Do You Want to Become A High Performer?

Whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee, you must perform to your optimum to succeed. This means that now and then, and periodically, you have to pause and do an introspection to check if you are a high performer or a mediocre performer. If the introspection reveals there is a scope for improvement in your performance, you have to swing into action. Otherwise, the aroma of success is likely to evade you. Further, you will be a guilt-ridden individual since you have not been performing to your optimum potential. So, what are the steps you should take to achieve the aim of becoming a high performer? Let us deep dive into this.

1. Be healthy.

Good health is the #1 prerequisite for delivering high performance consistently. You will be a naive duffer if you ignore your health. If you do not eat healthy foods and if you are not physically fit, you will always underperform. Further, your mind will get distracted by the health problems you suffer from.  So, always make it a point to eat healthy diets and exercise regularly so your energy levels are high enough to help you perform well.

2. Put in place systems and routines.

You cannot carry out your entrepreneurial or career-related tasks in a haphazard manner. If you are in the habit of not following any structures, the chances of accumulating clutter in your workplace will become high. This again will bring down your efficiency and your aim of performing optimally will be a remote dream. On the contrary, if you have systems, routines, and discipline in your approach, you can easily perform to your optimum level. But which are the systems and routines you should put in place? For this, your observation and study of those who have already tasted success in their endeavors should be as focused and shrewd as possible so that you can identify and use the right customizable systems, tools, and routines best suited for you. 

3. Always have a positive mindset.

Volumes have been written about the power of a positive mindset. You should develop this mindset not only in your workplace but in every sphere of your life. Some people seem to nurture perpetual grievances in their lives. Only negative things will be visible to them, thanks to their selective blindness. These folks cannot succeed in their endeavors. Negativity is a sure-loser attribute. You may have a grotesque argument that there are a few negative-minded people who have succeeded in their lives. The answer is that if they had developed a positive mindset, they might have accomplished bigger Himalayan feats. So, train your mind to have a positive outlook always. Once you succeed in developing such a positive attitude, you will see remarkable progress in your journey.

So, if you want to become a high performer, you should focus on these three steps. These steps will illuminate your path to success in your career or entrepreneurial journey.

Road to Your Career Success

Many people find themselves at career crossroads and there may be a number of reasons for this. They may not be getting as much income as they used to get, they may not like the repetitive work they are doing and so on. So, they have reached a point in their career where they need to make changes. 

If you are one among this group, you should recall what you planned to become when you were young. Of course, things might not have happened as you wished but you should not have regrets because you may have learned many things in your career path. But since you need to make a change, you can use the following tips so you can be on the right road that may take you to success.

1. It was Jack Sparrow who said that whatever plans you had made about your career were sheer guidelines and were not rules. This means you need not bind yourself to a single path in your life. You can change it any time. If you had all along been a technical person, you can now plan to write fictions. Similarly, if you have been a teacher till now, you can now become an artist. Never forget that Winston Churchill, the shrewd politician, got his Nobel Prize for Literature.

2. Experts advise that mentors can be invaluable in putting you in the right career path. This suggestion holds good regardless of the age at which you decide to change your career. Mentors can help you with new ideas. They will help you look at things with a new perspective so you may decide to develop a few new skills. They may help you in overcoming your weaknesses and developing your strengths.

Mentors can be of great value even if you are doing your business. They can help you in the growth of your business by improving your leadership qualities. You can use such mentors for coaching your managers and improving the morale of your staff so they will love to work in your company.

3. When you change your career, you must first learn to like what you intend to do. You are not asked to LOVE your job but you should at least LIKE your job. Not everyone may get a job that they love. Even those who get the job they love may not like the environment in which they have to work and this may ultimately result in loss of interest in the job.

Be a realist because you will be spending long hours in your workplace. You can not spend such long hours by doing a thing you do not like. Of course, you may have bad days but that does not mean you should not make efforts for liking your job.

Here is a simple formula and this has been suggested by Dale Carnegie in his book, "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living." If you use this formula, you can make even a dull and boring job interesting. The formula goes like this: If you do the work and imagine that you like it, you will then start liking it at least to a certain extent. This "act-as-if" principle will tend to convert your imaginary liking into reality very soon. You can delve deep and find out the ways to make your work interesting also.

4. Take action for seeing the change. Change your attitude and approach because this is the first step to succeed. In her famous book entitled "Eat Pray Love", Elizabeth Gilbert elaborates this with a short Italian joke. "A poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, 'Dear saint - please, please, please... give me the grace to win the lottery." This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, "My son - please, please, please... buy a ticket."

