Modelling Successful People - in the Corporate World

CEO and High Performance Insight (Seriously, do you want to be the TOP DOG!?!)

Over the past couple of years and more recently in the past year, I've had the opportunity to interview and work with some real corporate high flyers. Here I share the first level of insight from my experience of working with them and listening to their stories and how they see themselves in the world.

Success is a habit forming behaviour, seeking to be the best that you can be (personal mastery and excellence) is what often drives these type A characters. Commercial and professional success isn't everything to everyone and so take what you like from this initial insight that I share here.

Most of all, love what you do, be passionate about it, find what makes your life flow and what gives you energy, life's too darn short to play around doing stuff that doesn't bring you happiness, stretch, confidence and a strong sense of purpose.

Lifelessordinary for me is about you/us/people living towards their purpose, passions and values, no one else can make it happen for you, people may help, but ultimately the responsibility sits on your shoulders, so enjoy the game of life.

Purpose – what are you looking to achieve in your professional and personal life, create a vision board that sets out what you are looking to do, build this either in your mind or physically so that you can create habit forming behaviours that keep you in your flow and help you to be successful on your personal terms.

Write out the things that you love to do (strengths, talents) and focus on aligning your behaviour to these. The things that you don’t love to do but have to, then build habit forming behaviours and actions that enable you to get these out of the way. Alternatively, where possible find people who have strengths and passions that you do not have and ask for their support, advice or help in getting them out of the way. It never ceases to amaze me that others love to do the things that I will find everything in my power to avoid.

Performance –what areas of your professional life do you need to have a clear focus, identify the critical drivers of your success and keep these measures in mind both in the short, medium and long-term, play the performance system game if you are in an organisation and if not make up your own rules and live by them!

Bottom line success doesn't come to you, you have to go to it! Find role models who can become mentors, get yourself a top executive or entrepreneurial coach who can partner in your present and future success. Find people, networks and resources where you can contribute to them and they can do the same for you. Nike, just do it, get out of your self-imposed comfort zone and limiting beliefs.

Image – (Brand), ask people what your personal and digital image says about you. Ensure that you are consistently voicing the same messages. Look right for the role that you are playing. People make judgements very quickly on your look and then with time your behaviours, ensure that you are associating with the right people to move your life and theirs forwards, look for mutually beneficial relationships and if not understand that sometimes in life people simply want a transaction rather than a relationship.

Network – focus on the 5% of the people who make your life feel happy and then successful. Find the communities of interest that you want to be part of and add to the conversation, most people are observers so choose to be a leader in your space. If you are in an organisation identify the clients, direct reports, peers and leaders that you need to influence. Outside of the company ensure that you are part of the professional or industry groups that are really making a difference and moving the agenda forwards.

Exposure – put your brand out there, being good at marketing yourself and finding others who will do the same is vitally important, word of mouth is still the best form of introduction. Ensure that you have a clear brand message and focus on building your personal voice, ask your coach to ask people what they say about you when they are not in the room.

Sustainability – ensure that you build balance in to your life, ensure that you are looking after your physical health and well-being, you don’t want to fall ill to realise how precious your body is, one of my recent CEOs suddendly found himself having a triple heart bypass! (PQ)

Emotional, make sure that you spend time being around people who give you psychological air and who feed your creative energy. People that you can trust, who have integrity and whose values you align with, understand their agendas, needs, beliefs and vision that drives them and support and be supported (EQ).

Mental, ensure that you are suitably challenged, those who succeed appear to have an inner driver to be always raising the bar that little bit higher, they consciously choose to soar, rather than swim or sink (ocean metaphor forgive me) (IQ).

Purpose and Meaning find it in your life, understand the things that you love to do and make sure you spend time doing them or being with them, go to places that inspire you, find people who do the same and have fun....love your family, they will stick with you long after others have left!(SQ)

The truth is that sometimes you have to work with, influence and be around people that dont energies you, consider ways to change that. If you don't fit the culture or model the behaviours the organisation is looking for and rewarding (cultural norms), make a conscious choice to adapt or move on!! Life's too short and I hear too many people bitching about work, grow up, be an adult and take responsibility for your life in all areas.

All the best D