You may remember a time when someone handed you some piece of career advice that you took a little too lightly. Looking back, you may have wished you followed it and avoided some of the business challenges you faced because you didn’t.
Having a business mentor early on in your career can help you retain and actually listen to some of this advice, so it sticks. According to MicroMentor, businesses that had mentors increased their revenue by 83%, while non-mentored organizations only achieved a 16% revenue growth.
Below, 10 members of Forbes Coaches Council discuss that one piece of business advice they wish they had followed early on in their career and now share with all of their clients. Here is what they shared:
1. Understand The People You Lead
Leadership is personal. To get the most from those you lead, you must understand the five dimensions that drive them, their inspirations and aspirations. These dimensions are profession, relationships, community, finance and wellness. A leader must understand these authentically to truly engage and maximize output. - Kevin Wright, Aeriis Insights Group, Inc.
2. Seek Mentorship
Find a mentor as early in your career as possible — someone who will encourage you to believe in yourself, to help you devise career goals and a pathway to success, and who will honestly tell you when you’re ready for the next big move (or when you’re not) and help you prepare for it. -Jan Molino, Aspire Ascend.
3. Connect Emotionally
To dig and learn about emotions, how we impact each other and the way we long for connection. Emotional connection is the single most powerful motivational force in our brain. When we are connected, we take risks, collaborate, innovate and address challenges together. Nothing grows people more like emotional connection. We are not just social animals, we are homo vinculum, we are the ones who bond. - Lola Gershfeld, Level Five Executive, Inc.
4. Show Customers Who You Are
The most important thing that any entrepreneur can do is raise their status in the eyes of customers and prospects. - Clint Arthur, Status Factory.
5. Nurture Your Relationships
I wish that earlier in my career, I had realized the importance of maintaining relationships. A simple no-brainer, right? However, life is in the habit of throwing curve balls your way and when other, more pressing issues bombard my already hectic day, I put off staying connected to tomorrow. Then I find that my tomorrow gets put off for yet another day, and days become months and months turns into years. - Arlene E.Donovan, Turning Point Coaching LLC.
6. Map Out And Believe In Your Vision
One piece of business advice I wish I had followed earlier in my career that I now share with all of my clients is to make sure you map out and truly believe in your vision before you share your vision. So often, due to the excitement of a new venture, we are pulled to share our vision in its infancy stage. This leaves us vulnerable to others who are either reshaping our vision or crushing it .- Lisa Guice, Lisa Guice Global-Vision, LLC
7. Never Settle, Never Stop Learning
Early in my career, I did quite well financially as a contingency recruiter. The money was good, but I stopped learning and developing. I became bored but stayed on because of loyalty to the company. I unsuccessfully suggested changes to enriching the business focus. So, always heed the signs of your discontent. Define your own development plan and put it to play.- Randy Block, www.randyblock.com
8. Remember One Size Fits None
When managing people, there’s no such thing as one size fits all. It was a hard lesson to learn, but once I did, my management career changed. - Jan Makela, Strengthbasedleaderhip.
9. Make Decisions And Own Them
You have what it takes. It is largely a waste of time to wonder about how people perceive you, whether you will fail or what your next step should be. Best advice: Decide. Decide how this thing will work for you, tune into yourself and take action. You can do it. You must do it. The world needs you. - Amanda Frances, Amanda Frances Inc.
10. Be Mindful Of Your Peers
Relationships are the ultimate currency in most firms. Do exceptional work and be buttoned up but don't be so task focused that you forget the relationship(s). Also, pay attention to how you make others (particularly peers and juniors) feel. Empathy is not only the right way to interact but is also very important in getting the outcomes you want. - Shoma Chatterjee, ghSMART
