The Success Factor

Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance

Ruth Gotian

• Publisher: Kogan Page
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781398602304
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Crescita personale
• Subtopic: Successo personale

WINNER: Book Excellence Awards 2024 - Leadership
WINNER: Independent Press Award 2022 - Business Motivational
FINALIST: Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2023 - Career
WINNER: International Book Awards 2023 - Business: Motivational What do astronauts, Olympic champions, and Nobel laureates do differently that allows them to achieve at such a high level? High achievers share the same four attributes: intrinsic motivation, perseverance, strong foundation, constantly learning through informal means. The key to their success is that they do all four of these things at the same time. Based on research and in-person interviews with astronauts, Nobel Prize winners, and Olympic champions, The Success Factor outlines the approach that individuals aspiring to improve their performance can adopt.Using these four shared attributes as a guide, The Success Factor helps you reach your peak by applying the lessons of high achievers in your own life: identify your passion using a Passion Audit; learn how and where to find a mentor and how to build a mentoring team; develop your own community of practice; pursue your interests through informal learning; manage your time and energy. The Success Factor comes with online resources that feature a downloadable Passion Audit worksheet, Mentoring Team worksheet, and Goal Audit worksheet. The book offers scripts for approaching potential mentors and a list of uncommon places to find a mentor, such as webinars, airports, and social media. The Success Factor features exclusive interviews with high achievers, including such people as Dr. Tony Fauci NIH/NIAID Institute Director; Dr Mike Brown, Nobel prize winner; Dr Peggy Whitson, Former NASA Chief Astronaut; Maxine Clark, founder and former CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop; and Steve Kerr, eight time NBA Champion and head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

Part One

High achievers and success

01

What defines a high achiever?

Growing up, I never thought of myself as a high achiever. High achiever was a term applied to other people—Olympic athletes, astronauts, award-winning writers, global figures among others at the top of their field. In my mind, they had traits and characteristics that were distinct. Because they were extraordinary, they had different training and advanced pedigrees that allowed them to be perceived as all-knowing. As a result, they could achieve accolades that were utterly unattainable to the average person. In short, I was mesmerized by high achievers, but I was also very wrong.

As I grew older, I realized that high achievers are no different than the rest of us in that they have challenges, opportunities, fears and stressors, and they work hard, really hard, to overcome them. But what they do have that is different—and what can be learned—is their mindset (their motivation) and their approach (the how). High achievers have found something they are really good at and have invested their energy into studying, perfecting and refining it to the best of their ability. They are intrinsically motivated and passionate about pursuing this dream, driven by their own desire and curiosity, not an external judgment such as a diploma, promotion, or award.

They have three approaches to their success that are done in unison and build on their intrinsic motivation. High achievers have: 1) a strong work ethic, 2) a solid foundation that is constantly being reinforced, and 3) commitment to lifelong learning through informal means. The high achievers’ unyielding work ethic and perseverance drive them to work smarter and harder than everyone around them. Despite all of their achievements and accolades, they still practice and reinforce the basic techniques that have led to their success. It worked for them at the beginning of their career, and they still practice the same process and procedures decades later as they know that it is a necessary and pivotal part of their foundation and success. Finally, while being considered the experts in their fields, the best of the best, high achievers realize there is always someone who knows more than them, and there is always something new to learn. High achievers are committed to lifelong learning, usually outside of the formal classroom.

Getting an ‘A’ in any academic class is difficult but not impossible. The same idea holds true in the workplace. If you put in the time, ask questions when you are unsure about something, you can do ‘A’ level work. You can achieve a grade of 90–95 percent. As Tom W. Jones, former Chairman and CEO of Citigroup’s Global Investment Management, told me “Go for 100 percent, that is 5 percent more than everyone else. Compounded, that will make you stand out over time. Give 100 percent effort in the workplace, and people will notice your effort and achievements.” That is how you become a high achiever. Most people who do well do not go for that extra 5 percent effort, which separates high achievers from the rest of the pack. That leaves the space on the top of the pyramid of success open and available to you if you are willing to put in the work.

What motivates high achievers?

Why strive to be a high achiever? I think a better question to ask yourself is why not? The high achievers I have studied strive for a life of significance where their work inspires others. Hopefully, the accolades of promotions, high salaries, and recognition will follow, but with all the exemplars, that is not why they went down this road. It was not for the Nobel or Olympic medal; it was because they found purpose in what they did, which led them to love the journey. They could not picture themselves doing anything else. Their motto—“Make your mark to leave this world better than you found it.”

For most of my adult life, I surrounded myself with high achievers. I observed everything they did, how they converged upon new experiences, who they collaborated with, what calculated risks they took, and how they handled inevitable challenges. After studying high achievers for so long, I realized that most people who find purpose in what they do want to achieve more and be successful in their efforts. My mentor, Dr. Bert Shapiro, told me, “Do something important, not just interesting.” In other words, if I was going to make an impact, I had to focus on something meaningful to many people, not just fascinating to me. Interestingly, Dr. Tony Fauci, who led the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic, told me the same thing when he shared how he decided which projects to pursue. Nobody starts their career aiming for a Nobel prize or Olympic gold medal or for the opportunity to fly to space. They know it exists, but those who make it do not usually have that as their initial goal. High achievers aim to make a difference, push boundaries, look into the unknown, and make positive changes.

