6 Elements of Success

Everyone has a list of codes, tips, commandments, rules or ideals for the workplace. . It originated with a boss whose focus changed with each visit. It wasn't that he was focusing on various aspects of the company's measurements, they were completely unrelated topics, ideas or direction with his every visit. There was no follow-up on the direction or accomplishments from his previous visit, just some new and often times 180 degrees apart from the direction from the last visit. I remember posting a sign in my office that read, “I do not need my boss to be successful.” Thus, my 6 Elements of Success were born.

The first three elements must come from within. No one can teach or cause you to believe in these three. Only you can decide to make them part of your personal ethos.

The 6 Elements of Success in a very specific order:

#1 - Integrity - At the end of the day, all you have is your word. Once trust is broken, your leadership influence is broken. You can continue to motivate, and you can accomplish many things as a leader, but if your people don't trust you, it is nearly impossible to get consistent momentum and have long-term success. I am often asked if this is the same as honesty and my answer is no. Being honest is telling the truth or giving the right answer or information; integrity is a behavior. The big difference is someone with integrity will always give you an honest answer.

#2 - Professionalism - NO, clothes don't make the person. A title won't get the job done. It's how you carry yourself, how you treat people, the smile on your face and the respect you give others. Many times (once on my first day on the job standing between the training manager and general manager) a guest has come up to me and asked if I was the owner, boss or manager. Several injuries occurred when I was dressed in jeans and sporting a polo shirt. It's not your business card, your name badge or your title in the org chart - it's your behavior.

#3 - Growth-minded - This may seem odd at first, but trust me when I say that if you're not ready to grow or be a proponent of growth, or be developing your replacement with organizational growth in mind, it will impede your personal growth. To be successful in business today you must be developing yourself and others in the organization. If you are consistently the source for well-developed people you'll stand taller in your boss's mind. When your bench is deep, you will be the go-to person for people development. When you're ready to take on the stretch assignment and your replacement has been developed, your professional growth will closely follow.

These next three elements you must master to be successful. Please note that you earn a much exaggerated reputation for excelling or failing in each of these categories:

#4 - Punctuality - You've heard the saying, "10 minutes early is on time and on time is late." You all know who they are. . . . the people who are 5 to 10 minutes late to every meeting. You wonder how to best utilize your time until their arrival. When the team understands the meeting will start on time, they will say, "let's start without them". When you're consistently early, you'll get credit for punctuality. If it's time to start a meeting and you're not present, people will assume you're either sick or dead, not late. Being punctual is a great reputation to have, as is the respect you show for other people's time.

#5 – Self-reliance – If you want to move up in a multi-unit, multi-state or multi-brand business, you must be self-reliant. This ties in directly to having integrity. When you are two time zones away, you often need to make the decision. Webster's dictionary definition of self-reliant is "relying on oneself or resources". Having to check in or confirm decisions with three other individuals is not going to work. Good decision-making combined with integrity leads to self-reliance. Every confident boss would rather hear about your decision than make it for you. When you're in charge of self-reliance is a requirement.

#6 - Communication Communication is not last on the list because it is the least important. Poor communication is the reason most business mistakes or failures occur. Clear communication is critical, but if you embody the other 5 elements, communication becomes easier. Good communication, clear goals, and well-communicated strategy is the key to most success; Poor communication is responsible for many failed meetings, projects and strategic initiatives. Clear, frequent and consistent communication is a success accelerator.

When I assume a new position, I take time to communicate my 6 Elements of Success. Everyone clearly understands my priorities and (not surprisingly) a side benefit is that individuals arrive on time for my meetings. KPI's are important, P&L statements rule the health of a business, and nothing is more helpful than a good BI tool. The moral of the story: good

Jeff Schroeder