In business, everyone has a price tag over their head, the question is, what's yours? Your economic value represents what someone is prepared to pay for each hour you work. In this video, we walk you through the 10 characteristics of a value-driven professional... each one of these is within your control and by working on them, you can increase your economic value.
Video Transcript:
If you have these characteristics and know how to do these things, you are unstoppable. If you don't, it might be time to reflect and invest some time in yourself. Okay, let's get started. Number 1 - You must see yourself as an economic product on the open market. Many people resist seeing themselves as an economic product because they have a fear of failure. If that sounds like you and you'd like to change that, consider what your skills are worth to the outside world. What's your value? There's a number above your head, what is it? Be clear on that value and don't sell yourself short. Number 2 - You must see yourself as a hero and not a victim. This speaks for itself, a victim mentality will get you nowhere fast. You are in control of your destiny, you are where you are as a result of the choices you make every single day. Make smart choices more often than you make dumb ones and whatever happens, own it. Number 3 - You must know how to de-escalate drama. Drama costs money. Drama costs time. If you see yourself as an economic product, those who create drama will likely frustrate you. But drama is inevitable at some point, so you need to have a plan to de-escalate rather than contributing to the drama. Number 4 - You should accept feedback as a gift. Feedback can often feel uncomfortable and your instinctive response might be to feel offended or defend yourself. But a value driven professional looks at feedback through a different lens. They see feedback as a gift that allows them to get better and deliver more value. Number 5 - You should know the right way to engage conflict. Number 5 - You should know the right way to engage conflict. Conflict exists, you can't avoid it. The problem is many people try to avoid it, which leaves the issues to fester and results in those involved feeling marginalised and unheard. Ultimately, this results in disengagement and productivity issues. The key is to make people feel valued and guide them through it. Number 6 - You should long to be trusted and respected, more than liked in business. If you lead or are part of a team, focusing on wanting to be liked is selfish. Let me give you an example. If you have an underperforming team and you tell them they're doing great, they might like you but they won't respect you. They will respect you for telling them the truth, they will trust you because you don't shy away from tough conversations. Number 7 - You should have a strong bias towards action. The opposite of a bias towards action is characterised by endless discussions in meetings and a lack of willingness to take risks. Regardless of your industry, or the size of your organisation, or location, a common denominator of success, is a bias towards action. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Take a deep breath and keep moving forwards. Number 8 - You must not choose to be confused. Number 8 - You must not choose to be confused. Are you choosing to put off tough decisions that you know deep down are the right ones, the right choices? Do you avoid doing hard things that you might fail at, for example? Choosing to be confused is characterised by this type of procrastination. A value driven professional however, does not choose to be confused. Ask yourself, what's the best move here? If I weren't confused, what would I do? Number 9 - You must be relentlessly optimistic. Optimistic people tend to try. Pessimistic people, on the other hand, tend to quit. Be optimistic, move on from disappointment, and your percentage chance of succeeding goes up. Number 10 - and the most important of all. You must have a growth mindset. Fixed mindset people have more anxiety, make less money, and have more problematic relationships. If you don't have a growth mindset, you are likely sat there thinking you've already arrived, there's nothing new for you to learn. Value driven professionals have a growth mindset. Instead of saying I'm not good at sales, for example, they would say - I could be good at sales. They believe that as a human being, they can get better. If they are not good at something, they can figure it out. Those are the 10 characteristics of a value driven professional. Imagine what your business could achieve if all of your employees were nailing all 10 of these characteristics. Now that's a business that's going to put a dent in the universe. If you'd like to measure how well you or your team stack up to these 10 characteristics, go to: OneZebra.com/ValueDriven go to: OneZebra.com/ValueDriven and take our free diagnostic. It only takes 5 minutes and it will give you instant results and a plan to become a value driven professional that every business needs. You can also hit the link below to access the diagnostic. Have an awesome day people.