What is success? When we find ourselves feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like I'm we’re not moving forward, it often means that we’re clinging to an outdated belief or mindset about success. In this post, I will explore a view of success that focuses on skills, the benefits and limitations, and a next-level perspective that can help anyone move forward and achieve great results.
A Skill-Centric View of Success
Success, as typically defined, often means being seen as the expert, having the right credentials next to our name, and achieving efficiency measures set by someone else. This definition includes meeting metrics that align with our role and position description.
For example, a project manager named Lisa held several certifications and consistently met project deadlines and budgets. Her role and expertise contributed to the overall productivity and efficiency of the company. In Lisa’s case, her adherence to this skill-centric view of success brought clear benefits. It ensured that her projects ran according to schedule and Project Management best practices, and her credentials signified her competence and skill. Everyone saw her as the person who will follow the plan and hold others accountable to the plan.
However, there are limitations to this narrow perspective focused on skills. Credentials do not always equate to true skillfulness, especially when applied to unknown or new situations and cross-functional contexts. This is the case with Jake, an IT specialist who excelled in his technical field but struggled to collaborate effectively with other departments—he was known to work diligently in his "silo". While Jake’s work was efficient, it didn’t contribute to the company’s broader goals of innovation and cross-functional teamwork. It basically kept the status quo, even though the executive team had asked every department to come up with innovative solutions to keep up with the trend of artificial intelligence. This misalignment highlighted another issue: being efficient and meeting metrics might mean moving in the wrong direction if not aligned with the organization’s strategy or values. Moreover, an obsession with expertise often leads to perfectionism, resulting in overworking and underperforming. His boss was increasingly frustrated by his rigidity and his wife was equally disappointed by his late-night calls saying he'll miss dinner.
A Next-Level View of Success: Self-Determining
The good news is that when we take an honest inventory of the downsides of focusing on skills and expertise, and combine it with a growth mindset, we naturally start to see opportunities to try different things. So, let’s consider what perspective of success would naturally come next as we grow (this is called Vertical Development). The next-level view of success, called Self-Determining, means setting our sights on an overall vision and goals of the company and focusing our daily tasks on achieving that vision. Success, from this perspective, is about contributing to the mission and goals of the organization while mastering our thoughts and actions to optimize focus, energy, and productivity. It’s about achieving results, whether or not they fit in a box. It's about offering proposals to your boss instead of bringing up problems.
For instance, Sarah, was a marketing director who not only met her campaign targets but also drove the company’s brand vision forward by collaborating with product development. Her efforts ensured that marketing strategies aligned with product innovations, showcasing a broader vision of success. Sarah’s success wasn’t just about credentials or paper-based achievements but the actual impact on the organization’s goals. She became known as a model for innovation and experimentation. She demonstrated collaboration and creativity, neither of which were on her position description.
This shift in perspective underscores the importance of aligning our work with the company’s larger objectives. Take John, an HR manager who traditionally focused on hiring metrics. From a Self-Determining perspective, he transformed his approach by developing programs that enhanced employee engagement and aligned with the company’s cultural values, thereby contributing to a more cohesive and motivated workforce.
A Call to More Create Possibility
If you’re feeling stuck, consider shifting your perspective on success. Instead of focusing solely on your position description or relying on "the way it's always been done", think about how your work contributes to the larger goals of your organization. Ask yourself how you are contributing to those goals and whether you are helping to establish and achieve the company’s vision. Invite another coworker into an initiative to streamline cross-departmental processes or better align employee strengths with the current initiatives of the company.
By recognizing our need to grow, and embracing this next-level view of success, we can unlock greater potential for personal growth and organizational achievement. Success is not just about meeting predefined metrics but making a meaningful impact that aligns with and propels the organization forward.
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I coach leaders to realize their Next Level Leadership, no matter where they are in the organization.
I am certified as a Leadership Maturity Coach by Beena Sharma and Susanne Cooke-Greuter of the Vertical Development Academy and a Certified Unique Self Coach by Claire Molinard of the Unique Self Institute. If you're interested in learning how I can coach you through your vertical development, please reach out to me at David@evolutionaryemergencecoaching.com. You can also find more at www.verticaldevelopment.com.
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