Six Tips to Enhance Your Professional Performance


By Nick Burkholder From Staffing.org

As hungry and demanding as we are for answers and solutions, we often look past or even reject simple facts and analyses. The tried and true barely get any consideration. Invariably many of the solutions that we do choose to embrace are like Chinese food: They don't sustain us for long and we often come to regret the experience.

In the midst of the incredible hype of the dot-com boom, a book published by Harvard Press offered a clear perspective on the phenomenon of the then explosive Internet economy. The premise of Information Rules is that while markets and technology change at ever-greater rates, the laws of business do not. Therefore, the best way to conduct business in any environment is by following established principles. The book was overshadowed by the particularly frenzied and intense press of the time but warrants revisiting now. Information Rules also serves as a reminder that there also are proven principles of individual success that apply in good times and in bad. These are the absolutes which underlie all aspects of individual performance and which we lose sight of at our own peril, and even that of our organizations.

In order to identify the proven and lasting principles of individual performance I went back to the executives that were originally surveyed for the Executive Career Guide for MBA's. These six principles have served them well in the intervening eight years:

Validate your sources. Most of us have wasted incredible time if not experienced outright failure by following the latest concept, guru or trend. We have to finally learn to be much more careful before embracing and acting on a new concept or practice. Ever notice that some business publications don't have a single footnote or reference? That is not a good sign. Don't buy the book, attend the seminar or retain the consultant unless there is supporting documentation or research.

Read. Whether an electronic book, your computer or plain old fashion print, reading is still the fastest, most efficient way to assimilate information and foster new ideas. The Wall Street Journal should be part of your daily regime but don't limit yourself to business publications. We're fortunate that there are more and more well written biographies and histories that are as entertaining as fiction yet packed with applicable information. Good fiction is valuable, too. Many most admired and incredibly successful executives, including Vanguard founder Jack Bogel and Johnson & Johnson legend Jim Burke, consider the liberal arts to be fundamental to business success.

It's not the system, it's the user. It's not the vendor, it's the buyer. It's not the structure, it's all about execution. It's all up to you. Exploit what you have. If you are considering changing a system, vendor or structure it's even more important to exploit and understand what you have before selecting a replacement. They are always secondary to executing.
It may sound trite, but focus on executing and optimizing what you have. The most successful executives have the enviable and often maddening ability to concentrate on the work. They get it done. (In support of this principle, we are often surprised to find that the best performing executives generally don't have the latest systems, hottest vendor, or the structure we'd expect. Unlike their peers in other organizations they are not obsessed with what everyone else is doing but are getting everything that they can from their existing resources.)

Track your performance. Your performance should be based on specific customer-driven objectives, which include quantifiable outcomes or results. These measures constitute your own personal score card and you should monitor them to both improve your performance as well document your contributions. Performance metrics should generally include productivity, a financial measure -- efficiency (resources/productivity) is better than just cost, customer satisfaction, time and quality. Validate them with your customers but don't wait until they are "perfect" before starting to measure.

Communications is everything. You might as well communicate, if you don't the people you work with will inevitably waste a great deal of time filling in the blanks -- and will probably get it wrong. The most successful leaders routinely communicate. Email and group voice mail distributions can be effective, especially when they are augmented by scheduled face-to-face meetings. A best communications practice is to endeavor to answer questions before they are asked. And don't forget to take the time ask for feedback, listen and respond.

Make every one a star. Let other executives fight the war for talent. It's not about talent, it's about performance and there is an important difference. Talent is about ability; stars maximize their ability and perform. The real world isn't about talent, it's about performance.
Ask any seasoned coach -- at any level -- about talent. The stories will rival that of unrequited love. Every coach we know has had his or her heart broken by a phenomenal talent that did not perform. Most military officers and NCOs have similar stories and have learned, invariably the hard way that you cannot count on talent.

Recognize that everyone at every level can be a star: Every single person -- from the part-time mailroom clerk to executive vice presidents. Full time, part-time, contractors and consultants all can be stars. You can start making people stars by understanding and recognizing their performance. This should include measurable objectives, which each individual can use as a guide to continually improve their own performance. Additionally, by recognizing the contributions of those outside your own work group you can enhance the performance of your organization. Treat anyone that is customer driven and delivers on their commitment as a star.

Professional success is a never ending challenge but these six lasting principles of individual performance have served executives well both in the best, and in the most uncertain, of times.

-- Mr. Burkholder is the president of Staffing.org and a global authority on work-force design, selection and management.

http://www.careerjournal.com/hrcente...-staffing.html

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