Sure you probably don’t perform for an audience of thousands like Beyonce or pitch for a sold out stadium like Detroit Tigers Anibal Sanchez, but you can be a shining star in your chosen career path.
What makes for a star employee? Are the best people the ones who have the most knowledge, the most confidence or are the risk-takers? Research tells us not necessarily. There is fundamentally no difference in the smarts, personalities or innovativeness in average employees versus star performers. So what does matter? Perhaps, not surprisingly, being seen as a star performer comes down to day-to-day behavior on the job. It’s not about what you have, it’s about how you use what you have.
What day-to-day behavior will help you become a superstar on the job?
- Competence
- Initiative
- Self-Management
- Leader/Follower/Team Player
- Find Your Super power
Competence
Learn your job and do it well. Are you offered training? Use it! Are you given systems to keep things running smoothly? Use them! Don’t let small mistakes that could be avoided add up to keep you from taking center stage as the star you know you can be.
Initiative
When you see something that needs to be done, do it. Do you need to stay long hours? No. Do you need to work uncompensated over and over again to be a star? No. But you do have to go above and beyond what is required to stand out. Pick things that might make a big difference to the customer, but perhaps don’t take too much of your time. And if someone on your team isn’t pulling their weight, see what you can do to make sure the customer stays happy and then let your manager know so the issue can be figured out long term.
Self-Management
Self-management is coming up with ways you can direct your own activities toward achieving your goals. You can use goal setting, good decision making, focus, planning, time management, task tracking and self-evaluation to keep you working towards your personal best.
Leader/Follower/Team Player
This one can be tricky because it is about figuring out which hat to wear when. Knowing when to lead, when to follow and when to work together is an important quality of star performers. It often comes down to perspective, or being able to understand things from more than just your point of view. If you pay attention to the needs of the people around you , you can get a good sense of when to step up and when to follow your managers lead.
What’s Your Super Power
What are your super powers? Do you have an eye for detail? Use it to identify things left undone. Are you a friendly people person? Let your positive attitude keep the people around you feeling good and your customers feel valued. Are you unfailingly reliable? Be known as the person that always comes through. You don’t have to be someone else or even perfect, you just have to use qualities you already have to your advantage.
You might be asking yourself, what’s in it for me? For one, there are financial benefits like pay, raises, bonuses and more. Sure these financial incentives can be in short supply during the most trying economic times, but when they are available, it’s the best players on a team that get them. Superstars also get their pick of the best assignments and new opportunities. And in leaner times, being a superstar on the job can make you “bullet-proof” when it comes to lay-offs and employee cuts. No employer willingly cuts their best people. And don’t underestimate the benefit that comes with feeling like a superstar. Most of us spent the better part of our day at work so why not put the effort in to feel like you are among your teams MVPs.
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