by Vin Bittencourt | MBA Bites S1 Episode 2
At some point of our professional lives, and for different reasons - not enough fit, passion, commitment, or simply because of us wearing blinders, everybody thinks and acts like average professionals. With that in mind, I've compiled for this episode a short list of behaviors that, for the most part, characterize world-class professionals on what really distinguishes them from average professionals. I think it's valid to reflect on how we can always be better, whether on principle, purpose or simply for better career opportunities, to ultimately find the excellence that lies within every single one of us.
World-class professionals are grateful. Average professionals are frustrated. World class professionals embrace challenges as opportunities for learning and growing, they tend to appreciate little things, they are grateful for their assignments, the companies they work for, the presence of special people in their lives. For a world-class professional, the glass is always half-full. Such gratitude gives them motivation and joy to pursue bigger and better things. You can see that sparkle in their eyes. On the other hand, average professionals see challenges as problems. They complain all the time, invariably looking at everything with the half-empty glass lens, projecting frustration and angriness at every turn.
World-class professionals create. Average professionals compete. World-class professionals always believe there’s room for newer and better ideas. To them, the world is not a zero sum game. World-class professionals are generous, they often praise others for their successes, and while they work hard to create their own, they don’t see theirs and other peoples' winnings as mutually exclusive. In exchange, average professionals typically believe that for someone to win, somebody else has to lose. Average professionals are typically confrontational, petty and envious.
World-class professionals manage risk. Average professionals avoid risk. A world class professional understands you need to go beyond processes sometimes and trust your gut feeling. They know when to take a leap of faith for a meaningful cause. Average professionals are process oriented. They don’t tolerate even slight deviations from rules and guidelines, a typical behavior that leads to good enough solutions but never to greatness.
World-class professionals focus on being. Average professionals focus on having. World-class professionals become their craft, they are writers, artists, entrepreneurs, managers, creators, builders who are driven by legacy and mission. Average professionals hold on to titles and positions, they’re driven by fear, often focusing on material, ephemeral things.
World-class professionals have vision. Average professionals have pipe dreams. How many people have tons of projects and visions but never bring them to fruition? A world-class professional always has an action plan. A goal without a timeline is just a dream, and that’s something the average professional never understands. Average professionals rather relish on a dream instead of following a game plan. When they execute on things, they usually procrastinate so much, that the end result is often mediocre.
World-class professionals are solution oriented. Average professionals are problem oriented. In every organization, you find tons of people who are quick to point out everything that’s wrong. But when it comes to solutions, they have zero insights. World-class professionals look at things with a critical eye, they listen patiently. But instead of whining about all that's broken, they wear their thinking caps to come up with plausible solutions to whatever issue may be at hand. Average professionals never take the trouble to do so.
World-class professionals see themselves as responsible. Average professionals see themselves as victims. One of the most important personal and career related attributes of today is ownership mentality. The most rewarding jobs at the most most amazing companies always go to people who believe that everything in the business is their responsibility. Unless the objective is cleared, the customer is happy, the sale is closed or the product is finished, they’re ready to take ownership and jump at anything that needs to be done to accomplish the goal. Average professionals would be a billionaires if they earned a dollar for every time they say, “this is not my job.” I guess it’s not, and neither the rewards that come from being a world-class professional.
World-class professionals are eager to learn. Average professionals think they know enough. Infinite curiosity is another secret of the world-class. World-class professionals are always exploring new ways of doing things. So when new problems arrive, they’re well equipped to handle them. Average professionals stick to what they know and refuse to work for new knowledge. They can solve typical problems, but when new ones come around, and sooner or later they always do, average professionals fail miserably.
World-class professionals choose growth. Average professionals choose fear. This one, in particular, really resonates with our times. With all the suffering and the uncertainty we’re facing right now, there has never been a better time to reinvent ourselves. A world-class professional at this point choses growth instead of fear. There’s way too many people with catastrophic predictions and sky-is-falling mentality out there. But nobody really knows how long this will take or how the new normal is going to look like.
Meanwhile, this may be the perfect time to question your career choice if you haven't done so yet. Are you happy on your existing swim lane? If that’s the case, how does growth look like to you? What areas of personal development you need to work to keep growing faster?
If you need change. Are you suffering because of a recent job loss? Would you like to find something more fulfilling and rewarding? What’s your game plan? Talk to people. Take online classes. Learn a new skill. Build a portfolio. Work on your personal brand. Those are definitely things a world-class professional would chose to do right now, even if worried about his/her future and impacted by this challenge.
No matter what happens, the 2020s will be a golden age for many people, companies and industries, with plenty of rewarding and interesting careers. You just have to find your best fit, after all, world-class professional always find a place to shine. So review the behaviors of the world-class and use them.
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