M.I.M.I.C. - How to Create Professional Success by Adapting Habits You Admire

Can Imitating Successful People Lead to Success?

A few years back, a friend of mine said to me: “Krystina, what is your title now? I feel like every other week you get a promotion!” That comment really made me think.?

What was I doing that contributed to such rapid growth? I’m not the most educated. I don’t put in more hours than anyone else. And, while my dad jokes are very charming, they are certainly not the reason why I continue to climb the ladder. Then, it hit me.?

I’ve been fortunate enough to work alongside some brilliant people throughout my career. I’m very observant, so I’ve watched those who held higher positions very carefully. I identified behaviors that I admired in them. Then, I adapted those behaviors and made them my own. Seems simple, right??

Create Your Own Success by Imitating What Makes Others Successful

“Success leaves clues.” Jim Rohn, one of my favorite podcast hosts, says that often. You can learn so much from those who have achieved what you are looking to achieve. All you need to do is pay attention and look for the “clues'' they leave. When you see the clues, you can start to mimic the individuals you admire.

M.I.M.I.C. - 5 Steps to Adapt Habits, Skills, and Traits of Successful People

I’ve created a mnemonic device to help you start to find those clues to success and mirror the people you admire.

“M” - MOTIVATION. Why do you want to grow or change? Are you looking to get a promotion or grow in your career? Perhaps you want to become a better listener or communicator. Maybe you want to be more patient. Be very specific here. Your motivators will help you identify the people and behaviors that you’d like to imitate.?

“I” - IDENTIFY. This is a two-step process. First, you need to identify the person (or persons) that you admire. Then, you need to identify what qualities you believe make them successful.?

At the start of my career, I had a boss who was always shaking things up. He put pressure on others to get things done. Now, not everyone agreed with his approach, but I saw a man who got results. I started to watch him interact with his peers and superiors. He was never afraid to challenge the status quo. He taught me to always ask the difficult questions. I watched him do this time and time again, and, in my opinion, we were a better company because of him. So, I started to ask the difficult questions, just like he did. People didn’t always like me, but they respected me. I started to be viewed as a fearless leader.?

I’ve adapted skills from so many wonderful women in higher positions throughout my career. I’ve identified several behaviors from leaders in my current organization that I try to incorporate into my daily actions. One woman is a concise and effective communicator. She uses impactful words and doesn’t react with emotion. Another previous boss of mine was very skilled at asking the right questions. She was genuinely curious. And, because she was curious, she was always learning and connecting. She was very strategic with the questions she asked. As a sales leader, she knew how important it was to really understand a client or prospect’s needs before she tried to solve a problem that she didn’t know existed. Funny thing is, now my team often tells me that I am really great at asking good questions. I hope that I am fortunate enough to have them start copying me!

“M” -? MIRROR. You know your motivation, and you’ve identified a person and a specific behavior that you want to mimic. Now you can start to mirror those behaviors.?

Maybe there’s an executive you admire who communicates in a very concise manner. In that case, you can practice mimicking that person by giving updates to your boss or team using only eight words or less (shout out to my WCF Mentor, Lynn, for this tip!).??

Every time you practice mirroring those behaviors, you are one step closer to making those behaviors part of your natural actions.

“I” - INTENT. We all know how important it is to be ourselves. You don’t want to become the person you are mimicking. You simply want to adapt the skills and qualities that make them successful.?

When used correctly, you are simply creating the better version of yourself by adopting the great qualities and habits of others. This is why it is so important to be intentional on how you practice copying others.?

Be sure not to lose sight of the qualities that make you unique. Here you can ask yourself, “Why am I adapting these behaviors? What do I hope to gain by incorporating these habits into my routine? How are these skills and traits making me a better version of myself?”

“C” - CONSISTENCY. Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” The key to creating any new habits is consistency. When you are trying to grow personally or professionally, you have to make a choice to behave a certain way. That behavior may not feel natural at first, and that is okay. After repetition and consistency, these new behaviors eventually become effortless.?

Remember that first, we make choices on how we want to be perceived. Then, those choices become our habits. Then, those habits become who we are.?

Emulate What You Admire, Learn from What You Dislike

Don’t underestimate the importance of learning what NOT to do. I like to call this the “Reverse Mimic”. This is where you learn from other’s mistakes. Being observant doesn’t only mean learning what works for others. It also means learning what holds them back. Avoiding unadmirable behaviors is equally as important as copying the right behaviors.?

Keep in mind that you don’t always have to mimic another person. Maybe you want to mimic your own behavior from a time when you were really great at something. The possibilities are endless. With any luck, the more skills you gain and desired behaviors you develop from mimicking, you will notice others beginning to mimic you too!

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