EM 189 | Positioning Yourself for Success

In this week’s Executive Minds, Jeff, Kevin, and David discuss how to position yourself for success at work. Believe it or not, you can orient yourself for success even in the midst of these uncertain times. The MNTR team outlines six major ways that you can navigate your work environment and culture and position yourself for success in the long run. It’s a process and requires effort. But the work is worth it. We hope this conversation is as enlightening for you as it was for the team. Thanks for tuning in!

Links + Resources

The Motive by Patrick Lencioni

Three Takeaways:

Determine your direction

One of the most important things you can do is not allow work to lead you. Document (it’s important to write it down!) your vision for your life. You may want to be successful, but you have to set your own direction. You can’t abdicate that responsibility to your employer. Ask yourself key questions: why do you want to grow? Why do you want to be a leader? What do you want to achieve or attain on a personal level. You have to be Northstar. If so, you’ll then have a filtration system that allows you to test everything to see if it aligns with your life goals. If we don’t determine a direction then it’s easy to become stuck or paralyzed and not move forward towards success.

Up your value creation

The best way to think about value is what you get for what you pay. In the work context, what are you contributing to your organization or team and what do you receive? If you wish to thrive, then be someone who creates value. There’s not just one way to do it either. You have to figure out your gifting, skills and passions and that will show you your value. Maybe you’re incredibly technically proficient and you bring expertise regarding subject matter that your team needs. Or perhaps you know how to manage projects well and you simply get things done. Or it could be that you are a great influencer of others and you have a knack for shaping organizational vision and strategy. Maybe you aren’t the leader, but you're a necessary support person that leaders want to partner with to accomplish something. Find what you are good at and how you can add value.

Accelerate your preparation

It’s important to create a professional development plan. By doing so, you can structure how you get your preparation in 4 key areas of REPS (relationships, education, practice, and self-awareness). The advantage is that this is something you can control on your own. Become a student of yourself and strengthen your connection with others. Relationship work is increasing your soft skills. As Colleen Stanley says, “Empathy is a thinking skill, before it’s an external skill.” How are you building in these REPS areas? Get your REPS. Because if you show up next week, the same person you are this week, then you’re going to be behind. Things are always changing so it’s important to continue growing and working. You’ve got to evolve. Be strategic about how you want to change. Don’t get stuck, because you’re gonna render yourself irrelevant. Preparation shows that you value your time as well as others.