7 Career Keys to Success

In my career, I have hired well into the hundreds of people onto my team.?I find it important to be a part of every employee’s interview process.?In part to keep me connected to the team, but also to make sure I help each future partner make the right decision around joining the team I happen to lead.?During this process, almost every single interviewee asks the same question, “What are the keys to success in business?”?Most of them are asking about how to succeed within the company, in the industry, or regarding a career in sales.?However, I think the keys to success for any hire are the same, and the company and industry mean very little.?In my humble opinion, there are 7 keys to success, 3 of which the employee is responsible for, 3 of which the company owes to the employee, and the last one is God or fate.

3 Keys to Success for the Employee

Number 1 – Great Attitude

Notice I didn’t say positive attitude, I said GREAT.?Sometimes, getting a little angry is part of a great attitude, it shows you care and are passionate about what you do.?A great attitude is generally positive, but it’s more than that.?It’s a willingness to do what it takes to succeed within moral boundaries.?It’s the person that craves feedback and wants to improve.?Someone that puts themselves last, and their team or client first.?Someone that is willing to sacrifice some of “their” time now to succeed later.?They are overall great at managing themselves, prioritizing things in a way that only can lead toward success. ?

Number 2 – Great Work Ethic

The term hard work is overused, and don’t get me start on the most overused cliche in the business world, “work hard, play hard!”?Good gosh, we all get it, party on the weekends.?So did a lot of people in their 20’s and 30’s.?I said great work ethic.?To me, this does include hard work, but work doesn’t always have to be hard, nor does it have to include long hours.?Think about the fat guy at a gym that always seems to be in there, but never seems to get in shape.?He’s there 8 hours a day but seems to never drop a pound, in fact, he may have actually gained weight.?How can that be??Well, he’s obviously NOT working out for 8 hours, and he most likely is not doing the necessary things to lose weight before and after the gym.?Then there is the guy that is in top-notch shape, basically a Greek god, but only comes to the gym for an hour or two at a time.?That Greek god guy, well, he is working his body hard during the time he is in the gym.?He goes home, eats healthy food, gets good sleep, and does the necessary ancillary things to be in shape.?The same goes with work, sometimes we need to work long hours, it’s part of being a professional and having a great attitude.?However, most of the time we just need to work at work.?Put the effort in, not the time.?If you simply do that with a great attitude, good things will happen for you.

Number 3 – Be Coachable

When I played football, this is the one thing that my coaches talked about all the time, and it stuck with me, be coachable.?You can have all the talent in the world, but if you aren’t coachable, you will never be great at anything.?Being coachable doesn’t mean you take feedback well, that is part of a great attitude.?Being coachable doesn’t mean that you improve instantly when given feedback.?It does mean that you implement feedback and continuously improve.?Fortunately, our business careers are way longer than our athletic careers, and this means if you continue to improve throughout your career, you truly can achieve almost any goal you set for yourself.?

3 Keys to Success the Company Owes the Employee

Number 1 – A Great Opportunity

Notice I did say a fair opportunity.?In case I’m the one to break it to you, life isn’t fair, and neither is business.?Sometimes, you get dealt a lesser hand than your peer.?However, that doesn’t give you an excuse to fail IF the company has ensured your opportunity is still great.?A great opportunity is when a company sets you up for success.?A good example of this is when I started in sales.?My manager gave me a very large territory, however, what was close to the office was much less than desirable.?I was in tech staffing sales and the territory close to us was mostly shipping yards.?Not much tech staffing is going on at a shipping yard.?However, 2 hours away in Miamisburg, Ohio, there was a massive client that we were set up with and no one was calling on.?So, I started getting up at 5 AM and drove my happy butt two hours away for the next 2 years.?Sure, I was jealous of the folks that got the territories by the office, but I was still set up with a great opportunity, I just needed to take advantage of it.?I did by the way, and it was the best thing that happened to me in my career.?However, without the opportunity to drive those two hours to a great client and territory, I couldn’t have ever succeeded.

Number 2 – Training

No matter who you are or what level you are entering a company, you need training.?Maybe a CEO doesn’t need training on how to be a CEO, but they still need to be trained on how the company is currently operating.?For entry-level folks, we need to train you on every aspect of the job.?This can seem like micromanagement, however, you need to be taught everything, from how to dress, and how to operate in a professional environment, to how to do your job.??After all, how could you know these things, you’ve never been taught!

Number 3 – Coaching

This one is different from training.?Coaching isn’t the classroom, 1 + 1 = 2 kinds of stuff.?Coaching is much more.?It is in the weeds with your employees, treating them like teammates, and truly seeking ways to make them successful.?The worst coaches in the world dish out tons and tons of “feedback,” however, their employees never seem to improve.?This is because they are coaching, their managing.?Coaches not only identify areas of improvement and give feedback, but they also dive in with their employees and identify a plan to improve.?Of course, it is up to the employee to execute the plan, but it is up to the coach to make sure the employee knows how and can execute the plan through follow-up.?If you want to fail as a leader, be a manager, it will work every time.?If you want to succeed as a leader, be a coach, and a teammate, it will work every time.?I’ve been both, and trust me, being a coach works and is a lot more fun.

Again, if all 6 of these Keys to Success are in place, and it doesn’t work out between the employee and the company, it was not meant to be.?It could be a million reasons why it didn’t work, but the reality is that the company and the employee did everything in their power to succeed, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out.?That’s okay because if the two of you follow these Keys to Success with the next company or hire, everyone will succeed in the end.?I truly believe in this, and I have seen it work many, many times.?Always remember, to control your controllables, and success will follow you. Cheers!