The other day I read an article called “Enthusiasm, An Employer’s View.” It made some great career success points. You can see it here.
This article reminded me of the advice in Tweet 100 in Success Tweets…
“Care about what you do. If you care a little, you’ll be an OK performer. If you care a lot, you’ll become an outstanding performer.”
Many years ago I was assigned a joint project with a deadbeat for a partner. This guy was bad. He was a triple threat – not so bright, a big ego and lazy. As the project wore on and we were nearing a deadline, I thought about going to my boss and complaining that he wasn’t carrying his weight. I decided not to do so.
Instead, I chose to be enthusiastic about the project. I got it done well and on time and submitted it – with his name and mine on the finished product. I was feeling kind of resentful, because I was worried that even though I did all the work, he was getting half of the credit.
A couple weeks later, our boss called me into his office. He said that he wanted to compliment me on the fine job I did on the project. I bit my tongue and said, “Gil and I worked on that project together.” My boss said, “I know Gil’s work, and I know your work. I could tell that you did all of the work on that project.”
I said, “Thanks for noticing.” He said, “I assigned you that joint project as a bit of a test. I wanted to see how well you could work with others. I figured you would get frustrated with Gil because I knew he wasn’t up to doing quality work on this kind of project. I wanted to see what you would do. You were enthusiastic about the project. You did the work, and didn’t rat out Gil. I’m proud of you for that.”
We can debate his leadership style here. I don’t think it’s a good idea to treat the people who work for you as lab rats. But this story makes an interesting point about the career advice in the article about enthusiasm that I linked to at the beginning of this post.
Just like the store owner in the article, people in positions of authority can identify enthusiasm and good work when they see it. They also know the quality of the work of the people who report to them. If you’re enthusiastic about what you do, you’ll consistently produce high-quality work and results you will get your due.
Take it from this career success coach. Be enthusiastic. Focus on getting the job done – well and on time—and you will get the recognition due you in the long run. And creating life and career success is a long run – a marathon, not a sprint. As the old saying goes, “The cream rises to the top.”
Your Career Mentor,
Bud
PS: I write this blog to help people create the life and career success they want and deserve. Now I’m going one step further. I’ve created a membership site in which I’ve pulled together my best thoughts on success. And, as a reader of this blog, you can become a member for free. Just go to https://budbilanich.com/join to claim your free membership. You’ll be joining a vibrant and growing community of success minded professionals. I hope to see you there.
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