Career Success The Olympic Way

 Career Success the Olympic way my top 10 tips – by Sue Courtney

The Olympics – how was it for you? Did you watch every moment, ignore it completely or dash out and begin participating in a new sport?

I was totally captivated and inspired by the achievements of the athletes and Team GB in particular. As I listened to their stories and watched in awe as they achieved great results I was struck by the fact that there were lessons to be learnt here that could be applied to your career success.

So here are my top 10 tips for Olympic style career success:

1.     Run your own race. Many of the most successful athletes had a plan for their event and they stuck to it. There is a lot to be said for this confident approach – be yourself, maintain focus and believe in yourself and your plan for success. (This pre-supposed you actually have a coherent plan!)

So be sure you have a detailed plan for your career success and stick to it. Don’t allow others to derail you. Believe in yourself, remain focused and take action.

2.     Set the bar high – aim for excellence. I think that the cycling ladies in the Velodrome  demonstrate this particularly well. Every time they got on their bikes they broke their own world record! Their determination to succeed combined with the belief that they could win was a powerful combination.

Jessica Ennis also showed that she was aiming for nothing less than excellence in her event by winning in spectacular style.

Jessica and the ladies cycling team had set their own personal bar very high and would settle for nothing less than excellence in their performances. We can learn a lot from them.

Every day you have the opportunity to aim for excellence and raise your bar very high to demonstrate that you are a world class performer.

3.     What you measure you can improve. All the athletes were aware of their figures – how fast, how long, how strong – they had been measuring their performances over time and analysing how they could improve.

      As Oscar Pistorius put it, "If there is something I can do to be faster, I just do it, it's simple."

At work, ask yourself how well are you doing – and how do you know this?

How can you improve on your current performance if you really have no clear idea what your current performance is?

What do you need to be measuring?

What do you need to be achieving?

4.     Celebrate your achievements. Some bronze medal winners were ecstatic – others were inconsolable – distraught because they had failed to win silver or gold. To them, bronze meant failure! Other gold medal winners were measured in their response. Many of these were comparing themselves to the achievements of others which is rarely an uplifting experience. Others who had not won a medal cried tears of joy because they had achieved a personal best time or distance. Such a huge variety of responses.

What does this have to do with career success? Plenty.

Celebrate like the last category – when you achieve a small victory celebrate your achievement and then plan how to make the most of the opportunity it brings.

If your CV gets you an interview – well done. You have won an opportunity to go further. Celebrate and plan for the next step. Focus on what you have to be grateful for. If not – it is teaching you something. Learn the lesson, improve and move on to success.

5.     Pay meticulous attention to the detail. The top athletes ensured they left nothing to chance. To quote Oscar Pistorius, “Being a perfectionist is everything. If you skimp, you lose.”

Paying meticulous attention to the fine detail in your work will get you noticed because so few people do this. Ensure you are always immaculately turned out – whatever your position in the company. Ensure your work is of an exemplary standard at all times. Ensure your behaviour is of an exemplary standard at all times.

6.     Who – me? Why me? I listened to an interview with Duncan Goodhew in which he said that the first reaction of many people, when told that they can be world class, is disbelief – they can believe it is possible for someone else, but they feel themselves to be too ordinary. Their second reaction is to ask “why me?” Well, I would ask – “why NOT you?” Everyone has potential greatness in them – it just requires a mindset which knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that you are the capable of world class greatness.

7.     Prepare mentally for success. This brings me nicely to the fact that, as Oscar Pistorius and all the other medal winning athletes know – success is all in the mind. They will have spent hours visualising winning, running the perfect race, overcoming obstacles to claim the gold medal until they have complete belief that the gold medal belongs to them. Failure is not an option.

The same holds true in your career. You need to believe with absolute certainty that the job you want is yours. To do this you will need to have developed a plan, taken all the actions necessary to achieve success – in world class style – visualised success and taken on a coach to help you through the tough times. Remember – just like preparing for the Olympics – achieving career success demands focus, hard work and determination.

8.     Make your own decisions. The top athletes always take advice from their coaches, trainers and mentors – but in the end they have the ultimate responsibility for their own success. It is essential to have total belief in yourself and your ability. Only you know your capabilities and so only you can decide how you will “run your race” and achieve success.

9.     Take responsibility for your actions. The top athletes had top coaches, trainers and mentors who worked tirelessly with them – but they still had to take responsibility for ensuring they did the work. Ultimately they alone were responsible for their input and outcome – and so are you in your career. Where are you abdicating responsibility?

10.   Step through the door.  When Andy Murray won gold I remember a commentator saying that they hoped the result would enable him to finally “step through the door” and accept his status on the world stage.

You need to do the same. Walk through the “door” to your greatness. Accept your place as a world class performer. Become that person you were meant to be.

 

These are my top 10 tips to produce world class results for your career. How can you begin to apply them to your situation today so you too will achieve a “gold medal” and a “world record” in career success?

Here are two bonus tips to start you off:-

1.     Online control. Take control of information that appears about you online. Develop a strong online presence that demonstrates your professionalism and strength in the area of work you wish to specialise in and be promoted for. Remove all items and references to less than professional conduct and monitor what others post about you.

2.     Take time out. It is vital to take time out to re-group and re-energise. So ensure you take your holiday entitlement and really relax. Know that taking your full holiday entitlement and not being available for work interruptions sends a strong and positive message about your confidence and boundaries. It is a very strong action.

 

If you are an action taking woman, determined to succeed in your career then I have the perfect event for you. An exclusive, intensive, luxury focus on your career or business. For more information email me at sue@successandimagecoach.co.uk

www.successandimagecoach.co.uk

www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk

Redundancy or Release

Redundancy - or Release?

