The term “success” comes from the verb “to succeed,” and it means the accomplishment of self-determined goals. Success is achieved through various means. Sometimes the process takes a while, before one actually succeeds. If you’re feeling stagnant, it’s worth giving your career a little boost.
There are factors and characteristics that the most successful managers share, methods which contribute to their legacies. Discover which 5 traits to focus on developing, and learn the secret formula for success.
Step 1: The Right Attitude
First of all, your attitude plays an enormous role in your professional success. Successful executives are ambitious, and never doubt their own skills. Because of their strong self-confidence, they know what they’re capable of, and that they will succeed.
For these managers, it’s already clear that their achievements will result from perseverance and diligence. Professional success cannot be achieved in a day, but rather, through years of hard work and setbacks.
Successful professionals don’t allow mistakes or failures to affect their positivity. They also recover from situations others may not. In fact, they see failure as an opportunity to grow and develop.
Train yourself to succeed by not allowing failures to slow you down. Face your mistakes by asking these questions:
- What could I have done differently?
- How can I avoid the same mistake in the future?
Step 2: Set Realistic Goals
Executives set clear, detailed goals for themselves, goals that they can measure. They pursue them, diligently and without distraction. Extremely ambitious goals stay at the top of the list, but the smartest executives also set smaller milestones to get closer in the short- and mid-term.
In this way, they determine what they’re striving towards, and they feel confident in their decisions.
Train yourself to succeed by taking detailed notes on:
- What does success mean to you?
- What do you want to achieve, in the short-term and in the long-term?
- Why do you want to reach these goals?
After considering these questions, establish these goals, and note them somewhere you won’t misplace them. Define how you’re going to achieve these goals. For now, concentrate only on what actions you can take to come closer to accomplishing these goals.
Step 3: Winning Charisma
When someone with exceptional charisma enters a room, the occupants are immediately invisible. Successful executives radiate confidence, sovereignty, professionalism and wisdom.
To move closer to cracking the secret formula to success, work on optimizing your charisma, in three steps:
Build up your self-confidence by getting to know your strengths. Find out:
- What are you great at
- Where do your skills and talents lie?
Train your communication skills by learning:
- how to communicate quickly and clearly
- how to ask the right questions at the right time
- how to listen to others, and get the most out of your conversations
Improve your body language, by paying attention to the following:
- keep your legs spread hipwidth apart
- hold your head high
- smile.
Step 4: Strengthen Your Willpower
Motivation and willpower, when combined properly, are two of the most important factors for success.
Answer the following questions to find out what drives you:
- As a child, what activities brought you the most pleasure?
- Which tasks bring you the most satisfaction to accomplish?
- What topics interest you the most?
- How do you see your life in five years? ten? twenty?
Strengthen your willpower by:
- focusing your attention on clear goals
- concentrate on the most important things in your life
- live according to your values.
Step 5: Build Up Your Mental Strength
“Mental strength” refers to the resilience of executives in difficult situations. A study from the Bertelsmann Foundation focuses on the significance between professional success and mental strength.
Resilient executives can also activate their psychological power in difficult situations in order to overcome tough obstacles.
To establish your mental strength:
- Remember situations where you called upon your resiliency
- Prepare yourself in advance for challenging situations, to react more confidently
- Always reassure yourself that you will accomplish what you set out to do.
- Visualize how the task can and will be successfully completed
Use this secret formula for success: push onward with your goal in clear view, and work diligently to optimize and improve your current circumstances – success will follow.
