The traits of top performers

Our business is always on the lookout for talented people. It constantly amazes me though how some people quite quickly establish themselves in influential positions of responsibility within short periods of time. What is it that distinguishes them from their work peers. What are the traits that make the difference, the must-have qualities of high performers? Obviously motivation, resourcefulness, knowledge and time management are critical… but how few people ultimately become real high performers?

Perhaps you can identify with this list below, and would rate yourself well against the criteria… and perhaps there is greater room for improvement that you might have previously considered.

1. High Performers believe in doing, not trying – so they are motivated by embracing work challenges head on.
2. High Performers take the initiative in assessing return on investment and risk vs. reward, and provide an actionable plan as a result.
3. High Performers pursue a greater understanding of the broader aspects within their organisation and industry, rather than just doing their job.
4. High Performers recognise potential opportunities that can help their business grow.
5. High Performers proactively review the likelihood of project issues and initiate changes before trouble arises.
6. High Performers understand what is needed to be done now, as well as the big-picture strategies, and require minimal to no supervision to drive positive outcomes.
7. High Performers are driven by an inherent motivation that never diminishes.
8. High Performers don’t brag. They put their status and ego aside because they’re comfortable letting their work speak for itself.
9. High Performers realise all the intelligence and degrees in the world don’t count for anything if you can’t get things done when they need to be done!

So, how would you rate yourself against this criteria? Are there any areas you need to develop? Also, consider those around you that may be already displaying evidence of a high performing employee, and find ways to assist them in reaching their potential!

A great way to assist you reaching your full potential is to help others reach their full potential.

Winners are Grinners!

International sports are consuming so much of our attention at the moment. Elite athletes breaking new records, impressing us with great reserves of resilience and a lifetime of discipline, and inspiring the countries they represent, all in the pursuit of winning.

However you can’t help but feel the heartbreak when one of these great athletes falls just short of winning! Whether it be 3/10ths of a second, an accidental miss-start, a final arrow, or a single shot, what of those that don’t come first, that aren’t the winner?

It can sometimes be very helpful to reflect on what it means for those great athletes that fall a tiny bit short? Does it make them losers? Are the winners that different from the rest of the field in any meaningful way? Is being ‘the’ winner all it’s cracked up to be?

I’m not saying that everyone should win just because they showed up. However I am interested in the limitations of the ‘winner takes all’ mentality.

The reality is that the pursuit of anything significant, usually takes great effort, investment and resilience. Often however, and perhaps surprisingly, the pleasure of victory is very fleeting….. As most gamblers know, there is more pain in losing than pleasure in winning.

I was very fortunate to have been selected in 2011 to be part of a recruitment leadership book called “Different Thinking – 20 Inspirational Leaders”. I was also truly surprised to be selected as the 2012 Young Recruitment Professional Australia New Zealand. Both achievements were significant milestones and exhilarating when they occurred…. But both were moments in time, and very quickly became yesterday’s news.

I feel that society has defined winning in a way that promises far more than it can deliver.

We push our kids in sport and academia, hoping to retire early on their successes. Teenagers need to attend the right universities, even though there are many schools where it is possible to get a great education. When they seek employment, society tells them that a key measure of achievement is financial success, and too often they pursue it believing that more and more money will eventually make them happy.

If winning is so fleeting, and obviously so few can ever be ‘the’ winner in the context that I have described, how can we redefine winning so there are more ways to achieve it, and it’s more satisfying? Instead of having only ‘the’ winner and ‘the’ losers, how can we redefine ourselves as winners over a lifelong journey? A few suggestions:

• Real winners consistently invest effort, persevere, and keep getting better at whatever it is they do — regardless of whether they win anything.
• Real winners have goals, which provide direction and motivation, but recognize that the joy of the journey is where the greatest satisfaction comes from as they move towards any given goal.
• Real winners aren’t afraid to lose — and they are always ready to learn and grow from it. “I missed more than 9000 shots in my career,” says Michael Jordan. “26 times I was trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
• Real winners use their skills not just to build their own value, but also to add value in society— to give back and pay forward.

