Success is a goal for everyone and elusive for many. Your future, your family, and your employers are all depending upon you being successful. The interesting thing about success is that when we are successful, everyone around us benefits.
Another thing about success is that everyone has a different idea about what success looks like. What it means to be successful to me may not be the same thing to you. It is important to develop your own definition of success, then write it down. Let it become your personal missions statement.
My education and experience has taught me that there are three important keys to success at work. There are many more, but without these three, success will be hard to gain. The three success keys are capacity, opportunity, and motivation.
CAPACITY
Capacity is a person's ability to accomplish tasks. It is more than having the intellectual capacity to learn. There are lots of intelligent people with tremendous intellectual capacity that are not successful. Besides the intellectual aspects, capacity also includes the emotional intelligence and physical abilities as well. When we talk about employee development, we are aiming to increase your capacity to do better work. Employee's need to continually learn as the job and the market changes. Employee's with the greatest capacity to grow, will be successful.
OPPORTUNITY
Everyone needs opportunity to succeed. Employees should take advantage of the opportunities they are given. Remember that there is a shelf-life to opportunity. Good opportunities do not always present themselves to you, so you should always be ready to take advantage of them when they appear--or you can always be creative and make opportunities for yourself.
MOTIVATION
The third key is one of the most important. Many people have the capacity and opportunity to be successful, but without motivation, they will not succeed. Motivation is required. (See the previous blog on motivation.)
There are three components to motivation: direction, intensity, and persistence. When a person has multiple options, the one with the direction for successful completion usually takes priority--but not always. For example, a person's diet calls for a half breast of chicken and two cups of steamed vegetables. When it comes time to eat, they can choose the diet, go for the fast food option, or tasty option. The direction of the motivation for action plays an important part. Direction determines where a person puts their energies.
The second motivational component is intensity. Intensity reflects the passion a person has to work on a project. Direction is not always enough for a person stay on their diet. It also requires the right amount of intensity. Adding intensity to goals in the right direction helps a person accomplish them.
The next component is persistence. Persistence is how long a person will continue devoting effort toward accomplishing a goal. Every champion is persistent. There are many people that start off strong toward a goal with great intensity only to give up after the going gets tough. One of the reasons that employers require college degrees is that it shows that a person has the capacity and motivation (direction, intensity, and persistence) to finish a degree.
The challenge for the employee is to be motivated toward advancing their career with enough intensity over enough time that brings success.
So What?
If you work for someone, you are under a microscope. Your work, attitude, aptitude, and ethic (just to name a few aspects) are continually monitored. This is a good thing for employees that desire to be a success, but it is a bad thing for those employees that only want a paycheck. Capacity, opportunity, and motivation are necessary for success at your work. Finally, employees with the greatest amount of capacity and motivation will be given more and more opportunity.
Going Further
1. Of the three (capacity, opportunity, and motivation) which is your strongest?
2. Of the three (capacity, opportunity, and motivation) which is your weakest?
3. What can you do to increase them?
4. How is your motivation? (poor, good, great) Why?
5. Does your motivation to succeed have enough intensity? How can it be improved?
My education and experience has taught me that there are three important keys to success at work. There are many more, but without these three, success will be hard to gain. The three success keys are capacity, opportunity, and motivation.
CAPACITY
Capacity is a person's ability to accomplish tasks. It is more than having the intellectual capacity to learn. There are lots of intelligent people with tremendous intellectual capacity that are not successful. Besides the intellectual aspects, capacity also includes the emotional intelligence and physical abilities as well. When we talk about employee development, we are aiming to increase your capacity to do better work. Employee's need to continually learn as the job and the market changes. Employee's with the greatest capacity to grow, will be successful.
OPPORTUNITY
Everyone needs opportunity to succeed. Employees should take advantage of the opportunities they are given. Remember that there is a shelf-life to opportunity. Good opportunities do not always present themselves to you, so you should always be ready to take advantage of them when they appear--or you can always be creative and make opportunities for yourself.
MOTIVATION
The third key is one of the most important. Many people have the capacity and opportunity to be successful, but without motivation, they will not succeed. Motivation is required. (See the previous blog on motivation.)
There are three components to motivation: direction, intensity, and persistence. When a person has multiple options, the one with the direction for successful completion usually takes priority--but not always. For example, a person's diet calls for a half breast of chicken and two cups of steamed vegetables. When it comes time to eat, they can choose the diet, go for the fast food option, or tasty option. The direction of the motivation for action plays an important part. Direction determines where a person puts their energies.
The second motivational component is intensity. Intensity reflects the passion a person has to work on a project. Direction is not always enough for a person stay on their diet. It also requires the right amount of intensity. Adding intensity to goals in the right direction helps a person accomplish them.
The next component is persistence. Persistence is how long a person will continue devoting effort toward accomplishing a goal. Every champion is persistent. There are many people that start off strong toward a goal with great intensity only to give up after the going gets tough. One of the reasons that employers require college degrees is that it shows that a person has the capacity and motivation (direction, intensity, and persistence) to finish a degree.
The challenge for the employee is to be motivated toward advancing their career with enough intensity over enough time that brings success.
So What?
If you work for someone, you are under a microscope. Your work, attitude, aptitude, and ethic (just to name a few aspects) are continually monitored. This is a good thing for employees that desire to be a success, but it is a bad thing for those employees that only want a paycheck. Capacity, opportunity, and motivation are necessary for success at your work. Finally, employees with the greatest amount of capacity and motivation will be given more and more opportunity.
Going Further
1. Of the three (capacity, opportunity, and motivation) which is your strongest?
2. Of the three (capacity, opportunity, and motivation) which is your weakest?
3. What can you do to increase them?
4. How is your motivation? (poor, good, great) Why?
5. Does your motivation to succeed have enough intensity? How can it be improved?
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