And the Winner is…Being the Best in Your Current Role

Success in your current role is the preparation (and audition) for your future role(s).

Let that sink in for a moment.

As we enter the Oscar season, I am always amazed at how the Academy recognizes people for/in their current role(s): Best Actor or Actress, Director, Supporting Actor or Actress, Picture, Cinematography, etc. It just supports my premise about:

Being the best in your current role.

Too often, I hear people speaking about what they would do if they were ‘The CEO, President, Vice President of Sales, Director of Operations, etc.’ My question to them is always a simple one:

“So, what are you doing NOW in your current role?”

After I receive a confused look, I ask another question:

“Are you doing your best in your current position?”

After another dubious pause, I bring the point home by asking:

“So, who do you think is saying, ‘I wish I were in YOUR NAME position, because I would be doing…?'”

What does being the best in your current role mean?

Professional Attributes

1. Be Technically and Organizationally Competent. Know your job inside and out, at your level within the organization. Are you technically competent in your current position? How well do you know your organization and the role you play in it?

2. Use Your Current Role as Preparation. If you are content in your current position, I am happy for you. If, however, you aspire to climb the corporate ladder, please allow the success you are achieving as VP of Whatever to prepare you to be President and CEO of Who-What’s-It, Inc. What are you preparing for?

3. Know that you are auditioning. If you are a corporate climber, please know that any position you hold is an audition for the next one (higher or lower, depending on your performance) you want or that becomes available. What role are you auditioning for? 

Personal Qualities

1. Focus on Your Strengths and Your Passion(s). Hopefully, your strengths align with your passion(s) and vice versa. Additionally, it is beneficial if you enjoy, excel at, and can be compensated for your strengths and passions. What are your strengths? What is your passion?

2. Everyone cannot be an EGOT. An EGOT is a member of the elite performers (only 16) who have earned Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards. Two of the contemporary recipients are Whoopi Goldberg and John Legend. To earn even one of those awards is a monumental achievement. What role will you focus on to earn your award(s)?

3. Learn Patience, Persistence, and have a Purpose. You will not be the CEO or the best overnight, unless you or your family owns the company. And you still will not be the best. ‘Add Burl Randolph and stir. PUFF, instant success, is not a realistic recipe. Being the best in almost any role takes time, which requires patience, persistence, and having a purpose. Do you have the patience and persistence to pursue and fulfill your purpose?

Becoming the best is not about being a ‘one hit wonder’, but the accumulation of successes over time. Each success prepares you for the next success, if you allow it to.

How will you become the best in your current role?

Please don’t forget to Comment, Like, and Share this post!

Enjoy! Dr. Burl

#success #patience #strengths #passion #purpose #competency #preparation #persistence #inspired

Dr. Burl Randolph, Jr., DM, is the President and Chief Consultant of MyWingman, LLC, a Business Leadership and Management Consulting company in Davenport, Iowa. Dr. Randolph is a retired Army Colonel, Amazon Best Selling Author of Inspired, Not Retired: Leadership Lessons from Father to Son, and an avid mentor, business coach, and writer.