Here is a list of 12 career decisions that aid performance improvement and career success.
It is important that you take these decisions despite your current career status - great, good, unsure, stagnant, or yet to start one.
Decisions precede actions, and positive actions precede performance and success.
We trust that the following twelve decisions prove helpful in your performance and career success in the new year.
1. Consistent optimism
Minimise the negative spectrum of doom and bad news from people, media, government, leaders, etc.
Be sure you are a means of great and encouraging news. Maintain consistent optimism, by re-assuring yourself and people around you that things will get better.
In fact, think of situations improving, read books, listen to podcasts, and watch videos on motivational materials to increase your optimism.
2. Identify opportunities
Be on lookout for opportunities to advance your career. Find out about opportunities as people talk.
Ask, inquire about opportunities that can benefit or improve your career, and those of people around you. Use SWOT analysis to help you refine career opportunities.
3. Commit to learning and development
Decide to enhance your insight, knowledge, skills and behaviour competencies. Enhance these competencies by twenty per cent.
The Pareto Principle states that 20% of effort achieves 80% results. Put as much time, effort and resources in updating or developing new insights, skills, knowledge and behaviour competencies.
4. Evaluate your knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills do become out-dated particularly in this Information and Technology Age. Professionals of all specialisms need to remain at the cutting edge of current information, evidence and research data.
Hence, evaluate your knowledge and skills; benchmark them against top ten performers in your specialism and profession.
5. Maintain permanent optimism
Enthusiasm is a “feeling of energetic interest in a particular subject or activity and an eagerness to be involved in it.”
Decide to maintain permanent enthusiasm in your profession, career development, networks, people, etc.
6. Practical career plan
Create a practical career plan with clear and stretching milestones. In fact make a list of twelve specific achievements you desire in in the year.
Identify a mentor or coach that can support you in implementing your career plan. Make sure you compensate your mentor or coach as remunerating him or her challenges any predisposition to be laid-back about your career plan.
7. Strong motivation
Motivation is the next step of enthusiasm. It is the doing part of enthusiasm.
Do specific activities every day that fosters your career aspirations and plan.
Think, read, participate, network, attend development events, etc to stay motivated.
Challenge yourself to read uninterrupted for one hour. Minimise your need to be praised before you can participate or take action.
Identify personal reward strategies to advance your motivation.
8. Customer service change agent
Be a beacon of uncommon customer service, a change agent of customer service excellence.
Decide you’ll give 100% of your best at any given moment of customer interaction – in person, by email, on chat, and on the phone.
Smile meaningfully, and take every interest in the customer.
Exceed each customer’s or stakeholder's expectations.
9. Personal excellence
Choose to become a person of excellence in conduct, speech, action, dressing, manner, etc.
Go the extra mile in your learning, development, performance, and commitments.
George Washington Carver is quoted as saying, “Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.”
10. Take measured risks
You need to make quantum leap success in your career and at work or business in the New Year.
You will need to take risks, measured calculated risks.
The probability of throwing ‘six’ in a dice game is one over six. So take risks, beyond the risks you took last year.
According to former British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, “No man [or woman] ever become great or good except through many and great mistakes.”
So take those actions you’ve postponed for some time. Be bold and take those actions now.
11. Be creative
The word ‘creative’ means, “producing or using unusual and original ideas”.
Stretch your thinking and abilities to break barriers.
You are capable of producing unusual, imaginative ideas, solutions, suggestions that make a lasting difference.
Create quiet moments to reflect, think through and analyse problems and identify solutions.
12. Improve communication skills
Improve your verbal and written communication capabilities and capacities through listening, reading, presentation, writing, and note-taking.
Your ability to listen, understand and respond with empathy are the qualities of a great person.
In fact, your build a network of allies and value-creators through your communication abilities.
