How to Become a Successful Professional

Co-authored by Jessica Elliott, ACC, CEC

Last Updated: April 2, 2020 References Approved

No matter what field you work in, you probably have some aspirations of professional success. Success may be defined in different ways by different people, but being an informed and dedicated employee, a strong leader, and an honest person can all make a big difference in making you a successful professional in any career. No matter how you define your goals or what field you work in, strengthening your professional skills, building professional relationships, and being a self-motivated professional can help you achieve success and satisfaction in your career.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Developing Your Skills

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Strengthen your sales skills. No matter what line of business you're in, sales are probably an important part of your field. Even if you don't actually work in sales, as a professional you will need to be able to sell ideas, project roles, and cooperation.^{[1]
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- Listen sincerely to others. It helps to repeat what they said back to them to show that you they are being heard. Remain understanding despite your personal opinions and exercise compassion.
- Don't bring your own agenda to your business interactions. If you want to be a professional and develop successful sales skills, you'll need to devote all of your attention to the person you're talking to.^{[2]
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- Instead of talking someone into something they don't necessarily want, try to allow that person to reach the decision on their own. Whether you're selling products or ideas, present your "product" with clarity, concision, honesty, and integrity, and highlight the benefits or advantages of that product.^{[3]
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  Research source} Use phrases such as, “Would you like to proceed?” and “Are you ready to move forward?” and allow the person to consent from a place of positivity.
- Understand what your customers or coworkers expect from what you're offering. Those expectations are more important than what you think they should need or expect.^{[4]
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Exercise communication skills. Communication skills will help you in any professional arena, and may even benefit your personal life as well. How you communicate can affect the first impression others have of you, and may make or break your professional opportunities.
- Resist saying the first thing on your mind. Instead, try waiting 5 seconds or so, and if you still think your input is relevant and contributes to the conversation, then voice your idea.^{[5]
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- If you're naturally shy or soft-spoken, challenge yourself to be more vocal and active in conversations.^{[6]
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- Be aware of yourself—not just your appearance (which is important), but also your words, your tone, and your body language.^{[7]
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- Understand your conversational objective(s) before you join a conversation.^{[8]
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- Be empathetic towards others. If someone (a customer, a coworker, a manager, etc.) is having a hard time, be understanding of their struggles. Put yourself in that person's place and try to think about what you might want to hear in that moment.^{[9]
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  Research source} Just make sure to remain professional and appropriate for your role.
EXPERT TIP

Jessica Elliott, ACC, CEC
Certified Executive Coach
Jessica Elliott is a Certified Executive Coach and multi-passionate entrepreneur. She's the founder of LIFETOX, where she hosts mindful experiences and retreats, and J Elliott Coaching, which she provides executive consulting for professionals, teams, and organizations. Jessica has had over fifteen years experience as an entrepreneur and over five years of executive coaching experience. She received her ACC (Associate Certified Coach) accreditation through the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and her CEC (Certified Executive Coach) accreditation through Royal Roads University.

Jessica Elliott, ACC, CEC
Certified Executive Coach

Our Expert Agrees: In conversation, try listening 70% of the time and talking 30% of the time. Active listening and asking great questions are vital for improving your interpersonal skills in the workplace.

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Work on interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills are essential if you want to be part of any professional team. The ability to get along with others and work collaboratively is an important part of any business, no matter what professional field you work in.^{[10]
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- Be mindful of whom you're speaking with, and how you might be coming across, in every interaction with others.^{[11]
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- Accept that you may not agree with others all the time, and they may not always agree with you. That's okay—you can find ways to compromise, or agree to disagree. Just don't try to argue or fight with others, as this may result in hurt feelings and fractured professional relationships.^{[12]
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  Research source} Offer constructive criticism that contains alternative options, if necessary.
- Ask a trusted colleague to give you feedback on your interpersonal skills. Let them know that you're trying to develop your skills and would like to know how you come across to others.
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Learn leadership skills. If you're hoping to become a successful professional, you probably have aspirations of earning a leadership role. The best way to prepare for that role - and prove to your superiors that you're a natural leader— is to develop your leadership skills before you get promoted to a managerial role.
- Put the needs of others and the needs of the company ahead of your own needs.^{[13]
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- Empower others. Commend other people for their work and celebrate their success every day.^{[14]
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- Remember that every action contributes toward your identity as a leader. Instead of seeing every action or interaction as an isolated incident, think of them as a series of steps on the road towards success and leadership.^{[15]
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- Practice informed decision-making skills. Ensure that every decision you make will better you as well as the company, and/or create new opportunities for yourself and/or the company.^{[16]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Building Professional Relationships