What real winners understand, above all, is that the real goal is never to prove something to others, but rather to more fully realise their own potential……  to become a lifelong winner.

Sharing my recruitment secrets

I was really humbled to be selected as the recipient of the 2012 RCSA Young Recruitment Professional Award. Working in the recruitment industry has allowed me great opportunities to develop professionally and focus on what I am passionate about – partnering with and empowering people to realise their full potential.

Since winning the award, I have had the opportunity to speak and comment on the experience many times and more importantly, share the joy of the journey that has brought me to where I am now.

It seems that most people are interested in knowing what it takes to become a great at recruitment and what it takes to ensure you make the most of your career as a recruitment consultant?

• You must love working with people
• You must love sales
• You must love pace
• You must love succeeding
• You must have energy and resilience!

If you have those innate qualities, then you need to develop effectiveness to ensure you focus on doing the right activities, and efficiency to ensure you continue to deliver enough of the right activities. We all have the same finite number of hours in a day, however with those same number of hours, some recruiters bill over $800,000, and others don’t!

What are the activities that matter?

• Meet with people face to face
• Listen to people
• Keep your word and call people back
• Stand your ground on rates and terms of business (Value the service you offer or no one will)
• Walk away from customers that don’t respect your service
• Constantly communicate and deliver exceptional results to customers that do value your service
• Continue to learn and develop your capabilities and industry knowledge (Read, be mentored, and be a mentor)
• Offer and share your expertise to your industry (Speak at conferences or help people write better resumes)
• Build a team around you
• Start work early
• Never eat alone
• Build relationships with other recruiters
• Encourage someone every day
• Stay away from pessimists
• Work really hard
• Never give up! (So many opportunities have come my way because I stuck at it longer than most others wanted to)

During my career I have worked next to both big billers and average billers, all working in the same office, with the same technology under the same leadership. Although many things were the same, the results generated were vastly different. Great recruiters do things differently.

I hope the insights I have shared will help you reach your potential and allow you to find fulfilment in recruitment the same way I have.

Optimistic Scepticism – getting the balance right

Many professions have ups and downs, and recruitment is certainly one of them. Things can be fantastic and ecstatic one moment, and dry or gut wrenching the next. So it sure helps if you have sufficient resilience and fortitude to weather the storms of a recruiter’s life; so you can also enjoy the sunshine. I can’t stress it enough, staying positive and optimistic remains one of the essential mindsets if you are going to succeed in recruitment. However we all know that not every cloud has a silver lining. In fact, careless optimism in some situations is not only unwise, it can be irresponsible, and it will ultimately make you unsuccessful.

So where is the line to be drawn? Where is the balance struck? How does optimism as well as a healthy level of scepticism work for us? When should we act with unwavering confidence and when should we tread with caution?

Positive recruitment consultants have the mindset that says:

• I’m a specialist and expert in what I do – I make things happen!;
• The next candidate I call could be ideal for my client;
• The last several clients have said ‘no’ however the next very well might say ‘yes’;
• Today might have been tough but tomorrow is going to be better;
• Saying no to low margin work will give me more time to build a more profitable client;
• When I do more of the right activities, the right results will follow;
• One more call might make the difference;

I often find myself thinking of great words by Frank Bettger when he said, “Force yourself to act enthusiastically, and you’ll become enthusiastic!” This mindset has a natural flow on effect, when I get excited, my customers get excited, and I get business!

I have found time and time again that acting with positive optimism will ultimately help me achieve my desired outcomes far more frequently than those that are pessimists. It is because being overly pessimistic prevents you from taking action – and without action, nothing is possible. Pessimism won’t help you work hard, turn up after a setback, learn from your mistakes, and want to beat your previous year’s results.

A healthy level of confident optimism is essential in the role of a recruiter. With all the ups and downs, it can be lengthy periods of time before a victory can be enjoyed – and all too often the pessimist has not had the heart to go the distance so they can enjoy that victory.

On the other side of this argument, it is important to know when it is appropriate to be sceptical.

