A new training manager asked a senior talent manager, "What leads to professional success?" The senior manager highlighted seven specific areas he attributed to his success during the course of his 36-year career.
- Walk the talk.
Academic credentials create a perception of talent and capabilities, but once through the door, leaders need to prove the initial perception. The senior manager explained that as part of his personal perception campaign, he always allowed his work to speak for itself. When given an assessment, he made sure it was completed on time and that the quality of the work was at the highest possible level.
"Your reputation is eventually based on what you accomplish, not what you say you can accomplish," he told the manager. You will be quickly identified as a management facade if you don't follow through with concrete results. - Tap into your brain trust
Run important issues by staff to get their input. The senior manager said he always came out of his meetings with better ideas when he tapped into the brain trust of his direct reports. "It makes sense," he said. "You have several people brainstorming your issue instead of just one." - Always treat others with respect
Treat others with respect no matter what their pecking order within the organization. The senior manager said when he was a CFO for a large health care facility, he occasionally had lunch with the custodians in their lunch area. This allowed him to get a realistic picture on any building issue.
In addition to being proactive on building issues, his open-door policy was effective once word spread that he was open to everyone's ideas no matter what their position. As a result, employees were comfortable making improvement recommendations. - Get back to people quickly
The senior manager responded to every e-mail within 24 hours. He stated this was his "window of opportunity" to let everyone in the organization know they could depend on him for a prompt response to their issues or inquiries. He said it "spoke directly to his reputation of prioritizing everyone's areas of concern." - Dress professionally
The senior manager stated that if you want to succeed, appearance is of paramount importance. The appearance of a nice suit is totally negated when a person's shoes are scuffed up, a blouse or shirt is a bag of wrinkles or hair is growing down the back of one's neck. People will perceive you on how you appear, so appear the way you want to be perceived. - Avoid discussing personal lives
Keep conversations focused on professional life. Yes, you eventually will disclose your wife's name, the names of your children and other minor details, but don't discuss your daily interactions. Also, avoid getting involved in discussions about employees' personal lives. In this area, less is more. Establish a threshold for discussion of personal issues and maintain the threshold throughout your career. - Thank people for the contributions
The senior manager also emphasized that acknowledging and expressing appreciation for everyone's contribution was a key contributor to his success. He said one of his favorite quotes reads, "It's the blood of the soldier that makes the general great."