The following is based on a presentation made to the UBCO (University of British Columbia Okanagan) female business students affiliated with the Sauder School of Business on January 28, 2011. (Presenters: Meryle Corbett, CMA,FCMA CFO of Kelowna Flightcraft Group of Companies; and Paulette Rennie, President of ValleyFirst Credit Union)
What strategies will make YOU successful in business? A group of C-suite executives agreed that the key to a rising business career includes four main characteristics. They are described below in our series, "The 4-eyed employee" :
So what are we talking about? The first "eye" or "I" attribute is the underlying foundation for business success:
The second "eye" or "I" attribute is the secret to longevity in your career:
The third "eye" or "I" attribute is the driver of where and how far you go:
The fourth "eye" or "I" attribute is the attribute that will accelerate your accomplishments:
INTUITION
This is the magic ingredient that makes careers soar! Even though you can be intelligent, of the highest integrity and a great worker with lots of initiative, sometimes it's a combination of luck, timing and "street smarts" that will make your career take off.
a) Read body language and get to know your customer / boss / client
One great style assessment tool is the DISC model: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance. Are you task-oriented, needing a high level of control over your world? Are you a relationship-based consensus builder? Are you an analyzer preferring routine activity? are you most comfortable with rules and regulations and heavy structure? Do you have problems relating to peers because their style is different than yours? Do you have problems with team members or subordinates "clashing"?The DISC assessment tool enables individuals to view their leadership and business style in a comparative way to others, and offers solutions to help them leverage their own styles to work most effectively with others. Learning how to read your audience can enable higher levels of success.
b) Use your right-brain creative side as well as your left-brain logic.
The ability to look at an issue from all angles will give you an advantage to help you find innovative solutions. A great technique is to use the six thinking hats.
c) Listen to your inner voice.
In thirty years of business, my little voice has never been wrong. I have ignored it on occasion (to avoid a conflict, or because I was too busy to deal with a small detail) -- always with some measure of regret. Your instinct will develop over the years and "fine tune" your gut feel of situations - there is an intuitive capability that remains just under the surface of our everyday thinking, if we only work on utilizing it.
