Are you more concerned with accolades or outcomes? You might say, “I want both.” Accolades are great, and everyone wants them. Some are willing to do anything to get noticed and promoted.
A few intentional attitude shifts can help you get outcomes that naturally lead to personal rewards and possibly recognition.
What it takes to get outcomes that lead to accolades.
- Stop thinking about how you look to others. Think about the tasks, time, and people needed to get the job done for the team or organization.
- No one succeeds without a team. Most people operate quietly behind the scenes.You may not even know many of the people on your “team.” For example, someone is either turning the lights on or paying the bill. Who keeps the space you are working in clean? Who does the bookkeeping to ensure you get paid regularly?
- Be willing to do what others can’t or won’t. Most successful people find that with repetition of some task and grit, they become expert or proficient at something that eventually promotes them.
- See yourself as the guide, not the hero. Everyone wants to be a hero, and every hero has a guide (Yoda to Luke Skywalker, Kesuke Miyagi to Karate Kid, Mickey to Rocky, Donkey to Shrek). It does not work out when you jockey to be the hero. Let it happen. In the meantime, look for ways to help all the other heroes excel. This could be your team, boss, or a client.
- Do your best, but don’t kill yourself. It’s tough to find a balance because only you know what your best looks like. Sacrifice is necessary to achieve anything you want. But sometimes people lose sight of what’s ethical behavior or life-work balance in their pursuit of a perceived prize.
Don’t beat yourself up if you find it challenging to change your mindset or habits. It takes awareness first. Change will follow, if you persist. You have something to offer.