How To Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You

What attributes or behaviors do people have that make them so good they can’t be ignored?

I get asked often what separates high performers from those who just blend in. I’ve had the privilege of coaching, mentoring and promoting several high performers and there are performance trends that separate them from their peers around them.

Seth Godin refers to this as positioning yourself as a “linchpin”. A linchpin is a person who is indispensable, who cannot be replaced. It’s a person who consistently delivers value and works in such a way that their performance is undeniable.

Below is a list of (4) behaviors I’ve aggregated that, if consistently practiced and implemented, will allow you to separate yourself from those around you and enable you to be so good you can’t be ignored.

#1 - Create More. Consume Less

We live in a consumption culture. It’s easy to sit back and consume. Anyone can read books, listen to podcasts, sit in meetings and absorb, do things the way things have always been done, etc. It’s easy to consume but consuming does not put you in a position where you become a linchpin.

To be so good they can’t ignore you, you need to create more and consume less. Create more means bringing ideas to the table. It means offering innovative solutions and putting your ideas to action in small ways. You focus on how you can make things or the people around you better

When is the last time you created something for the benefit of your team?

Create more and you’ll separate yourself.

Consume more and you’ll just blend in.

#2 - Commit to Learning

We don’t have it all figured out. We have not arrived at the pinnacle and exhausted everything we need to know to be successful at what we do. Learning needs to be a lifelong commitment used to fuel our personal and professional growth.

To be so good they can’t ignore you, commit to being a lifelong learner. What are you curious about learning? What area of growth or leadership do you want to increase your knowledge or performance? Find a book, mentor, podcast, etc. that you can use to feed your curiosity and add tools to your tool belt. Be intentional to define your learning path and align it to your short and long-term growth targets. 

#3 - Sell Positivity

Negative, toxic attitudes will not result in a positive brand. Negativity is not an attribute that makes you promotable. You will get noticed but not in the way you want.

Positivity is contagious. It causes you to standout in a strong way. Positivity is not putting your head in the sand and pretending everything is great when it’s really not. Positivity is choosing to believe there is hope and you can create a different narrative. It’s believing your setbacks or challenges can be overcome together.

You choose. You’re either selling positive or negative. Your attitude and effort is something that is always within your control.

#4 - Be Coachable

How do you respond to feedback? When’s the last time you asked for feedback? Do you fear or ignore it? Do you surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear vs. what you need to hear?

To be so good they can’t ignore you, focus on being coachable. Ask for feedback. Choose to respond to feedback as a learner with a growth mindset. Coachable people accelerate their personal growth because they view feedback as a catalyst and not something to be feared, ignored or avoided. Coachable people rise above the crowd.  

You can be so good they can’t ignore you. Start today in a small way.

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