3 Ways to Have More Wins in Your Career

3 Ways to Have More Wins in Your Career “Are you winning today?” A former colleague liked to ask this question every time he saw me. He probably just meant it like, How are you doing? but it really threw me off because I had always thought of winning as a zero-sum game. It was like a competition and I didn't really like keeping score. So, this question was unpleasant for me and I never knew how to answer. Fast forward to now, I've come to see that win is just another beautiful three letter word like “joy”. What's changed is I’ve adopted an abundance mindset. When you've got that abundance mindset you can see winning as a real positive. In fact, we can all win. It's not a case of one person wins therefore another person has to lose. When there's abundance, we can all win. And in fact, our life, work and careers are even better when we help each other win. There's no limit to how many wins any one of us can have. When there's abundance, we can all win. Our life, work and careers are even better when we help each other win. There’s also no size or scale requirement for what constitutes an important win. Big wins are terrific and can be used as an energizing way of predetermining your goals for the year. But just as big wins are important, there are also three other kinds of wins that are equally important. 1. Small Wins Small wins are the kind of wins that can lead to bigger impact and broader implications later on. For example, a small win could be that a new client you've been calling and calling and calling, finally calls you back. That's a win and an indication that your relationship with them is going places. Or it could be that you get a compliment from a director. Or it could be that you win over a colleague who’s been difficult in the past. It’s important to celebrate these small wins and to appreciate the fact that they're small now, but they're going to pay bigger dividends later. Celebrate the small wins. While they're small now, they can pay bigger dividends later. 2. Easy Wins Think of easy wins as the low hanging fruit. An easy win could be something super simple like saying “hello” and smiling at everybody that you meet during the day. It's a positive habit that tends to improve relationships and results while making you feel happier too. Or it could be getting in the habit of sending very short two-line emails to your manager to update them so they'll always know what you're doing. That way, they'll have some material to brag about you or brag about the team. Who knows? This could even turn into one of those small wins that has a really big impact later. 3. Early Wins Early wins are really helpful because they help you build momentum and confidence. Especially as you're gearing up toward those big wins for the year, getting those early wins helps win over sceptics and gives your supporters positive things to say on your behalf. Look out for and use those early wins to build confidence for yourself and for your team. Key Takeaways What to do with your wins: Celebrate the small wins Act on the easy wins Be on the lookout for the early wins so you can bank some of them quickly Celebrate the small wins. Act on the easy wins. And be on the lookout for the early wins so you can bank some of them quickly. Set yourself up to win! If you want to have more small wins, easy wins, and early wins on your way to those big wins then join me for the Career Masteryâ„¢ Kickstart 2019 Summit. Over ten days, 50 experts are going to share their very best tips and actionable advice so that you can start getting results and wins for yourself. Here are a few wins that people have had as a result of the Summit: After implementing two Tips, I was asked to take on more leadership with more pay.â€" Phil O. I was able to implement the Tips that day, and once I began applying them, I was able to take charge on two major projects. I feel like more of a leader and more confident in leading other people.â€" Alicia S. There’s every reason this could be you too. In fact, why not you? Join me and 49 other career experts for Career Masteryâ„¢ Kickstart where we’ll share all kinds of useful Tips, tools and strategies to advance your career, including how to have more of those small, easy, and early wins. Join Career Masteryâ„¢ Kickstart 2019 â€" registration is free! In the meantime, are you winning today? Remember, win = joy! What small win will you celebrate today? Leave me a comment and let me know.