There are a lot of “10 things for success" lists out there, but they rarely talk about how to actually achieve job success or how to build strong team relationships.
Table of Contents:
- Pursuing Excellence and Building Meaningful Work Relationships
- 1. You Need Thick Skin
- 2. Be Willing To Do Low-Level Tasks
- 3. Difference Between Working and Screwing Around Is Data
- 4. Have a Reason For Doing Everything
- 5. Take Ownership Of The Culture
- 6. Be a Leader Before You Are Ready
- 7. Serve Your Team
- 8. Treat Your Clients and Partners Like A Friend
- 9. Keep Your Workspace and Appearance Clean
- 10. Own your mistakes and shortcomings
- Choosing the Right Company
Pursuing Excellence and Building Meaningful Work Relationships
A lot of them are geared around how to make your boss happy. Is making your boss happy really the thing that gives you joy? Doing something that you’re proud of, with excellence, integrity, and pride is a personal pursuit for one's self. Success usually follows with it.
In his book, The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker said, “Find the thing you’re uncommonly good at.”
The quest for that ‘thing' can take a while; this list mentioned below in this article has helped me reconcile all types of work with a meaningful purpose while on that journey to find what I’m uncommonly good at.
My personal philosophy on "how to do a good job"
I believe that we’re designed for relationships, made to create things, to work, and to hone our skills. It’s a humbling task to unpack that simple statement. If you think about the people you love working with the most, you’ll find that they are humbled constantly by their pursuits, confident to continue with boldness, and respect their position, the position of others, and work hard to serve the people around them.
So, here’s another list. My top ten (not necessarily in order) things to keep in mind in order to show up and do a good job with regard to your personal self and your relationship with the team of people you find yourself working with.
1. You Need Thick Skin
Doing anything worthwhile is hard. Things change unexpectedly, new specifications come up, your strategy might fail. Problems in the original plan become known. Competition releases a new feature that’s just like the thing you’re working on. Being a snowflake makes it harder to see opportunities and new directions when the going gets tough. It’s not unfair, the world isn’t out to get you; you’re probably just doing something hard, and it’s worth doing!
2. Be Willing To Do Low-Level Tasks
These might be under your position, but you should do them if you see they need to be done. Doing jobs that are ‘beneath you’ every once in a while makes you more valued, not less. Being able to identify that something needs to be done, and just getting it done, is so helpful to your team. This is especially important in small organizations where people need to wear multiple hats. If the team culture doesn’t support this type of service, then it’s actually pretty easy for small but important tasks to fall between the cracks and get lost.
3. Difference Between Working and Screwing Around Is Data
You need to know when decisions were made, why you made the decision, who made it, and all the supporting information to take action on it. Institutional knowledge is wasted every day by poor scribes of important work. Tracking work well increases communication, productivity, and team focus.
4. Have a Reason For Doing Everything
I mean everything. Have a reason to organize a meeting. Have a reason to attend. Have a documented reason for a design direction, or a system architecture or technology decision. When someone asks you why you are doing a thing, and you can give a concise answer (even if it’s a simple one), it instills confidence in you and your team.
5. Take Ownership Of The Culture
Don't forget, you are the culture. Founders and company leadership absolutely have a huge role in setting the tone and course for the culture. Each and, every person, from the senior software engineer down to the janitor, is the wind that fills the sails. Valued teammates help create the culture they believe in. It makes it real.
6. Be a Leader Before You Are Ready
Your role isn’t small. It’s boundless. The way you interact with your teammates, your clients, and the customer at the checkout line of the grocery. These are all opportunities to lead with excellence. Become excellent at leading meetings. Take advantage of a teaching moment and empower a coworker with a new skill. Try it.
7. Serve Your Team
They will serve you in return when you need it. Servanthood is a huge part of being on a team. Serving others and lifting them up not only builds everyone up and bolsters culture, but it is also just plain chicken soup for the soul. It also means that when you need support you’ll get it back 10 fold.
8. Treat Your Clients and Partners Like A Friend
One of our ‘proverbs’ at Anthroware (a list of things we file away when we hear the team galvanize around a saying or thought) is to “be excellent to each other”. The people you love doing business with the most are the ones you like. People know when you care about them more than just a ‘client’. Our business model is built around having long-standing relationships with our clients, and it’s just more fun to do business with people you truly like being around.
9. Keep Your Workspace and Appearance Clean
Caring about your workspace and appearance is important. A lot of offices have moved away from suit-and-tie ‘business’ attire (thank God). But when it swings too ‘casual’ then you start to lose respect for the privilege of doing the work. It still means a lot when an interviewee walks into the conference room in a suit. It shows they care. When you have a big presentation or an important client visit, then dress to impress. Even if you overdo it a little, they’ll appreciate the posture. Keeping yourself and your space crisp and neat invites space for ideas and creativity. It shows your team and your visitors that you put care and purpose into your day.
10. Own your mistakes and shortcomings
Everyone needs grace on a regular basis. We’re imperfect people, we make mistakes with how we do our job, and how we work with others. Some mistakes cost more than others and it’s important to have a corporate mindset to learn as much as possible with things don’t go right. I, personally, am not one of the “celebrate failure” folks, but I do believe that when people hold themselves personally accountable for their contributions (good or bad) the ability to move forward past road bumps is easier, and team trust increases.
Choosing the Right Company
When researching a workplace, prioritize those that value personal growth, teamwork, and a positive culture. In such an environment, you'll not only thrive professionally but also find personal fulfillment. Remember, your career is a significant part of your life, and finding the right fit can greatly impact your overall happiness and well-being. Surround yourself with colleagues who share your vision and commitment to excellence, and together, you'll create a supportive and inspiring workspace.
The Key Takeaway
By choosing a company that aligns with your values, you'll set yourself up for success and enjoy the journey along the way. If you desire to work like this, then find a company that will let you spread your wings and has a culture you truly believe in, because you will be able to do a good job there. I hope you've been able to learn how to have a higher chance of job success and how to build strong team relationships from this article.