While there is no room for pessimism, to be cheerfully optimistic, always believing the best in people, and carrying out your activities assuming they will be returned in kind, is a sure recipe that you will end up becoming frustrated, disillusioned and ultimately unsuccessful. I have always remained optimistic, however I have tried to balance that with a healthy level of scepticism.

Healthy scepticism in a recruitment consultant’s mind rises up when:

• Your candidate says they are happy to take a pay cut or commute more than an hour each way if they get this job;
• Your candidate has finally received the offer however now wants to take the entire working week to consider it;
• Your candidate sights ‘personal reasons’ for why they left their last role;
• Your candidate all of a sudden can’t be contacted…….
• Your client says, everyone else has signed these terms and accepted this rate;
• Your  client says that if you drop your margin, then you will get more opportunities in the future;
• Your client has said the role is urgent, however has no specifics on what the position involves or when it might start;
• The client wants you to go onto a preferred supplier agreement with 10+ other agencies;
• The client says they will get to paying their bills, but have just had to attend a funeral;

Optimism and scepticism are essential ingredients in the life of a successful recruitment consultant, and having the right balance makes the world of difference.

Further to that, pessimism and cynicism, found at the other ends of the scale, have no place in recruitment and will never make you successful.

We have probably all met someone like that, they leech your energy, stop you opening up new opportunities by saying, “We tried it before, it didn’t work” and they ruin the industry of its fun and excitement.

So to be your best, be optimistic, with a healthy level of scepticism, and ensure the company you keep have the same successful mindsets!

Bouncing Back

Despite all your best efforts, as thorough as they may have been, things don’t always go to plan…. Missed opportunities, setbacks and disappointments are part and parcel of any sales role – so how do you best deal with these inevitable realities?

Interestingly certain people seem to respond very differently to the same set of undesired circumstances. Some become defeated, rejected and directionless, while others are able to continue moving forward, responding, and ultimately succeeding.

Why do some people have the wind knocked out of them when they face sales rejections while others don’t?

I hope the following insights will shed some light on why some have learnt sales resilience and others haven’t.

1. Sales resilience is about one’s ability to cope with stress and adversity. The term “bouncing back” is often used to describe someone’s resilience after a setback. The simple reality is that the more times you have successfully ‘bounced back’, the easier it becomes to continue doing so. The analogy works much like your typical inoculation; it gives you the capacity to cope well with future exposure. Therefore, it is important and comforting to know that resilience is a process, and anyone can improve there’s if they desire to.

2. Sales resilience is linked to self confidence – specifically around the competency you exhibit in your role. Although self confidence is something that is nurtured from childhood, it is expedited when operating from a place of mastery. The more confident you are in what you do, the more resilient you will be to possible adversities. Getting better at what you do makes everything you do easier and more enjoyable.

3. Your sales energy and resilience is within your control. All of us have control over our body, emotions, mind and spirit. Every day we have the opportunity to enrich these dimensions or let them wilt. Let me ask the following questions across these dimensions to help you assess your regular behaviour and determine whether you are investing or depleting your sales resilience:

I. Body

a) I don’t get at least 7-8 hours sleep, and often wake up tired?

b) I don’t take regular breaks during the day and often eat at my desk?

II. Emotions

a) I frequently find myself feeling irritable?

b) I don’t stop frequently enough to express my appreciation and reflect on my achievements?

III. Mind

a) I have difficulty focussing on one thing at a time, and am easily distracted, especially by e-mail?

b) I spend most of my day reacting to immediate crises and demands rather than focussing on long term value?

IV. Spirit

a) There are significant gaps between what I say is most important in my life and how I actually allocate my time and energy?

b) My decisions at work are more often influenced by external demands than by a strong, clear sense of my own purpose?

If you answered ‘yes’ to more than 2 questions, there is room to improve your energy and resilience levels, if you answered ‘yes’ to more than 5 questions, significant energy deficits might exist requiring immediate attention.

4. Maintaining high performance activities helps you move past disappointments and more frequently realise successes. If ‘all your eggs are in one basket’, if only ‘one ball is in the air’, if only ‘one bun is in the oven’, then time after time, you are going to feel the drain of rejection take its toll on your reserves. Successful sellers maintain high activity levels and consequently have greater opportunities to remain focussed and move forward with. That is the key, learn from your setbacks, improve your process for next time, and ultimately move forward as the next great opportunity may just be around the corner.

