Use the power of authenticity to drive success
E-Book, Englisch, 220 Seiten
ISBN: 978-3-347-18590-6
Verlag: tredition
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Wasserzeichen (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
More than ever, the career path to a high level of responsibility requires reflection. This has been recognized by large companies, which support their top executive trainees with training and coaching in holistic career management. The book was developed out of the context of this practical work.
There are countless business books that provide assistance to executives dealing with difficult tasks and conflict situations. Masha Ibeschitz's new book is one of the few that answers this question: What needs to be done when a major career leap is imminent? The book is an invitation to reflect on the past, present and future of your own success. The goal is to make conscious and lasting career decisions.
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Chapter 2 Achievements: What you have accomplished Reflection on what you have achieved in your life so far and how many situations you have already successfully mastered is one of your most significant strength sources. The awareness of what you have achieved will allow you to face new challenges with renewed strength. This becomes especially true as soon as you recognize the strategies behind your success and are able to draw on your resources in the future. "Wanna drive?" Patrick asked and held the car key in front of Laura's face with his arm stretched out. "Women are better at parking anyway." Really funny, Patrick, Laura thought. But she smiled sympathetically, nodded briefly and grabbed the key. As soon as she had come through the baggage claim doors into the lobby and saw Patrick waiting for her, she already guessed how he was feeling. Patrick seemed kind of excited and nervous and unfocused at the same time. Like someone who partied through the night and went straight to work. To welcome her, he had embraced Laura as if she had been in Seattle for six months and not six days. It was unusual enough that Patrick took the time to pick Laura up from the airport in the middle of the week. Their jobs did not allow for romance during peak business hours. Patrick seemed very eager for contact. The day prior he had received the official offer for his new top job in an email from HQ in Japan. Everything was just as his boss had told him almost a week ago. Now Patrick had to make a decision. Laura quickly got on the highway and then changed into the left lane. Patrick had moved the back of the passenger seat far back. He was searching for the right music on his iPhone for a long time and in the end, he couldn't decide on anything. After checking his emails and WhatsApp, he put the phone in his pocket and looked at Laura. "What should I do?" Patrick asked. "I can't tell you that," Laura replied without a second thought. "I can't make that decision for you. If you accept the job offer, it will affect me as well, because then we will probably see even less of each other. Still, it is your decision. So, ask yourself if the new job is what you want to do." "Well, I don't know right now." Patrick started playing with the air conditioning controls. "Two weeks ago, I was thinking: Yeah! This is my dream job. Finally, the big opportunity. But now that the offer is official, I just want to run away." "So, run away!" "Excuse me?" "Not forever, of course. But maybe over the weekend. You know I'm completely booked up for the weekend anyway." "The annual BFF weekend with your classmates. Yeah, I know. But I'd also like to hear your opinion before I decide." "As you should, of course. But only after you've decided what you want to do. You've done so much already! Do you even realize that? For someone who almost got kicked out of school at 16, you've come a long way. Sometimes I wonder how you always manage to get your successes. It all seems so easy to you." "I don't know how I do it. I never ask myself that question." "Look at this!" said Laura, pointing at a billboard on the highway's side with her finger. She read the advertising slogan aloud, which was written in big letters: "Our greatest success is our enthusiastic customers." Below was the logo of one of the world's largest IT companies. Laura briefly glanced over at Patrick. "What are your greatest achievements?" "I've never asked myself that before." Patrick pulled his iPhone back out of his pocket and resumed the search for the right music. "Why don't you hike to the Drachenkogel this weekend? We've been there before. There's this great hotel in the valley, remember? If you reflect on what you've achieved so far, you'll have more clarity afterward." "I got it!" Patrick said and kept staring at his smartphone. "Arctic Monkeys." He pressed to play the first song via Bluetooth. "What did you say? Drachenkogel? Yeah, great idea. Maybe I will." Consciously perceiving past achievements and successes Now, if I ask you to consider three notable achievements you have had in the last 12 months – how easy or difficult is that for you? What goes through your mind? Maybe the examples and pictures just keep gushing out. Like opening a champagne bottle with a sword. Or maybe you are thinking: The last 12 months were quite tricky – what successes could I have achieved? Or maybe you're just trying to figure out how to answer my question: Am I talking exclusively about professional successes or also about personal ones? And what can be considered a significant success? Is it enough to have acquired a project with a dream customer? Does making an effort to go jogging regularly and lose three kilos count? Or is nothing worth mentioning except the first million net annual income or a dream wedding in Mauritius? From my experience, I can assure you that people react very differently when asked about their recent successes. If you hesitated even a little bit in your answer, this little exercise has already revealed one thing: It is not part of our daily routine to visualize our successes. Many of us never realize what they have already achieved in their lives – both professionally and personally. However, when it comes to making decisions – but also in crises, from personal life crises to shutdowns in the event of a pandemic – it is incredibly helpful to remember past successes. After we perceive what we have already achieved in the first step, we can understand it in subsequent steps and recognize its patterns. Finally, we can draw strength from our past achievements and find solutions to challenging situations more quickly in the future. And this is what this chapter is about. Commitment, support from others or pure luck? Typical interpretations of success Patrick is experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions. His initial euphoria about his dream job has turned into doubt and nervous uncertainty. He wonders whether a job at the top of his company's hierarchy will still be as fun as his previous job. Could he end up losing his beloved freedom in Japan? Was he now on the road of becoming the slick career guy he never wanted to be? After his mother pointed it out to him, he also worries about what the new professional situation would mean for his relationship and Laura's previously unfulfilled desire to have children. But maybe Patrick has already successfully mastered similar turning points in his life? He had never reflected on this before. When Laura asked him about his most significant achievements to date, the look on his face just said, "Huh?" Patrick's reaction corresponds to one of four typical reaction patterns that I experience when I talk to people about their past achievements and ask them how they think they have achieved them. There are certainly people like Patrick who have never asked themselves what their greatest successes are and how they managed to achieve them. Here are three more common answers: ? "I've always worked hard and fought for my successes. It was hard at times, but I fought my way through. In the end, my success has always proved me right. I know I can count on myself." ? "I owe my successes to other people. I had a supportive home, invaluable teachers and mentors, and consistently great teams. I am grateful for what I was able to learn from all these people." ? "First of all, I was lucky. I was always in the right place at the right time. Doors opened for me and I walked right through them. Life is a sequence of coincidences. Only in hindsight may we imagine that there are patterns." What is your answer? Pretty sure it won't correspond one hundred percent with any of the three I have mentioned. But maybe one of the answers sounds a bit like you? Assuming that you aren't like Patrick and consider the question alone to be strange. This is alternative four. There is no right or wrong interpretation of your past successes. But by recognizing what interpretation pattern is most likely for you, you will learn a little more about yourself. You are on track to discover your personal principles of success. From the outside, one might say that just about every career includes certain parts of the three patterns mentioned above: commitment and struggle as well as support from others and, ultimately, happiness. But objectivity does not matter here. What are the greatest achievements of your life so far? I invite you to focus your attention beyond the past 12 months and onto your entire life so far: What do you consider to be the most significant achievements of your life to date? I am referring to both professional successes, such as your first steady job or your first management position, and personal successes in the broadest sense, such as your first child's birth or running a marathon. Career milestones often seem more tangible to us than private successes at first glance – after all, we are used to listing our professional development in a resume. However, in this case it doesn't matter what you would include in your resume. But rather how important success was and still is for you personally. One of my greatest professional successes, for example, is the first seminar I held entirely in English more than 20 years ago. This is hardly a valid point for a resume, but for me personally, it was a milestone. Personal successes are just as important here as professional ones! My personal list includes...
