“Each honest calling, each walk of life, has its own elite, its own aristocracy based on excellence of performance.” James B. Connant
Are you a star performer? Are you the kind of person people turn to when they want something important done; and done well? Or are you living an unremarkable life where the work you do is rarely noticed or talked about?
This question used to haunt me. I knew I had the attributes of a star performer but was producing mediocre, unoriginal work. Yet instead of improving, I did what many of us do: I blamed my superiors for not giving me tasks that allowed me to shine. I resented high performers. Instead of learning from them, I labelled them as arrogant and overly ambitious. Outwardly, I despised them but deep inside, I longed to be one of them.
Yet I resisted change. It was easier to stick to work habits that didn’t stretch me. Also, my work environment didn’t really require me to change – once you were employed, you were secure, and being outstanding was rarely rewarded.
Those times are behind us! Employers can no longer afford to carry people who do the bare minimum. Bright people are getting laid off from jobs and those remaining are increasingly being called upon to perform multiple roles, each one extremely well.
This trend is unlikely to change. Whether you work for a company or are self-employed high performance is no longer rare; it is the norm.
Regardless of your starting point, if you want to step up your own game at work, here are five simple steps to help you do just that.
Step One – See Yourself As A High Performer!
If in the past, you have resisted becoming a high performer because were being asked to by somebody else, remember: when you perform to the best of your abilities, you’re doing it for yourself, not for your boss.
So every day, see yourself as a high performer; a dynamic individual who has unique abilities that enable them to make a key contribution. Be confident in your abilities; strive for excellence in everything you do.
No work you do is unimportant – even the most seemingly insignificant task is a chance for you to shine!
Step Two – Focus on Your Strengths
Many of us are painfully aware of our weaknesses, yet few of us are really aware of our strengths. Positive psychologist, Ed Diener, describes strengths as those “pre-existing capacities that energize us and lead to our success and best performance.”
Which areas have you developed mastery in; or what comes naturally to you? In high performance, mastery matters. Think about what energizes you ÔÇô what other people see as work but feels like play to you ÔÇô and do more of it.
If you’re creative, find creative ways to do your work. If you’re a natural leader, start volunteering to lead tasks at work, including those that other people shy away from.
Using your innate strengths often will lead to more peak experiences. Or, in the words of scientist, Barbara Fredrickson, “people who have the opportunity every day to do what they do best ÔÇô to act on their strengths ÔÇô are far more likely to flourish.”
Step Three – Focus on the Strengths in Others
Whether you enjoy a good relationship with your work colleagues, or not, really has nothing to do with them. It has everything to do with your perception of them. Many of us look at other people and see them as the cause of our problems. Particularly if there’s ‘consensus’ that someone is a problem, we feel justified in our dislike of them.
The truth is, if you see somebody as a problem, inevitably, they start to become a problem! Focus on their strengths, the qualities you admire in them; and you will start to elicit more of them.
If you can’t immediately see someone’s good qualities, imagine them! They will become amplified. When you do this, you create a better working environment for yourself; and for others.
Did you know that the way you look at people actually affects their performance? This is known as The Pygmalion effect, – the principle that the greater the expectation placed upon people, the better they perform.
Step Four – Focus on the Good in Your Life
Are you in the habit of counting your blessings; or are you always dissatisfied, no matter what life brings your way? Success does not bring you happiness; happiness creates success.
One of the easiest ways of becoming a high performance individual is to notice everything that’s going right in your life, however small; and to focus on it to create even greater happiness.
Appreciate having work; and an obvious way to allow money to flow into your life. Be thankful for the good things that come with your income, no matter its size. What you focus your appreciation on grows!
Step Five ÔÇô Speak Life!
Your words prophesy what you become, so speak victory over your work. It can be tempting to focus on the negative, particularly when that’s all everyone around you seems to be doing.
Sometimes, it may even seems like harmless banter to complain about our work, but “life and death are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21)
Your words are like seeds – plant them carefully! Even if things are not quite the way you would like them to be, speak of your work; and yourself, only in the most ideal terms. Soon, it shall be so.
It takes commitment and dedication to become a high performer but you too could join the elites of your field. Every day, perform to the very best of your ability and you will shine!
*Primrose Oteng is a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) and the Founder of the Positive Peace Project, an organization dedicated to creating positive change through personal empowerment. For more information regarding how we can help you, please contact [email protected].