In these economically uncertain times there is increasing talk about ‘redundancy’. It is a word that sends shivers of fear down the spine of many people today, but what does it really mean?

According to the dictionary, ‘redundant ‘ means “superfluous, no longer needed”. In the thesaurus, similar words are “surplus, unnecessary, unwanted”. Who wants to feel they are any of these? The word ‘redundant’ does not have positive connotations. However, truth be told, it is not the person that is redundant, it is the job – you just happen to be filling it!

If viewed positively, it could be the best thing that ever happened to you, after all ”every cloud has a silver lining” or so they say.

I think the process should be called ‘release’. This may bring to mind being released from prison, but I am sure that many of us have, at some time, felt as if our jobs imprison us and stop us doing what we would truly love to do with our lives.

So redundancy can give life to dreams and ambitions that have been buried under layers of habit, fear and procrastination for years. Redundancy is one of the biggest fears as it takes away security, regular income, status and identity. But it gives a lot as well – the opportunity to take stock and redesign your life.

Have you ever asked yourself what success means to you?

Anthony Robbins defines success in the following terms:

“Success is doing what you want, when you want, where you want, with whom you want, as much as you want”

Your definition will be as individual as you are, but I suspect that as well as a certain amount of money and security there will be a thought as to the way the money and security is gained. Few people have the opportunity to achieve success in their chosen field of endeavour because obligations of family and home take priority over an authentic life. If you are facing the threat of redundancy, or have recently experienced it then you have the perfect opportunity to reconsider your whole future and change the outcome.

It is often the case that we won’t jump voluntarily but wait until pushed. As a child I was taught to dive. It terrified me, mostly, I think, because I have an irrational fear of being upside-down. So I would stand on the side of the pool, perfectly poised to dive but not actually taking the plunge. I knew what to do but didn’t dare do it. Instead I waited until someone came along and pushed me because they couldn’t stand it any longer. Think of redundancy as the Universe giving you that push to lead a more authentic life.

Many of us suffer a sense of disappointment our whole life, not because we don’t have love and fun in our lives but because we aren’t brave enough to make changes and admit what we would truly love to do, in case it upsets the status quo. Many who have faced redundancy have the feeling that they have somehow failed, even though it is not their fault and they have done nothing wrong. Indeed they may have been the model employee.

Many who do not experience redundancy would love the opportunity to make the change and move out of jobs they hate, but are terrified to risk change despite the damage it is doing to their self esteem and inner happiness. On the outside you may appear a success but only you will know how successful you really feel.

In many cases redundancy is firmly in our panic zone and is to be avoided at all costs, but when it happens, what can be done? Firstly know that you have not failed, the universe is forcing you to take hold of a new opportunity, giving you the chance to rethink and redesign your future. It has been said that the worst thing in life isn’t failing, it’s never having tried.

A coach can guide you to a place where you can access your own inner wisdom and take charge of your future. It may be an unfamiliar feeling to have choices as to the direction you might like to take and how you would like your future to be. How fortunate you are to have this ‘problem’. It usually comes with a cash cushion to enable you to take a little time to consider your options or to simplify your life by paying off mortgage or loan. Not many have this golden time for reflection – embrace it.

Many people say they feel they have let down their family – especially their children. I have news for you – staying in a job you hate just for them is letting them down far more. Children admire parents who have the courage to make the change – they are the inspiring ones who dare to go after their dreams. By doing so they give their children permission to do the same. I wonder how many parents have told their children to find a job that makes them happy, while staying in a job they clearly hate? Children know when you aren’t walking the talk – you owe it to them. My son often tells people that he finds me the most inspiring person he knows – because I had the courage to quit a well paid job and pursue my dreams. He is now doing the same!

Ask yourself what your ideal day would be – where would you live?

 Who would you spend time with?

 What would you do with your day?

What would you eat?

 What would you wear?

Write it out in minute detail – really feel it, get passionate about it. If there is no passion, think again. Keep playing with the idea until your true desires surface – maybe kicking and screaming at the unaccustomed daylight (they have been hiding in the darkest recesses for many years, possibly your whole life) and feel the passion they unleash.

Now take each aspect of the dream and find out exactly what it is that holds the appeal for you – what makes you want it? Then ask what you need to do, or know to make it happen. Do you need to learn new skills? Taking on the services of a coach can make the process a

lot quicker and less frightening. You will be guided at your pace and will work entirely to your agenda. The coach is non-judgemental and gives you space to explore who you really are and what you really want by asking incisive questions.

Once you have some ideas you then need to make a plan of the order in which actions need to be taken. Find out about courses, ask about financial support and advice, talk to family and friends openly and honestly about the situation. To be on your side they need to know the reality of the situation – it isn’t anything to be ashamed of. It is an opportunity to celebrate – you are very fortunate.

Once you have a plan then you must take action. This is another area where a coach can be an enormous benefit. A coach will help you explore the possible barriers to action so you can work to remove them and then a coach will hold you accountable for the actions you have decided to take. You will have to explore deeply the reasons for not taking action – this often spurs people on to do what they say – so much easier!

SO, redundancy is a good thing – if you decide it is. I think there should be a new definition of the word which should be “ a golden opportunity to redesign your life and achieve your authentic goals and ambitions”. It’s much easier to do this with the support that redundancy offers than it is without it. So smile, be grateful for the shove that the Universe has given you and go get your dream life – it’s got your name on and it’s waiting for you to claim it as your own. Have a great future!

For more information go to www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk
www.successandimagecoach.co.uk
www.suecourtney.com