to happen over and over again.
For its 75th birthday, a business magazine, “Fortune,” dedicated its entire issue to the concept of decision-making. They asked a variety of experts in various fields, including the military, politics, and education, how they made decisions.
I interviewed the most intriguing person who was author, speaker, and consultant, James C. (Jim) Collins.
When you don’t know the answer to something, admit it. Admitting that you don’t have all the answers shows that you are willing to learn, which is essential for any successful leader.
I’ve worked with leaders who knew what they were doing.
They couldn’t work with anyone because they already knew everything.
When faced with a difficult decision, many leaders would bring their key players in to help them. They were not afraid to admit that they didn’t know how they should proceed with their problem, but we’re willing to work together with their team members to find a solution.
These strong, secure, and modest leaders are the role models I look up to.
Legendary coach, and arguably the greatest of all time, Coach John Wooden, once said:
Be thankful for your talent, but be humbled by it.
But arrogance is self-given, be cautious.
I was a high school basketball coach for 10 years and a college one for 34. I was also a camp director who traveled around the U.S. and Europe.
I was fortunate to meet and work with several people who were great at their jobs and parlay that into a successful career.
So, how do you achieve workplace success and excel in your career?
Over the years, I’ve observed that these characteristics lead to excellence in the workplace.
The Skills of Listening
I believe listening to others is just as important as speaking to them. Although we have courses on public speaking, I think there should be a required course in the general education curriculum on listening skills.
Instead of telling you what I think about listening to customers, let’s hear from some thought leaders on the value of good listening skills.
Listening is a key skill that is often overlooked. Though we use it every day, most of us don’t put much thought into how we can improve our listening skills. The quotes above provide some great perspectives on the importance of listening, and I encourage you to take their wisdom to heart. Listening is a way to show respect, build relationships, and learn new things. So the next time someone is talking to you, make an effort to listen and see what a difference it makes.
Listening is a skill that, when mastered, can dramatically improve your productivity.
“Don’t be afraid to hang up the phone.”.
Continuous Learning
The mind is like a parachute. It works best when it’s open.
Knowledge is power. No matter what you do, it would help if you strived to gain as much knowledge about it as possible.
It’s not enough to know. You have to learn and grow in your profession to be respected continuously.
Back in the 1960s, I was ahead of my time, thinking that weight lifting was beneficial to basketball.
We trained our athletes twice a week with weight training to prepare them for the physical demands of competition.
We were fortunate enough to meet with the strength and conditioning coach for the Chicago Bulls. They lift for strength and power like anyone else, but they take it a step further by training their athletes for speed and agility. This improves not only their physical strength but their athletic ability.
They taught us some exercises that increased our overall physical strength and helped us become quicker as well. These exercises are great, and I recommend them.
We changed the exercises we were using for weight training and kept some of them open for use.
We learned the importance of practicing our skills from coach Robert “Bob” Gillespie of Ripon College in using a one-minute drill.
We believe that the only way you truly learn is through constant practice. This holds for physical skills, mental skills, and anything else.
After our training session, we each came up with a list of the most important things we learned.
We came up with a series of one-minute drills that were quick to execute and allowed us to repeat the fundamental skills of our game.
We continued to make improvements as we learned from our coaches.
Yes, it would be beneficial for me to study and review the fundamentals and principles. Additionally, finding ways to teach them better and emphasize primary points with less verbiage would also be helpful.
Conclusion
These are just a few ways to improve your performance at work. If you’re looking for more “how can I excel in my career success secrets,” check out our blog or contact us today!
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