Grow Faster in the Workplace: a workplace is a competitive place. Every day, you’re confronted with decisions that will impact your career and your life. While some of these decisions are easy (like whether to wear black pants with brown shoes), others are more complicated: Should you join this new project team? How should you respond when your boss tells you that she’s disappointed in how your work has been going? The good news is that there are certain things we can do—and avoid doing—that will help us make those important choices. Even better news: These same strategies apply not only at work but also in life at large!
Develop your personal growth plan.
As you make your way through this process, keep in mind that it is perfectly normal for things to not go according to plan. Life happens. You might have an unexpected meeting pop up or a sick kid shows up at school. But that doesn’t mean you should give up on your goal—it just means that you’ll need to modify your timeline and work with what the universe gives us.
Take the time to clearly define what success looks like for you in this area of your life, then create a timeline for achieving it and identify the resources (i.e., people, information, etc.) that will help propel you forward toward reaching those goals.
Once this is done, create a list of action steps based on these ideas as well as any new ones that come up during this process so that they can become part of how we live our lives each day instead of something we think about once or twice before putting them out of sight again until next month’s review session!
Develop a personal branding plan.
While your career should be the top priority, it can be easy to lose sight of what you want to accomplish. If you’re feeling lost in the shuffle, it’s time to develop a personal branding plan. This includes defining your brand and who you are as an individual, identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and developing a strategy for creating a brand that will help others know exactly who they’re dealing with when they meet or work with you.
A personal brand is all about becoming memorable—if someone knows who you are right off the bat (and likes what they see), they’ll be more likely to hire or recommend you in the future. The first step toward building this kind of recognition is developing a statement that encapsulates all the things that makeup “you.” These statements usually fall into two categories: Brand Mission Statements (which focus on defining purpose) and Personal Brand Statements (which focus on presenting identity). Both can help guide decisions about which opportunities best match their goals for growth.
Build your personal brand through meaningful relationships.
In order to grow, you must connect. Here are some ideas to help you build your personal brand through meaningful relationships:
- Connect with people who are in the same field as you. It’s important that they have been successful in their field and that they can refer opportunities to you. These individuals should also be passionate about what they do because it will motivate and inspire you.
- Connect with people who have a similar background as you. If both of your parents were doctors, then there is an unspoken bond between each other which makes it easier for the two of you to work together on projects or reach out for advice when needed—you already know what that person is like! This can be especially beneficial if one of them has become an entrepreneur after leaving his/her medical practice behind due to burnout.
Identify a mentor and influencer who can help guide you.
A mentor is a person who has been in your shoes and has successfully persevered through it. Mentors help mentees grow faster by imparting wisdom, guiding them toward success, and supporting them on their career path.
Mentors can be found at work, in social circles outside of work (such as alumni associations), or online. A great way to get started is by asking a colleague that you admire if they’d be willing to mentor you. If they are busy or uninterested in mentoring someone new at this stage of their career, ask them for some suggestions about other people who might be able to help you out!
Don’t underestimate the power of behavioural traits.
Behavioural traits are your boss’s best way to determine whether you are a good hire, so they shouldn’t be underestimated in importance. If you want to grow faster and get promoted quickly, focus on building these skills:
- Being proactive – You will never get what you don’t ask for; if you want something done right, do it yourself.
- Being a self-starter – When others won’t take action or have ideas on how to tackle problems better than yours, don’t hesitate to step up and lead them in the right direction! Be confident enough in yourself that when given a task or project that no one else is willing or able (especially your boss), just go for it anyway! No matter what happens afterwards because of any mistakes made during execution–your confidence level will only increase from there.”
Continually notice and document your progress.
One of the best ways to grow at work is to keep track of your progress. Documenting your learning and growth is important for a couple of reasons:
- It shows that you are invested in the company’s goals. If someone else did this for you, it would let them know that you care about their success and have an interest in helping them reach their goals as well as yours.
- It can give others insight into what areas could be improved or where there may be potential problems down the road if they are not addressed now or soon enough.
The next time someone asks how things are going at work, consider providing them with an update on how much better off everyone will be because of all that hard work!
If you build your personal brand intentionally, you will grow faster in the workplace.
If you want to grow faster in the workplace, it’s important that you are intentional about your personal growth. If you don’t know what skills and traits make for a successful professional, learn them. Do this by identifying mentors who can help guide you and by documenting your progress through journaling or blog posts (if blogging is something that interests you).
Conclusion
Personal branding is an important part of growing faster in the workplace. By creating a personal brand and developing it, you can be more effective at what you do, which makes for a better experience for everyone involved. When we grow faster in the workplace, we are able to impact more people with our skills and knowledge—and that’s what it’s all about!
