Everyone wants a fulfilling career. However, promotions and pay bumps don’t happen without cause. To increase your professional opportunities, you should strive to become the best employee possible. Keep reading to learn the top skills you need to be an all-star at the office.
1. Build Strong Workplace Relationships
Building strong relationships with the people you work with is key if you want to become better at your job. The best ideas aren’t created in a vacuum, and you can’t solve all your problems alone. Forming strong workplace relationships will ensure you have teammates to collaborate with when you encounter your next challenge.
One way to help cultivate these relationships is by showing your co-workers appreciation. Your colleagues often have your back through many workplace situations. Taking the time to thank a co-worker shows your appreciation and increases the likelihood of collaborating in the future.
2. Have a Growth Mindset
Do you believe that you only possess a set number of skills and can’t grow as a person? If so, you’re struggling with a fixed mindset. This way of thinking will keep you stagnant at work while your co-workers move upward. To truly grow with your company, you need to adopt a growth-oriented perspective.
People who have a growth mindset believe that they can learn new things and grow as a person. This makes them more likely to tackle new projects and develop innovative ideas. Your ability to handle challenges is a determining factor in whether or not you get promoted. Developing a growth mindset can help you face new challenges with confidence instead of handing them off to a co-worker.
3. Get Organized
From team meetings to client calls, you’ve got a lot to juggle at work. With so many different tasks grasping for your attention, it’s easy to miss important deadlines if you’re not careful. To prevent yourself from falling behind, spend some time getting organized.
Organization doesn’t have to be stressful. Simply take five minutes in the morning to write out everything you need to achieve that day. If the list seems overwhelming, begin prioritizing tasks from most to least important.
If you consistently can’t tackle everything on your to-do list, you may need to begin saying no to certain projects. While this sounds counterintuitive, it’s better to get one project done on time than finish two late.
4. Take Accountability
Eventually, everyone messes up at work. How you handle these mistakes differentiates a good employee from a great one. Taking accountability for your mishaps shows you care about the quality of your work and you’re committed to making improvements.
While owning up to your mistakes is important, simply acknowledging that you messed up isn’t enough. Your employer wants to know how you’ll prevent the same mistake from happening in the future. So take some time to reflect on the situation before discussing it with your boss. Identify why the mistake happened and create a plan of action to prevent it from happening again.
5. Set Milestones
Setting ambitious performance goals is exciting. However, reaching these goals can feel nearly impossible without a plan. To set a clear path and keep yourself motivated, create milestones on your way to reaching your work goals.
Milestones signify specific points along your journey to achieving larger goals. These points mark when certain activities must be completed or when certain performance metrics should be met. Milestones also help break big goals into smaller goals, keeping you motivated. Additionally, when your boss asks how you’ve progressed toward your goal, you’ll have clear benchmarks to point to.
6. Ask for Feedback
It’s hard to know what you’re doing well, and where you should improve, without asking for feedback. While the idea of constructive criticism may not excite you, it’s important if you want to become a better employee. In fact, 75% of workers who receive feedback find it helpful.
Before asking your boss for feedback on your performance, you should keep a few things in mind. First, be prepared to listen without interrupting, whether you agree with what your manager is saying or not.
After your boss has provided feedback, ask questions to help you better understand any criticism you may have received. Finally, brainstorm ways you can implement this feedback into your work to improve your performance.
7. Use Your PTO
Hustle culture may have you feeling like you can’t take time off work. However, using your PTO for some much-needed relaxation actually makes you a better employee. Research has found that mandatory PTO policies increase employee productivity by over 44%. So go ahead and book that vacation to the Bahamas you’ve wanted to take.
To get the most relaxation out of your PTO, stay off Slack and avoid checking emails. While you may be tempted to see how everything is going while you’re away, this will likely increase your anxiety. Instead, set an out-of-office email, letting co-workers know that you’ll respond to their message once you’re back.
If you’re interested in advancing your career, you need to focus on becoming a great employee. By doing so, you’ll increase your job satisfaction and put yourself next in line for a promotion.