Hopefully these insights will help you respond constructively to undesired circumstances. Instead of becoming defeated, rejected and directionless, my goal is that you continue moving forward, responding, and ultimately succeeding.

Who stole my day?

On any day in a consultant’s life, there are a myriad of well meaning activities and situations that can seize your attention and take you on an uneventful or unfulfilling journey towards ineffectiveness. How many days have been sabotaged with you left looking down at an incomplete task list? How often have you had your day stolen and yet can’t explain why? How often do you find yourself saying ‘there just aren’t enough hours in a day to effectively do my job’.
To avoid these debilitating moral crushing experiences, consultants need to know that there are things in a day that are well meaning however if not well managed, are stealing their day.

1. Email mismanagement: Dealing efficiently and effectively with e-mails should be in every consultant’s interest and training schedule. How many tasks during your day do you let get interrupted with an inbox e-mail alert? How many half written e-mails do you let new e-mail alerts interrupt? The Resilience Institute suggest that 85% of e-mails are opened in the first 2 minutes of being received, and that it can take up to 20 minutes to return to deep focus after being interrupted by a new e-mail. A mismanaged inbox is one of the greatest traps and time-sinks around. One suggestion is to disable the frequency that Outlook sends/receives e-mails so that you can dedicate time at desired intervals to maintain your inbox. If possible you may even want to close Outlook at certain times of the day.
It must also be asked, how many e-mails are read, and allocated for re-reading at a later time? After the second or third re-read, days may have passed and normally the opportunity lost, or you’ve all together forgotten it even existed. As discussed above, during the allocated time to manage your e-mails, get tough on decision making. Avoid putting things off for another time. Systematically address each e-mail one by one until complete. As you can see, countless hours could be saved each week using these approaches to e-mail management.

2. Over preparation: Wanting to be known for what we know has a high time tag. In our pursuit for professionalism and market knowledge, do you spend too much time ‘researching’?
So instead of making the call, or heading out for the visit, or conducting the interview, you delay, over-analyse and use more of your precious time unproductively. Over analysis can not only lead to indecisiveness but also a lack of confidence – ‘Paralysis by Analysis’.
Obviously a certain amount of preparation is required however if you do not implement strict time bound deadlines with a clear checklist of the required information needed, you never reach your full potential. Once you have what you need, act on it!

3. Long Hauls: Ultradian rhythms refer to 1.5 – 2 hour cycles during which our bodies slowly move from a high–energy state into a physiological trough. Towards the end of each cycle, the body begins to crave a period of recovery. The signs can include restlessness, yawning, hunger and difficult in concentrating – but how often do you ignore them, and in the name of ‘productivity’ just keep working? The consequences are that your remaining capacity burns down as the day wears on. Schwartz and McCarthy from the Energy Project advise that although it may seem counterintuitive, intermittent breaks for renewal result in a higher and more sustainable performance. Therefore when the signs present, change the scene by taking a walk, talking with a colleague, or venturing outside for some fresh air. Avoid the long hauls that you might think are most effective and embrace higher performance through engaging in high recovery breaks of renewal.

4. Social Media: When is enough social media ‘networking’ enough? Although Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are valuable marketing tools, when do they move from help to hindrance? From what I have witnessed, it seems social media has become a time-sink for many undisciplined consultants. It is now being said that 1 out of every 6 minutes online is spent social networking, a statistic that has doubled in the last 4 years!
First determine how much of your time is invested in social media and appraise what value it has returned to you. Then attempt to balance your investment of time with the return it has provided. If you can establish a self-imposed time limit on your social media activities and stick to it, then a few minutes every day should be sufficient time to effectively network your markets and avoid over-exposure to a truly great time killer.

Addressing these four aspects of your typical day will result in a huge increase in performance and a greater sense of personal achievement.

 

Living & Working with Body, Heart, Mind and Spirit, The Resilience Institute 2010.
Schwartz, T. & McCarthy, C. The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, Free Press 2003.