Success is a process. I know those words are hard to read and process, because we all would love to taste the fruits of success immediately and that is normal, but not very healthy, and I’d like to explain why.
It is in the process that you and your skills are perfected, honed and mastered. One of the things we have all witnessed is the winner of a lottery and suddenly they are very rich and they are not equipped to deal with that wealth. The same is true of the rising rock star or movie star. They are flush with success, cash, fans and paparazzi and exposed to all types of things which just a few short months ago were completely out of their reach. We witnessed great talent completely crash and burn, over dose, get thrown in jail, we hounded and ridiculed cruelly. Now they all may have dreamed and sought the rush of stardom, but not all that comes with it. The pressures which come to bare are rarely planned for and the person is not equipped to handle the spotlight.
As the wife of a corporate executive, I have observed that those just starting out climbing the corporate ladder are in a big rush to get to the top. What they do not realize is that each rung comes with a learning skill and a time frame to move from one rung to another. This is actually a very good thing. Once you have mastered that knowledge and skill-set it is a logical move to climb one rung higher.
Do you remember a time when you received a mound of presents for say a birthday or a graduation? How many can you realistically use? You can only play with one toy or use one of the items at a time. We focus on one thing and the rest fall by the wayside.
Success is a process of focusing on one specific thing and learning that thing and then moving on. Stress develops when we are trying to master many things all at once. We do one thing well and all the rest are just mediocre. There will be times when we will be expected to juggle many balls in the air. Support is vital during these times.
When I was a young and my husband was an up and coming executive, he always wanted to have dinner parties for those whom he worked with or that were his direct reports. I have always kept a very lovely home and I am an excellent hostess. I do have limitations otherwise known as boundaries as to what I can do and what I am willing to do and still be in balance and do a great job within the context of the dinner party. What we agreed to was the following: If I cooked the meal from scratch and decorated our home and made sure that it all went off without a hitch, we would buy the “designer desserts” from the bakery, and have our home cleaned by a cleaning company that week preferably the day before the event.
The bottom line is, yes I could have done all those things myself, but at what price. A stressed out, haggard hostess spoke louder than the beautiful meal which was set before the guests. Know what you are capable of doing and speak up when you are over whelmed or just not equipped to do the job properly.
This is easily paralleled in business time and again. Do what you have strengths in. This is how you shine. If you need support in one area or in your weakness, ask for the support. If you are in need of a refresher in your skill set, find out where you can get that refresher and put it on your calendar and attend. What I have also noticed is that sometimes the job outgrows the ability of the employee and sometimes the employee outgrows the job.
The next time it is job review time, you will have a couple of feathers in your cap and this will translate into “Meets or Exceeds” in your job performance which in the end equals: keeping your job, praise, a thank you, maybe a pay raise, some stock, or other reward. Business is cyclical, there will always be those in power who at least half with be at odds with and we know that will never change. The global events, people in power, economics and trends are also cyclical and are always in a state of flux, so stop waiting for something to happen and make it happen in your own life. You would be wise to invest in yourself and your own skill set.
When you go through this process over and over, year after year, you will find that success will follow you and doors of opportunity will open up. All because you are being very focused and paying attention to yourself and your job. Guess what? This same thing translates the same way in your personal life and relationships. Things improve professionally and in your private life.
