The (not so) Secret Formula for Success, Part II

Hello, I’m Andy Temte and welcome to the Saturday Morning Muse! Start to your weekend with me by exploring topics that span leadership, business management, education, and other musings designed to support your journey of personal and professional continuous improvement.

Today’s Muse is a continuation of last week’s exploration of the formula for career success. As a quick recap, step one is to define what success means to you. It’s essential that the definition of success is yours and not someone else’s. A life of misery, imposter syndrome, and the nagging ache that you’re not living up to expectation awaits for those who try (typically in vain) to chase someone else’s definition of success.

Once you’ve come to terms with and start loving the unique human that is you, then achieving your definition of success boils down to relationships and results. For a deep(erish) dive into the relationships side of the equation, here’s the link to last week’s episode for you to review. [1960s elevator music plays] Now that you’re back, let’s tackle the second part of the equation, results.

“What have you done for me lately?”

This is another phrase that carries a negative connotation—that you’re only as good as your most recent contributions to an organization or team. While I agree that ruthlessly using this phrase to govern employment decision-making is bad for business and terrible for engagement and morale, it does hold a kernel of truth. If we take a step back and look at the second part of the success equation objectively, businesses and institutions thrive when they provide excellent value-for-money to clients and customers. Businesses and institutions are long-term sustainable when they generate profits that can be plowed back into new innovations, operational improvements, or returned to stakeholders in the form of higher wages for employees, or dividends to shareholders. While humans should not be treated or perceived as “coin-operated machines” that are easily replaceable, there is a balance to be struck between supporting and investing in team members, giving grace and allowing second/third-chances for failures; and expecting excellence in outcomes and driving for business results.

So if the use of “what have you done for me lately” generates feelings of negativity and a one-sided employment relationship, let’s replace it with the concept of adding value.

To add value and deliver results, one must be appropriately educated and skilled in one’s chosen field. Continuing to add value throughout one’s career requires the adoption of a lifelong learning and continuous improvement mindset. Resting on one’s laurels and previous accomplishments is never a good idea. While it’s easy to grouse and complain that we live in a “what have you done for me lately world,” the better path is to adopt the mindset that success comes from continuous learning and improvement in outcomes and results. If failure occurs, learn and move forward.

Expecting that the world owes you something for simply existing or just showing up without adding value is the career fast-pass to disappointment and stagnation. Woody Allen and Stephen Hawking are typically credited with the quip: “showing up is half the battle,” but the other half is reliably adding value.

Hence, the common element that spans both aspects of career success is value addition.

The Formula for Success = Relationships + Results

The bottom line today is this. Continually building and nurturing relationships to create a healthy, supportive network that will help put rocket-boosters under your career trajectory takes time and effort. Also, as I noted last week, everyone can build an impactful professional network. Doing so requires a host of human skills (a.k.a., soft skills) such as communication, influence, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, active listening, persistence, drive, courage, intention, and many others.

Likewise, continually improving the value you’re providing to the business, your colleagues, and customers also requires excellence in myriad skills, both “soft” and hard. At a baseline, you need to master the technical aspects of the role or job, but human skills such as collaboration, teamwork, communication, and a complete emotional intelligence toolkit are equally or more important to career success.

Achieving and maintaining career success is hard work. Period. Remember the examples from last week that color our perspectives around relationships—the examples where someone got the “fast pass” to a job? Ever wonder where they are now? One of two things likely happened. Either (a) they found out the hard way that nothing in this life is free, there is a price to be paid for shortcuts, and eventually they did the hard work of building a supportive, sustainable network and driving requisite value for their colleagues and customers; or (b) they live with deep anxiety, terrified that their lack of skill and the true weakness of their network will eventually leave them naked and unable to continue in the game of musical chairs they’ve been playing.

Thanks for listening and have a wonderful weekend as you recharge for the week ahead.