Success means a lot of different things to different people. For me, my own view on what success is has changed the older I have got. I used to think money and material things made someone successful (naïve, right?)
I strived to earn as much money as I could – when I was 19, I had two jobs for a short time, and was working very long days in the charity sector during the days and working in a pub two evenings as a barmaid. Fridays were a killer – I’d be up at 5am and not getting home until 1.30am. I don’t think I’d be able to physically put those kinds of hours in now, I can tell you that much! Back then though, it was always about ‘working hard pays off’, at least that’s what I was always told. Now this statement has a million different meanings. You can work hard and work smart. And the older we get; our views of success often alter.
The definition of success
Google defines success as “an accomplishment of an aim or purpose”. When you google “what is a successful person?”, Google shows you an array of images of business tycoons and celebrities. Of course, I can’t say these aren’t successful individuals, they absolutely are in their own right. But let’s take that end of the scale out of the equation for the remainder of this article. Let’s focus on where each of us are in our own world’s (I doubt Richard Branson is reading this anyway, so I am sure he won’t mind!)
For most of us, I would hazard a guess to say that success to most of us is to do well in our respective fields, get a real sense of satisfaction knowing we’re doing good, providing for our families, making positive contributions to our work and personal lives, and just overall doing life well and to the best of our abilities.
What does success mean to you? I asked some of my connections what success means to them and here are some of the responses.
“Success to me is achieving your goals while always remaining true to who you are.” - Kal Kay (CFO – The Trafford College Group)
“Professionally, success is knowing I have contributed to a positive outcome, and being able to look ahead to the next project and knowing that I can have a positive impact on its results and being entrusted to deliver on it. Personally, it's about knowing my family has everything they need, and that I can always better myself to provide that for them” – Gareth Smyth (Marketing Manager – KBS Corporate)
Success in business
When you have a workforce who’s view of success mirrors your businesses perception of success, then you have a solid foundation and a clear vision of how to smash your aligned goals.
One of the best questions I ask when I am interviewing a candidate is “What drives you; what does success look like to you?” Not to say that there is one right answer here, there isn’t – there may be multiple answers that are correct from a role specific perspective. Overall, the answer should give you a slither of insight into who they are, what they value, what they aspire to, and what standards they set for themselves, as well as what they ultimately want to achieve. You should get a sense of their level of determination, a taste of their personality and level of motivation through how passionate they sound. It’s a great question to assess and understand whether a person’s view of success is complimentary to your business.
Success in our personal lives
The lines are more blurred than ever between business and personal success. The definition and concept of ‘work’ has evolved so much that the traditional measures of success have expanded – things like work / life balance, fulfilment and personal well-being are now just as important as financial reward and this evolution provides a much more holistic view on a whole as to what success is to people. Prioritising our personal lives and success outside of work is more prevalent now than ever and more often than not, if we are happy in our personal lives it shows in our work lives too. We have more flexibility than ever before and those of us that manage this effectively and get the balance right results in us being fulfilled and in a really happy place. Whether it’s finally saving up enough money to buy our first home, go on that holiday or just overall security for our families, it’s a great feeling when we achieve goals.
What does success look like to me? Well, I’m definitely a victim of the blending effect mentioned above, and my views on success aren’t financially driven like they were many moons ago, I feel successful when I’m happy and my kids are happy. My motivations are my children, my family, my long-term goals and personal fulfilment knowing that I am doing something I love for a company that, I believe, is the best thing since sliced bread. Being part of a team that are incredibly passionate about their own parts in Innov8’s success spurs me to go that little bit further and always strive for better. Put simply, I’m succeeding where I am at right now both personally and professionally. What does success look like to you?