If you’re carving out a career for yourself and you want to climb the ranks, being the best you can be is vital to facilitating the journey and achieving the best chance of success.
But what do you need to do, and is the onus on you, not just the employer, to see your true potential?
The answer to this is both yes and no. If you want to be the best, you need to take the initiative and push yourself to move forward while getting recognition from those around you and from executives.
So, where do you start?
I have prepared this blog post to share some of the best steps to become a better employee and achieve your career goals. It is my personal experience, as it helped me a lot in delivering 99% at work.
Steps To Become A Better Employee
There are a few steps you can take to be a better employee.
Set Goals
Setting goals can be a powerful motivator to continue to push yourself and do better. These goals can be anything or everything; ideally, they need to be small steps that all build towards the end goal. Whether it’s improving your listening skills so you eventually work towards a promotion or undergoing training to move departments and improve your prospects, set realistic and SMART goals. After setting goals, be realistic and work towards completing them with a clear sense of purpose.
Training and Education
Every day is a learning day, and even if there are no official training programs currently in your employment. You can learn from others around you who are skilled at the job or have different ideas and ways of thinking than you do. You can learn about using business tools or other SOPs for your job.
Even if you don’t agree with certain things, it can still prove to be a valuable lesson. Being inquisitive and engaging with those in your workplace who come into contact with you day-to-day can be a great way to learn and broaden your perspective.
On top of this, enrolling in further education to develop skills you will need or will help you in the future can be massively beneficial, too. For example, an online MBA can assist you in building your knowledge and your soft skills, while a first aid course, for instance, can teach you how to be good in an emergency. A creative writing course can be great if your job involves a lot of writing or note-taking.
Ask For Feedback
Seeking feedback is a powerful tool that puts you in the driver’s seat of your career. You can’t know what you’re not doing well, or at least if you don’t ask or take feedback on board. Regularly asking for feedback in your workplace helps you understand what you’re doing well, where you’re excelling, and what you need to work on. This feedback empowers you to drive all of your actions to deliver outstanding work instantly, proving to be a valuable team member for your employer and gaining the skills and recognition to push your career forward.
To Sum Up
It takes consistent work and dedication to both professional and personal development to become a great employee. You can improve your performance and foster a healthy work atmosphere by being proactive, communicating clearly, setting clear goals, and learning new skills. Keep in mind that even small actions can have a big impact, and your efforts will be recognized.