10 Important Habits for Career Advancement and Success
10 Important Habits for Career Advancement and Success
by nukhba khan
Reading Time: 5 mins
We all want to excel in our careers. Right?
But those who advance their careers successfully have one thing in common. Do you know what that is?
That’s right; they take ownership over their personal development and build habits that help them succeed at work.
Success is not about burning the midnight oil or working longer hours. And yet so many of us think that you have to work longer and harder to be more successful.
Absolutely not.
Success comes when you strategically build habits that help you fast-track your career.
Here are a few examples of work habits that the best of the best incorporate in their work lives.
1. Take charge and command your own direction
Get in the habit of commanding your own direction and not waiting for it. This one is a great skill to demonstrate your leadership and ownership. Obviously, this requires a little risk-taking to make calculated decisions based on knowledge, experience, and intuition. But the benefits of taking charge and carving out clear direction or solutions on your projects will help you be seen as a natural-born leader.
2. Match Your Communication
This one is all about the art of building strong relationships at work by understanding what communication style works for the different types of personalities at work. You have to speak the language your leaders, bosses, and co-workers speak, understand, and gravitate towards. This can help build trust and improve your interpersonal skills. So taking the time to understand your co-workers’ communication style has a massive payoff in the long run.
3. Become feedback hungry
Never, ever … like ever … stop seeking feedback.
Receiving feedback shows your eagerness to grow and helps you uncover the areas you still need to develop. You have to make it a habit to ask for feedback at any and every chance you get. It goes without saying that you need to take feedback seriously and not personally, and of course, put it into action to keep improving yourself.
Remember to seek feedback from your superiors, peers, and those who report to you.
4. Don’t wait for change
This one is my favourite. There are always ways to improve processes to make the workflow better and more efficient. Don’t be that person who only complains about work systems and procedures. Rather be the one who identifies those problems and tries to fix them or suggest better ways of working. This will help you make your work life easier and show your bosses how engaged and effective you are in improving the operations of your entire department.
This is a sure way to get recognized because who doesn’t love the person who makes their lives easier!
5. Build a rapport with the higher-ups
Building a positive relationship with the higher-ups is crucial because guess what? These are the c-suite executives who sit in the rooms when your career progression is discussed. This habit of building a good rapport with the superiors can feel uncomfortable at first, and you might think it is more schmoozing than anything else. But if you want to fast-track your career, you have got to change this perspective and look at it as an opportunity to learn from the higher-ups while becoming more visible to them.
6. Keep a record of your accomplishments and brag about them
(strategically without sounding obnoxiously pompous, of course)
Even if your boss acknowledges the excellent work you are doing, it is highly unlikely that your boss is keeping tabs on it all. You have to do that. You have to keep your bragging rights folder with your big and small accomplishments. This will, of course, come in handy during your regular check-ins, annual performance reviews, and end-of-project debriefs. And perhaps help you to strategically highlight some of your key accomplishments in your relationship-building conversations with your higher-ups? That’s a good idea, right?
7. Maintain a positive attitude
Whether things are going well or crappy, try to resist the urge to complain about your work or your boss to your co-workers. The thing is that your complaints could work their way up to the higher-ups, and it reflects poorly on you.
8. Disguise your stress and frustration
Work people, especially your superiors, always watch and look at how you handle your workload stress. So it’s essential to learn how to deal with your stress in style, appearing confident, and showing an “I got this” attitude. You have to get in the habit of staying calm and collected even when overwhelmed at work. This will help you be seen as an employee who has what it takes and does not crumble under pressure.
9. Stop overapologizing
Do you excessively apologize for the small stuff? Do you think that just saying sorry for unintentional and minor errors helps you maintain good relationships? If you do, I guess I have to break it to you that over apologizing can slowly shatter your confidence. Which will also kill the confidence others have in you. The net result is that it erodes your authority in the workplace.
10. Self-care comes first
Finally, and perhaps the most important habit for building a successful career, is always looking after yourself and your health first. Building a successful career doesn’t require you to invest all your energy and time in your work. If you do that, you will surely suffer from burnout sooner or later, and it will slow down your overall success and career advancement. Whether you like it or not, you have to make it a habit to make self-care a priority and make time for it.
Summary: Success Habits
These days, to be truly successful at work requires a lot more than getting your work done at your job. Just working hard will only exhaust you. The magic ingredient for success is building strategic habits that help you and your work get recognized and appreciated.
It also helps when you are determined to take ownership of your career. And you are willing to steer it in the direction you want it to go versus waiting for your workplace to decide it for you.
The sooner you take control and build your success habits for work, the quicker you’ll start to see the results. So what are you waiting for? 😘
P.S. Do you feel hopelessly overwhelmed at work or in life? Do you need some help figuring out how to manage your work stressors better? Sometimes, you need a little help figuring out how to implement the best tips in your life.
My one-on-one coaching program can help you create an actionable plan to restore a sense of calm and live a happier life with ease and relaxation.
I am currently taking a selected number of new clients, so check out my 90-day program: Roadmap to Your Happiest Work & Life
Or drop me an email at: nukhba@projecthappyworklife.com, and we'll schedule a call to see if the program is a good fit for you.
MEET NUKHBA
Hey there, I am Nukhba, a Life Transformation Coach and Mindset Mentor.
I coach women in high-demand careers how to tackle and better manage their work stressors and self-doubts so they can confidently start to enjoy work and restore a sense of calm in their lives.
I know too well that if your work-life is not a happy place, it becomes challenging to be content outside of work also, and chances are you start to hate your life.
I believe we all have the power to live life with more ease and joy.
This blog serves as a space for all things balance, personal empowerment, upgrading habits & beliefs, happier lifestyle and more.