Professional Success. A survey conducted by Neumann International

Professional success is different to different people. For some people, professional success means climbing up the hierarchical ladder, earning a lot of money and having a fancy company car. For others, professional success means loving your job, being able to implement ideas and having a good balance between work and private life. Goals and priorities are very different, and for many people these change over the course of their life.

Despite the many different opinions, there is however a certain common understanding of what sets professionally successful people apart from the rest.

Who is considered professionally successful?

According to those surveyed, there are 3 main distinctions a professionally successful person has: 68% said a professionally successful person has interesting tasks and responsibilities,  67% said s/he must have special skills and know-how, and 64% believe it is the ability to master difficult situations.

Earning lots of money is desirable for many, but there are enough people who are considered professionally successful and yet were never rich, such as persons working in the social field, top sportsmen in the past or politicians.

According to the majority of those surveyed, it is not necessary to work for a renowned company or be renowned themselves, in order to have professional success.

Who embodies professional success?

According to those surveyed, 86% say their greatest desire in their professional life is to like their workplace, 85% say it is to have fun on the job, and 83% say it is the ability to make decisions.  If a person meets these criteria in his or her job, then s/he is considered professionally successful by others.

Professionally successful people actively pursue their wellbeing at work and with this objective in mind can master any difficult situation on their way.

What do professionally successful people do differently?

The crucial question is “How do I best achieve my professional goals?” In other words: what do professionally successful people do differently than all the rest?

Professional success is the result of many factors that work together and complement one another. Everyone banks on their individual strengths and various qualities that are needed to achieve their professional goals. Here are some examples from the study: People who earn high salaries see their success compared to others as a result of their self-confident demeanour, their careful choice of work attire and their negotiation skills. On the other hand, those whose goal it is to implement their convictions in their professional life rely above all on their communication skills, their ability to set goals and their persuasive skills.

There are some points that distinguish professionally successful people generally from others. Professionally successful people

> receive support from their employees,

> are ready to take on responsibility and

> are self-motivated.

If people want to increase the probability of boosting their professional success, then they should:

> Look for competent persons among their staff (or externally) who can support them in their activities and tasks. The study clearly showed that the greater the support from one’s employees, the greater is one’s personal success.

> Take on responsibility wherever they see interesting tasks for themselves that they can master with their skills.

> According to the latest studies in brain research, motivation originates mainly through positive, successful relationships with other people.  People should get their relationships in every environment to succeed, and remove everything and everyone from their life that influences their motivation negatively.

The Epitome of Professional Success

Opinions on who is professionally successful differ greatly. According to those surveyed, the people who embody professional success include: founders and entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates (Microsoft), managers of large firms such as Jack Welch (General Electric), politicians such as Bill Clinton, Hollywood stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, athletes like Roger Federer, musicians such as Anna Netrebko or Madonna, charitable persons such as Mother Theresa, scientists like Marie Curie, as well as local business personalities, famous journalists, one’s own boss, partner, brothers, sisters or even primary school teachers.

This tells us that no matter what field one may be in, one can be successful. All of these persons could look back on a certain time period of professional success in their lives. Professional success is not a dayfly, a win in the lottery or a stroke of genius. The key to success is to challenge ourselves with tasks requiring a high degree of skill and commitment.

Please click here to read the complete article on the survey.