Regardless of the field of work or career, a person is in there is always a common ambition for professional success. This is the goal in life itself, we all want to succeed in everything we do to some extent. But what makes a successful professional? To different people, the word ‘Success’ has various definitions, but some key behaviours and thinking process are necessary for making one a successful professional in any career. The training and knowledge of these basic fundamentals will strengthen and certify any career to be productive and successful in the years to come. But what is this information that professionals need?
All working individuals and professionals in the society need significant competency and skill in the following areas in order to be successful, unfortunately, most are shockingly lacking in several if not all. Research has highlighted some skills that most entrepreneurs need to possess and infuse into their business enterprises to ensure success.
Communication Skill
In order to be successful in your job and career, you must communicate powerfully and effectively with confidence and clarity. The most important aspect of communication is to be able to pass information to the receiver through the appropriate channels without any form of misinterpretation. Because if you cannot communicate your ideas in an empowered, clear and engaging way, you simply won’t perform or progress as well as your counterparts who can communicate with ease and strength.
Building Relationships
So many entrepreneurs fail to understand this one basic fact – you cannot do what you want in your career, and advance successfully if you are an island. Good relationships are the lubricant to a successful business and you certainly cannot achieve your set goals if you have put all your colleagues and managers at a far distance. In business and in life as well you have to work closely with others to create a path to success. Essential factors like networking, trust-building, transparency, a show of appreciation to mention a few will only help to foster a healthy work environment. And it is on this platform that success can stem out from.
Decision-Making
This is a core part of any business, it is at this junction a business can be made or marred. In other words, the success of a business largely depends on its decision-making methodologies, because decisions based on a foundation of knowledge can propel any business into long-term prosperity. Entrepreneurs must learn to evaluate problems associated with their businesses and make decisions that will generate the solutions that are needed for the enterprise. Ultimately, the quality of decisions and their implementations give success to any business. Good thinking makes good business.
Leadership
Many entrepreneurs today have never received any form of training relating to being a leader. Leadership is the process of influencing the behaviours of others by setting a direction that creates a vision of what can be achieved through a joint effort. Note that without followers a leader ceases to exist in spite of having the qualities or nature of one, the two elements work hard as a unit to bring success to the business. But not to be misconstrued, the leader is the one in charge and it is his quality (character, direction, optimism, and honesty) that would drive the success of the business forward. A leader doesn’t only step up in times of crisis, he is able to think and act effectively. For him, his business is the business.
Career Planning and Management
Career management is both the structured planning and active management choice of one’s own professional career. Every entrepreneur is faced with the prospect of creating a career path that will lead to personal fulfilment, work/life balance, goal achievement and financial security. In business and in life tomorrow is uncertain, but a professional career person should not wait until that moment before he or she acts accordingly. There must be a thorough career planning and development of one’s professional future continuously. Questions like; what is the scope of the career? Will the career be productive in future? Is there room for growth in the specific field of career? And for one’s entrepreneurship to sail in the right direction, the professional has to proactively manage it.
Work-Life Balance
Many career people love what they do, but struggle to achieve the duality of work-life balance in society. This is the bane of most entrepreneurs that apparently deny them of having free time to be with family, fulfilling personal activities like exercising, getting enough rest, having healthy meals, etc Working hours should not mix up with after-work hours, there should be a balance. Besides, being overworked is not healthy: this can lead to stress-induced issues like insomnia and heart disease. Also, the lack of sleep as a result of too much work can affect one’s ability to function properly during the day. Thus, the need to create a work-life balance is important for an entrepreneur so as to achieve success both as a career and a social person. He or she has to create time by outsourcing key tasks, hiring the right people and prioritizing his or her personal life.
Boundary Enforcement
A boundary is important in order to achieve goals and attain a standard of success in an enterprise. As an entrepreneur, time and resources have to be properly managed because there are more opportunities and obligations than you can ever handle. And boundary enforcement allows you to control your affairs in life and in your career, career people must know when to say ‘YES’ and when to say ‘NO’ accordingly. Developing sufficient boundaries and enforcing them every day in your professional life is a crucial behaviour, and how you manage your boundaries can make or break your career. This skill gives the individual personal independence and exonerates him or her from poor decisions and frivolities. And of course, with boundaries, one is more effective professionally and can reach any desired success.
We were not born with the comprehension of these basic professional fundamentals, but they are very much vital to our career success and we must adhere to them. Training and mastery in these areas will help us grow in our abilities to manage ourselves, our emotions, our communications, our decision making and our career planning so that we will be able to shape the direction of our professional life.
