Jun 10 Getting Real About Career Success
A few years back I was asked by a large corporation to coach one of their up-and-coming executives so she would be ready to step into a bigger leadership role. At first she was very excited about the opportunity. We mapped out a strategy for defining her brand and aligning it with her company’s brand objectives, and I gave her a step-by-step blueprint to achieving higher-level career goals.
Unfortunately, after just a few weeks of coaching sessions, she became impatient and anxious to skim over the difficult work and in-depth assignments I gave her. The process was not as glamorous as she had imagined, and it began to dawn on her that my role as a coach was to guide, train, and support her – not wave a magic wand and bestow instant success.
I had asked her step out of her comfort zone and reinvent herself, and that’s when she started creating excuses for not implementing my recommendations. I saw the writing on the wall and sure enough, she soon just gave up and stopped coming.
I saw so much possibility in this that it broke my heart, knowing she missed out on a wonderful opportunity to experience career-changing growth and the remarkable splendor of the truth and reality of measurable success.
Experiences like that taught me these truths about success:
1) Successful people tune out the self-limiting voices in their heads that tell them they cannot overcome great challenges.
2) Success doesn’t rely on big accolades or applause. The feeling of confidence you get from it is more than enough inspiration.
3) The superficiality of “instant success” turns people off. But true success resonates with others on a deep charismatic level that attracts even more success.
4) Because they have already done the hard work in practice, successful people make it look easy to others and that’s genuine executive presence.
Success starts with intentionally directing the mind-movie that plays in your head scene-by-scene. Positive mindset management is not always easy, especially in the beginning. But the multiplier effect is unlimited and will change your career and your life in ways you cannot even imagine.
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Do you want to use this blog article? You may, as long as you include this complete bio with it: Sarah Hathorn is a leadership development mentor, executive presence coach, image and branding consultant, public speaker & author. She is the founding CEO of her own successful company, Illustra Consulting, and the creator of the proprietary Predictable Promotion™ System. 1-800-267-3245 | www.illustraconsulting.com Copyright © 2014, Sarah Hathorn, AICI CIP, CPBS
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Sarah Hathorn, CEO of Hathorn Consulting Group, is the go-to-expert in working with leaders and companies to create successful corporate DNA. As an executive coach, consultant and speaker she collaborates globally with clients and brands such as Deloitte, McKesson, Kimberly-Clark, Sherwin-Williams, Home Depot and other leading organizations.
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