Perform at Your Best and Make it a 'WIN WIN': Professional Success and Personal Fulfillment

I hope the new year is treating you well so far. Like you, I know how important it is to get the new year off to a positive start. This is the time to focus on your committed goals and targets and lay the foundations for success over the coming months.

Over the last few months, I have been invited by renowned business and leadership magazines to share some of my key recommendations for sustainable high performance. To inspire you for a great year, I'd like to use a selection of the points highlighted in these articles to reiterate some of my essential guidance for you as executives, senior leaders, managers and entrepreneurs. How can you get to the top in the business world – and stay there to push the limits – as well as having a fulfilling home life? Here are some of the key points in one place.

Executive Performance Transformation

Take the US magazine "CEO World", which published my guest contribution: "The Journey to Executive High Performance: How to Find Joy at the Top". This piece summarizes the process of Executive Performance Transformation – a model I developed after working with many top executives and leaders over the course of their careers.?

The article explains that to achieve world-class performance – and for this to be a rewarding, satisfying experience – executives, business leaders and entrepreneurs need to go through the four-stages of transformation:

• Stage 1: Drawn in. At the beginning of a new role, you feel driven and enthusiastic about your new tasks, and you are fully motivated to master them to the highest levels.
• Stage 2: Obsessed. After a while, your enthusiasm turns into obsession. Duties, time pressure, massive intensity and workload drain you. To keep up with your increasing responsibilities, you work harder and longer. This stage can be tough and is often joyless. The critical turning point – but often the hardest task – is to take important mental steps forward.
• Stage 3: Ready for success. You change your understanding of your staff, the company, your division or department, and how they are all intertwined. Reflecting on your day-to-day work, you understand much better how the business ticks. You learn how to keep it moving. You can set decisive priorities, realizing what you can delegate and what you must do yourself. Once you have mastered this, you are ready for the first big wins. You create clarity in enterprise thinking. And you become very good at managing your nervous system. It’s a crucial step in your transformation, when you can adjust your perceptions and behavioral patterns patiently and consistently.
• Stage 4: Playful. You reach a point where you can perform with ease – even playfully. Knowledge, experience and personal leadership excellence have shaped your ability to prioritize and focus confidently. This is how you stay cool and sustain world-class business performance. Now, you experience joy again while performing excellently.

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Building a high-performance team culture

My guest contribution in a second US magazine, "Leadership Now" looks at "How to Harness Your Top Performers Without Compromising the Whole Team." It tells the story of one of my clients, Richard, who had a standout employee, Stella, who was at the top of her game, having mastered her own Executive Performance Transformation. (Note: Both names have been changed to maintain confidentiality).

Stella quickly rose to a level of performance above many on her team. Unfortunately, she wasn't always meshing with the team, with resentment beginning to surface among her colleagues. As a leader, this gave Richard a dilemma. He needed to continue to reward and encourage Stella to harness her outstanding contribution, but he also needed to find a way to defuse her coworkers’ frustration and change the team dynamic to prevent it from becoming dysfunctional.

I worked with Richard to find a solution. We developed a parallel approach:

1. He regularly and explicitly expressed his appreciation and gratitude towards Stella for her exceptional attitude and performance, but he also explained that he had the very highest expectations of her when it came to her team behavior. During their one-on-ones, he reminded her that, as an exceptional performer, she had a major impact on those around her, so she should always act as a role model in every respect. In team meetings, for example, he advised her to contribute last, after her colleagues, to prevent them from feeling sidelined or railroaded. And before making her contribution, he suggested she first comment appreciatively on other members’ input.
2. At the same time, Richard addressed the whole team. He organized an offsite session where he pointed out each member’s value to the overall success of the business, emphasizing their team-player qualities. Then, he set up one-on-one meetings between every team member, including himself. After well-structured preparation, each team member shared what they valued, especially about the other, what the other could change to achieve even better teamwork, and how they could support each other even more.

This parallel approach enabled Richard to continue to benefit from Stella’s exceptional performance and potential. At the same time, he established a high-performance culture built on mutual respect, appreciation, trust and support.

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Advice for aspiring leaders

If you're an aspiring or emerging leader, another article published by the "Silicon Valley Times" offers actionable advice specifically for you. Referring to my recent book "Spotlight on Performance: Executive Inspiration - Volume II", and entitled "A Guide for Leaders to Thrive: Insights from Dr. Christian Marcolli", it advises ambitious executives on how to:

1. Develop a vision: Define what success looks like and set ambitious goals
2. Overcome fears: Identify and confront barriers to progress
3. Invest in personal growth: Continuously work on skills and behaviors that align with long-term success
4. Build a team: Surround yourself with experts and supporters who share your vision and values.

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Combining your professional and personal lives

As most of you might know, I'm also passionate about you creating and maintaining healthy relationships and exciting family lives while succeeding in professional roles that carry massive responsibility. Very often, it's the close personal bonds that help build the strong foundation you need for success and fulfillment – not only in your career, but in your whole life.

Whether you're an aspiring leader or an established senior executive, you're likely to face the challenge of committing to not only being highly successful in delivering amazing performance at work, but to do it in a playful and sustainable way that is entirely compatible with an enjoyable and fulfilling life at home.? This is a theme I explore in an interview I've given to "GritDaily – The Premier Startup News Hub".?

In the interview, I offer some techniques to achieve a fulfilling and mutually supportive work-life integration:

• Mentally transition between work and home. I recommend a form of meditation to help you be your best self when you stop work in the evening and spend time with your family and friends.
• Regain control over technology. Put all devices away in one specific room at home, like your dedicated office or computer room, so they don’t intrude into your personal and family life when you’re not working (unless there is an emergency, of course). Developing a habit like this enables you to focus on the “here and now” from the moment your leisure time begins, and that helps you protect your relationships and your energy levels.
• Hold family meetings. Regular, scheduled family meetings tend to bring everyone closer and reduce friction, negative short-term surprises and misunderstandings.

If you are interested, I’d happy to point you to the full versions of any of these articles. Feel free to contact me for more information. In the meantime, I wish you every success – at work and at home – as the year unfolds.