But the path to being successful in something you care about can be daunting. This may be because the “how” of high achievers seems obscure and not apparent to most people.

Getting to the “how” of high achievement

To accomplish more, you need to overcome the “hidden curriculum” of unwritten rules and traditions that you are supposed to know, but nobody tells you (Sostrin, 2013). People will often rise to expectations, but they need to know what they are first. That is why I wrote this book, to reveal the “rules” or practices that high achievers abide by so that you can understand and apply these practices to your own career and achieve more.

Blending adult learning and management theory with the insights gleaned from over sixty interviews with extreme high achievers from multiple industries, I outline the success factors—the self-management traits that you can develop in order to become a high achiever in your chosen discipline. If you are reading this book, I have to believe that you want to succeed and are willing to put in the work. You just need clarity on what to do.

You will hear directly from Nobel laureates, astronauts, Olympic and NBA champions, Tony Award winners, senior military and government officials about what it took to achieve their success. As you hear what they say about their own experiences, consider their achievements as the tip of the iceberg and understand for yourself the motivation and approach they took to get there. Like an iceberg, their achievements are what lies above the waterline. What I uncover is everything you could not see but need to know if you are going to find your own success.

Obstacles for high achievers

Nearly every organization conducts annual performance evaluations of their employees. But what are they measuring (Wilson, 2012)? Human Resources and Compensation departments in organizations base their performance evaluations and rewards programs—and spend an inordinate amount of energy—on establishing baselines and getting people to average levels. In many companies, yearly objectives and goals are set, merit increases are awarded to those who achieve them based on an average score, and corrective action plans are developed for those below the baseline (Bloxham and Boyd, 2007; Kasworm et al, 2010). On grants, we report average scores, ages, and time to completion of goals. The baseline should not be a goal, but somehow that is what it has become. This level of mediocrity becomes frustrating to high achievers who never want to settle for being average. If everyone’s goal is to aim for average, and you come in showing your potential as a high achiever, you will stand out.

Countless conference sessions, energy, and untold dollars are spent on the “leaky pipeline,” referring to the predicament organizations face concerning the mass exodus of those who leave a specific career path. We seem to be so focused on holding on to people who do not want to be there. Instead, or in addition, we should spend more time on developing and retaining the high achievers, those whose work and productivity can more than compensate for those who leave the pipeline.

Nature versus nurture

Is success based on nature or nurture? The answer is that it is both. One thing is clear; you need to have a natural talent and passion for something. What you do with your untapped gift is up to you. You cannot force something that is not there, so being intrigued and proficient at something is a critical first step. Being lazy or wasting time will not make you successful, and it might be your first sign that this is not your true passion. If it were, you would not need pushing and prodding to get to work. It might take you a while to figure out where your natural talent lies, but that is where practice and exposure are paramount. With children, we often enroll them in countless after-school activities, buying uniforms for every athletic team they join. With time, they will shed most activities and gravitate toward others. As an adult, you need to do the same thing. Try many things out, and see what sticks.

You may start by finding an area that interests you, such as marketing, science, or entertainment. It should come naturally to you and be fun. You love everything about it, learn anything you can get your hands on, and think about it often. You read about it, talk to experts, watch YouTube videos, or listen to podcasts, to learn more. You do this because you want to, not because you have to. You are nurturing your natural talent. With incredibly arduous work, you can get to the A+ part of the pyramid of success. Reading this book will help you identify what you are passionate about versus simply really good at doing. There is a difference. You can be good at many things, but you will compromise your success if you do not enjoy doing them. We will talk more about this in Chapter 4 and there will also be a Passion Audit that you can complete to help you clarify what you enjoy doing. Once you do, you can identify goals and specific plans to achieve them. There are many talented people around, but few nurture their natural gifts with the focus and intention of becoming an elite high achiever.

Success is a moving target

Can you define success? While we often claim certain people are successful, putting words and labels to their success is not as easy as it may appear. I learned that the definition changes based on who you ask. Success is a moving target. Lots of research, interviews, and surveys that ultimately led to my doctoral dissertation made me realize that success is measured differently based on who you ask (Gotian, 2017). Years later, that tenet still holds true. To add to the conundrum, the definition of success also varies based on gender and rank in an organization (Gotian and Andersen, 2020). Ultimately, we recognize it when we see it. Success early in your career looks different than success later in your career. It is a moving target.

There is no one definition of success in many fields, thereby making it difficult to track, plan training, or predict success. If we cannot even come up with a commonly agreed-upon definition of success, how can we develop more people to reach these undisclosed markers? This is another segment of the hidden curriculum. Knowing that success is a moving target, exemplars approach things methodically, working to achieve one milestone at a time, every step carefully planned and executed. They are laser-focused on what is needed to reach the next objective, beat their latest time, get one more thing accomplished. It is not about doing everything; rather, it is about doing one thing exceptionally well.

I started my research with the population I knew best, namely academic physician-scientists. To consider success, I asked these academics to think forward and backward. Who do they consider successful? What would a person need to do to be co...