So, take the required steps for making the change you want. Sometimes, you may need to put in extra efforts but you should not hesitate. This means if you want a change, you should change yourself.

Questions You Should Not Ask During An Informational Interview And Those You Should Ask

As a job-searching individual, you may be eyeing a particular company and if you are lucky to get acquainted with an important official in the HR department of the company, you may request for an informational interview with her. You should be very careful during this interview because if you handle this in the right manner, this may be a major breakthrough that may fulfill your desire of working for the company. This means you should ask the right questions and refrain from asking the wrong ones. Let us have a look.

According to Tara Goodfellow, a former instructor of career development, she, on more than one occasion, had to force herself from giving advice that was not solicited or sought. This leads us further into the way such informational interviews should be handled, what questions should be asked and what should be shunned.

Questions not to ask

1. May I know the career path you traveled?

According to experts, no question can be worse than this. In fact, you can find everything online and so, you are wasting not only your time but that of the official as well. 

You should instead ask nuanced questions and let the official know that you have done adequate research about the company. This will in turn convey that you are professional in your approach and are also interested in the company. 

You can also try wording the question differently to show that you are seeking advice for growing in the company. Such questions may inspire the official to help you with her suggestions. In general, people like helping and so, you must go to such informational interviews after doing a good research. A carefully and well-done research may help you converse much beyond the normal or the surface level.

2. What is the controversy or the scoop surrounding the company?

If you ask such probing questions as if you are an investigative journalist, you will be putting an abrupt end to the conversation instead of building a rapport with the official. It sets an awkward dynamic, say experts.

Instead, embrace an open-ended approach by asking questions like the challenges the company may be encountering in their field. Such open-ended questions will give a lot of scope for the other person to interpret them in their own way. When the official starts talking about such challenges, you may certainly have an opportunity to let her know that some of your skills will be useful for the company in overcoming those challenges. In short, the focus will be more on bringing to the table what you can offer to them.

3. How much remuneration do you get?

There is nothing wrong in being curious but you must not ask such blunt and point-blank questions. They are not only inappropriate but may be off-putting as well. In fact, the other person may think that you are invading her privacy. You can word the question differently and ask a general question that can get you the details of the going rates in their industry. You can also ask the general salary range of the company and impress upon the person that this detail may be useful as a benchmark for applying for such jobs.

4. Can we be Facebook friends?

If you are able to develop a fast rapport, nothing like that. But it doesn't in any way justify asking if you and the other person can be Facebook friends. The official may have developed a liking for you but she may not be ready to connect with you on a personal level. Further, she might have been a part of many such informational interviews and she cannot be a Facebook friend for everyone.

Of course, you can express your interest for staying in touch with the person by showing a genuine interest in her. Questions like how she became attracted to the company when she was searching for a job may inspire her to share her story more naturally. Never forget to send a "thank you" note within two days after the informational interview is over.

Questions you should ask

1. What is the culture of the company and which personality type may suit that culture?

Every office has its own culture and not everyone may be able to adapt to the culture of every company. Only if your personality suits the company culture, you can be successful there. So, don't stop with asking this question. Listen attentively and try to understand what the official says. This question may also help in creating a positive impression that you are exploring the ways to succeed in the ambiance of the company and also demonstrating your macro-level perspective about the factors or variables that may impact your growth and success in the company.

2. How is a typical day in the company?

Such informational interviews are informal and hence, the official may be freely expressing her honest thoughts. She may even tell the things that are not going well.

Since she will be freely sharing her thoughts, you will be able to envision yourself in the role you intend to play within the limitations of the ups and downs of a typical day in the company. This may help you in determining if if you can play on your strong points if you join the roll of the company.

3. Should I reach out to someone else?

If your desire to join the company has grown stronger after the informational interview, you should ask the official if you should reach out to someone else. By asking this question, you are accelerating the momentum of the process. The official may suggest some known people in the same company. If there are no vacant positions in the company, she may even suggest the names of people of some other company in the same field.

4. Will I be of any help to you?

This question will end the interview on a pleasant note because it will show to the official that you are willing to give back. You should be sincere while asking this question. This may blossom into a relationship that may be mutually beneficial. If you do not ask this question, you may not be able to send another contact to the official in the event of you determining that you are not the right fit for the position.