In a world of ambitious colleagues and competitors and plenty of haste to get to the top, making it big in business can be very hard. But it can be done. You just need to make sure that you know who you are, that you equip yourself to succeed, and that you play for the team and not for yourself.
Even so, it can be tricky to get to the top, so you need to focus and be intentional about where you are and where you want to be. With this in mind, here are a few ideas and tips to help you fast-track your way to success.
Always look to learn
As soon as you stop learning you will discover that other people are coming past you up the ladder. It is vital that you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and industry best-practice. Be it formal studying, on the job training, or even online courses through platforms like Udemy, you should always be adding skills and experiences to your CV.
The courses and skills that you pick up along the way don’t need to relate to your industry specifically. For instance, you might be in a sales role or on the finance team, but that shouldn’t stop you from enrolling for a Diploma of Leadership and Management Online. A course like this will benefit you on many levels and impact greatly eth impression that you are able to make on your colleagues.
Play for the team
There is often a temptation to play for yourself and not the team, but you need to recognize that if you play for the team then you all look good. If you play for yourself then you will very quickly discover that nobody wants to play with you – and winning in isolation can be very hard.
The famous Liverpool football club manager Jurgen Klopp once said that he never struggled with big-name players because they didn’t really have ego issues at all. He said that to build a winning team every player needed to know their role and play their part – he suggested that a team with too many egos was a team that was destined to fail. The same logic applies to business.
Positivity
Be the can-do person in the office. There is nothing that holds a person’s career back more than the perception that they are negative. If you adopt a can-do attitude and always give your best to try and make things happen then people will be drawn to you.
They will respect your positive energy and they will want you on their teams or projects. As important as it is to evaluate ideas and projects critically, make sure that you are not the person who always finds reasons, not to do things more compelling than reasons to do them.
Get involved
There are always opportunities at any business to get involved in things. From after-work drinks, projects and training or extra-mural activities, whatever it is that the company has going on, put your hand up and get involved.
The more you are involved, the more people you will meet and the more relationships you will build. And a network of people is something that will stand you in very good stead as you advance your career.
