What’s It All About?

Many professionals spend decades pursuing and realising the markers of success our society values the most – what we’ve been told “should” matter to us in work and life, what we’ve been encouraged to believe represents success for everyone universally, and what’s rewarded through organisational structures and cultures.

And that can work wonderfully well as our career-based targets for quite some time. There’s progression, promotion, and the pay to suit – keeping you nicely focused on the next milestone, and then the next. The rewards come in providing a boost and motivation for the next stage.

Busy-ness prevails, with infrequent opportunity to step back and wonder what it’s all about, check-in with self as to whether the path is still the right one.

All of a sudden, you’re 20 years down the line, dependent on the salary accompanying the role, tied to a sector to maintain the same income, and having lost sight of any other paths available.

_____

 

Stick or Twist?

Some people have (luckily?) chosen the right path in the first place, are more than happy with where they’re at and where they’re heading. They’ll crack on without a doubt in their mind.

Others feel an adjustment will serve them well. They don’t need a wholesale change, but something could do with improving if professional fulfilment is to increase – they need to work out what that adjustment is and make it happen.

And then for some, the big questions and doubts emerge at a certain point. Which is why I have many clients and friends in their 40s and 50s, super successful in their professional field, yet saying things like …

 

• Is this what it’s all about?
  
• Is this what I want to continue doing until retirement?
• I feel trapped.
• I’ve worked hard to get where I am, I’m where I always aspired to be, but it’s a bit of anti-climax
• I’m not sure this is right for me any more – how do I make the change?

 

_____

 

Your Success Formula

You see, we seem to be taught that professional fulfilment, high performance, and wellbeing come from a fairly standard recipe.

Whereas they actually come from crafting your own success formula – the one that aligns with who you really are, fulfils a purpose important to you, energises and motivates you, and is within conditions that enable you to thrive.

In a perfect world, we’d know our success formula as we first set out in the world of work, but often we need the experience of work and life to inform the answers. And commonly that’s at least a few years worth of being in the workplace and living life alongside.

It’s why I work with senior leaders who are seeking this level of clarity – those who want to lead with intention, live with joy, and build a professional legacy that feels meaningful to them.

Through our work, we uncover what truly enables them to be their best at work and have the most fulfilment – so they can intentionally shape what comes next.

 

 

So, how do you create your own success formula? I’m going to share how I work with clients to break this down and create a deeper understanding that can subsequently inform action.

It’s one of those things that’s quite straightforward, but not easy to do, certainly not alone. It requires honesty, courage, and a depth of thinking and challenge there normally isn’t the time or headspace for.

There are 4 basic steps – and whilst they appear linear in nature, it’s likely there will be some back, forth, and around a circle or two, before reaching the right outcome.

_____

Step 1: What Helps You Be Your Best?

What are all the different factors that allow you to be at your absolute best at work? That means you’re delivering your best work, enjoying your work experience thoroughly, and finding that it nicely complements your broader life aspirations. The formula that offers the win-win.

This is about moving beyond what you think should work for you, and instead getting to the truth of what actually does.

The factors vary by individual, but here are some common examples we work through. Each one needing a full examination if you are to achieve results you truly want.

Consider the following.

…

Your Values

What matters to you the most? What’s at your very core when it comes to what’s most important? When you compromise your values, it chips away at your confidence, resilience, motivation, health, and much more. Values alignment is crucial.

Your Energising Strengths

What are you naturally brilliant at? What role / environment enables you to optimise those strengths? What are you doing when you make the biggest difference? Leaning in to your strengths is energising, motivating, and fulfilling – the more you use them in your role the better.

Work That Fulfils You

What work is the most fulfilling work for you? Why is that? What are you working on when you have your best days at the office? Purpose, making a difference and impact come up time and time again in my conversations – how do you make it matter – for you?

The Organisational Culture

What working environment do you most thrive in vs what drains the life out of you? How do you want to be treated? How do you want to see others treated? What culture brings out the best in you? Cultures change, and so do you – staying in tune with what works and what doesn’t is important.

The People Around You

What sort of people help bring out the best in you? What do you want from your colleagues? How do you want to feel with your peers or team? We all know how the people around us can influence our performance, our enjoyment, our wellbeing – let’s get this right.

