Four Key Characteristics for Maximizing Success

If you are currently struggling to achieve your fullest potential as a professional, this article will highlight four internal characteristics that will promote your ability to achieve your greatest potential. With so much emphasis on education/degrees, licenses, certifications, etc., many professionals feel as though their ability to get promoted or move up in corporate America is 100% dependent upon these requirements. While this is true for certain professions (nursing, clinical, accounting, lawyers, doctors, etc.), not all jobs require advanced degrees. Additionally, not all leadership, sr. leadership, and/or  promotional opportunities require degrees and/or certifications.

If you are someone who is eager to achieve your fullest potential, this this article will highlight four key characteristics that everyone has access to – and the good news, these four characteristics are free, and they don’t cost anything.

Four keys to unlocking your potential:

1. Work ethic: this is by far one of the most overlooked assets or characteristics that everyone needs to harness. If you are competing for a job or a promotional opportunity, you have the ability to outwork everyone that you are competing against. Work ethic is 100% within your control. This includes:
   1. Being the first one in the office and one of the last ones to leave
   2. Going above and beyond in your role – raise your hand, volunteer to take on additional work/projects
   3. Completing projects/tasks on time and/or in advance of the due date
2. Solution-oriented: through the course of your career, you have probably worked with colleagues who complain about work issues. These people are generally doing minimal work to get by, and they often don’t go above and beyond. Separate yourself from everyone else by being solution oriented as follows:
   1. Not complaining about work loads or problems that come up at work
   2. Raising your hand to help solve problems as they come up – to take this a step further, draft an action plan that maps out exactly how you will solve the problem. Get with your supervisor to show him/her that you have taken the initiative to work on a solution and show that you are willing to take the lead to fix it
   3. Achieve success via your solution-oriented actions – while yes, being solution-oriented will separate you from others, it is important that your solution(s) are effective and solve the problem that you are trying to fix
3. Competitive Drive: this characteristic is not and should not be viewed as you thinking you are better than everyone else, and it should not include you “winning” because you led a project or task. Competitive drive is an internal drive that includes:
   1. Not wanting to fail on a project – this means putting in the extra work/time to ensure a good outcome
   2. Not making the same mistake twice
   3. Taking pride in the quality of your work – you don’t want to let down your team, your supervisor, peers, and company
   4. Wanting the best outcome for your team/company that includes achieving performance metrics and/or successful completion of projects
4. Consistency: this last characteristic is by far the most important characteristic and it is often something that I value the most when considering an employee for a promotion. Consistency includes:
   1. Working hard 100% of the time – this is especially true when no one is looking
   2. Producing quality work/performance as often as possible – sure, we all have ups and downs, although if you want to separate yourself from your peers, put in the extra work and time needed to influence better results
   3. Showing your supervisor that he/she can rely on you no matter what the circumstance – do this consistently over time and you will have a good shot at being considered for a promotion or advancement within your company

 As you go about your daily routine, take a few minutes to implement these tactics – let me know along the way how things are going and if you have a tip and best practice that is not listed here, please feel free to reach out and share how you are achieving success.

 

About the Author:

Tim Stein is Vice President of Human Capital at American Addiction Centers, and he is the founder of Deuce Sleeves Mindset Apparel – a brand designed to Inspire your Mindset to never give up or lose faith on your journey in life.

Now nine years in recovery after a 10-plus years of addiction, he brings a unique first-hand perspective to developing strategies that support a company’s most important asset – employees. He is happy to be a resource for HR and training professionals in tackling this issue. Connect with him on Linked-In .