Most of the go-getters I work with rarely celebrate success – and I’ve been just as guilty over the years. I remember the first time I was honored by the Dallas Business Journal with a Women in Business Award. I barely told anyone, let alone invite them to celebrate with me at the awards luncheon.
As someone who belongs to a family of overachievers with tremendous resilience, I got so used to expecting a lot of myself. And my career choices continued to reinforce this. In my 14 years working at Deloitte, I was surrounded by smart, competitive, capable people. So, it was easy to say, “What’s the big deal?” when I accomplished something significant. Like many of my high-performing clients, my definition of “average” performance became skewed.
So, what’s at stake if I (or you) let a “check-the-box-and-move-on” approach continue? Simply put, others can’t fully tap into the power of your strengths, and you miss the opportunity to have a bigger impact. In other words, there is tremendous value for others when you truly notice and “own” your strengths. When you begin to see what you do well and how you consistently do it, you can be more intentional about leveraging your strengths and can teach others the same skills.
Noticing your strengths is key to creating a bigger ripple effect. In fact, that is why we make it easy for you to identify them in New Lens®, our online leadership development solution.
How to Notice Your Accomplishments
A simple way to start noticing the value you bring is by tracking your accomplishments. The process doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated. Simply take five to 10 minutes per week to write down any accomplishments. For each one, list its impact (i.e., the “So what?”). And remember not to judge yourself too harshly; include the smaller things, too.
For example, you might include an introductory meeting that you had with someone who is important to a project you are working on. On the surface, it may seem insignificant. But when you really think about the impact, that one meeting may have set the stage for smooth collaboration with a department critical to your project’s success.
As you continue to capture your accomplishments day after day, you will start to see how much you are getting done and what you do well. This will not only affect your confidence but also make it easier to share your results with others to build more visibility and credibility. And don’t forget to celebrate your successes to take it one step further.
For more strategies to help you or your employees be successful, schedule a demo of New Lens.. It makes learning digestible through bite-sized lessons that you can access anytime anywhere and a collaborative approach to foster deeper learning and stronger relationships.