Relationship with Your Boss

What do you want from your boss? What boss relationships have helped you to thrive, and what was it about them? What are your red flags? The most pivotal relationship at work linked to engagement and fulfilment – a number one priority for most.

Your Professional Aspirations

What are your aspirations for you, your career, and your legacy? (Btw, not what someone else thinks for you). What do you want to be known for professionally? It’s hard for people to ‘get real’ here – they think it needs to be something grand – it might be grand or it might be simple – the key is that you decide.

Work-Life Harmony

How do you want work to complement your life? What is required from work to offer you that? What’s important for your balance and harmony? The most common area of sacrifice throughout most people’s careers – getting this right moving forward undoubtedly boosts all-round fulfilment.

 

It’s a big list, right? And you might add more to it. But I promise you, doing the work here reaps rewards. Get this right and you’re off to a flying start!

_____

 

Step 2: Separate the Non-Negotiables from the Nice-to-Haves

Not everything that supports your best work-life is equally important. Some factors are essential, while others are simply beneficial.

Take your reflections from Step 1 and prioritise them.

Non-Negotiables: The absolute essentials for you to perform at your best. You’d be miserable without these and doubt your choices.

Nice-to-Haves: The things that make a positive difference, you’d like to see present, but aren’t central to your success and enjoyment.

Not-too-Bothereds: A shrug of the shoulders to these ones – you can take or leave – but it would still be nice if they were there.

Tip: don’t put everything in non-negotiables – challenge yourself to get to the nitty-gritty and work out what’s most important.

_____

 

Step 3: Assess Your Current Situation – Alignment vs Tension

When we start an exercise like this it’s usually from a starting point of dissatisfaction and craving something new and different.

But we shouldn’t ignore our current professional situation – it’s one you know more intimately than any other, so apply the criteria you’ve established and see how it fairs.

Be objective and rigorous in completing your assessment.

Whatever the outcome, it will be of benefit. You’ll either have a greater understanding of why the current situation is not your long-term future with the language to describe it well, or you might just discover that things aren’t so bad after all.

Sometimes a surprising outcome of doing this activity is what there is to appreciate about the role currently occupied … and a realisation that the grass might not always be greener.

Tip: if the outcome of an objective assessment is more favourable than how you end up feeling day-to-day, it might mean step 1 and 2 need some refinement.

_____

 

 

Step 4: Take Stock, Take Action

Understanding your success formula is powerful –  applying it to create the reality you want is what really makes the difference. You can do this in your existing role as well as looking at what the future might hold.

Adjust

In your current role and environment, start making the changes to refine and adjust your position so that it better aligns with your non-negotiables. You’ll find that the clarity you’ve created allows you to re-prioritise and make adjustments that instantly feel better to you. It also gives you the language and confidence to communicate your needs.

Influence

If something needs a wholesale change, what is within your influence to shape, both short and longer term? Whether that’s about where you are right now or moving towards a different future, use the insights with intention to create the future that brings to life your success formula.

Make the Tough Calls When Necessary

If you consistently find yourself in an environment that doesn’t support your success, it’s likely time to consider a bigger change. That can be a frightening prospect, but also liberating when you start to take action.

 

Whatever the outcome of taking stock, it’s absolutely crucial that it’s followed by taking action. Only then will you feel that you’re back in the driving seat of your own professional fulfilment.

_____

 

Final Thought: Your Formula Will Evolve

My experience tells me that fulfilled leaders who are enjoying their professional life work in alignment with who they are and what enables them to thrive. Sometimes that’s happened by chance, but mostly it’s by design and through intentional, ongoing action.

Your success formula isn’t static (sorry to break that to you!) – it will evolve with your career, your aspirations, your life stage, and more. The key is to keep checking in, staying honest with yourself, and making adjustments as needed.

_____

 

What Comes Next?

If you’re curious about what your personal success formula looks like, I hope this has helped. Don’t delay, start working it through. The clarity is liberating, I promise.

If you’d prefer some guidance and accountability to help, get in touch and let’s see how I can help through 1:1 coaching. Find out more about my services and book a call when you’re ready to explore working together.

_____

 

Everyone deserves to be their best at work – including you!