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Offer help without being asked. An easy way to stand out to your colleagues and superiors is by offering help without being asked for it. If you're practicing empathy and working on your leadership skills, you should be able to notice when others are having a hard time on a project. Most people you work with will help when they're asked, but offering your assistance before anyone else has to ask will set you apart from your peers.^{[17]
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- Don't just offer general or vague help. Take note of what others are working on or struggling with and offer specific ways to assist on that project.^{[18]
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Show appreciation at every step. Depending on the field you work in, it may be easy to feel that your job is more important than other peoples' jobs. However, that simply isn't true. No position at your place of employment could function without the tireless efforts of countless other workers, many of whom may remain largely unseen from your office. If you want to build strong professional relationships, you must respect and appreciate everyone you work with and everyone who works for you.^{[19]
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- If someone makes a mistake, don't jump right to confrontation. Let your colleague or employee know that you appreciate his/her efforts and understand that they tried. Praise that person for what was done correctly and offer guidance (rather than criticism) on how that task could be better completed in the future.^{[20]
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- Be sincere in your praise of others. Let others know that you appreciate the work they do and the effort they contribute towards all of the projects that come through your office.^{[21]
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Take an interest in coworkers and employees. In many corporate jobs, it's easy for employees to feel like cogs rather than individuals. If you want to build and foster strong professional relationships, take a real interest in your coworkers' and employees' lives. Remember that each employee is a human who has meaningful experiences and has personal thoughts and feelings.^{[22]
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- Remain professional when you show an interest in others at work. Don't ask inappropriate questions and don't poke fun at anyone. Instead, ask whether your coworkers or employees had a good weekend/holiday/vacation, and if the individual you're talking to elaborates on what he did, use that as an opportunity to get to know him better.^{[23]
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- Practice listening instead of talking. Get to know what others in your workplace like or dislike, and try to understand them on a human level without judging them.^{[24]
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Practice networking. Networking is an important way to build and expand on professional relationships. But a poorly-executed networking attempt smacks of desperation and desire. Instead of going into a situation hoping blindly for some kind of connection to form, go in prepared to network and equipped with the proper skills.^{[25]
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- Attend networking events in your field, and consider any professional get-together through your work as a potential opportunity to network with others.
- Don't dismiss anyone. You may want to hone in on the person you perceive to be most "valuable" to you or your career, but there's a good chance that person doesn't want or need to network. Anyone you meet in any professional capacity could be important, and you could be important to that person.^{[26]
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- Have a plan, but not an agenda. It's important to know what you want to talk about and what kind of professional relationship you'd like to develop, but don't go into an interaction thinking you'll be able to walk away with an offer from a stranger.^{[27]
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- Be open, honest, and friendly at all times. This will help you come across as the kind of person others want to work with and invite into their own professional networks.^{[28]
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- Follow up with contacts you made, and be sure to follow through on any offers you may have made to others. It will show others that you're a person of your word and that you may be a mutually beneficial person to network with in the future.^{[29]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Taking Control of Your Career

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Take responsibility for your actions. Taking responsibility for your actions cuts both ways: don't be modest about your accomplishments (though don't showboat, either), but you also need to take responsibility for your mistakes. Don't try to pass the blame, and don't be overly defensive about your mistakes. Simply accept that a mistake was made, acknowledge what you should have done differently, and use the incident as a learning experience.^{[30]
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- Trying to blame others for your mistakes may make you feel slightly better about yourself in the moment, but your coworkers or employees will resent you for passing the blame, and your supervisors/managers may lose respect for you if they're privy to what you're doing.
- While it's important to take responsibility for your errors, it's also important that you don't beat yourself up over them. Try to find the lesson of what you can do different next time, and move on.^{[31]
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Be self-motivated. In the professional world, no one will likely be there to help you budget your time or offer motivation on a project you've been dreading. You need to summon the strength and responsibility to be your own motivator. That means taking calculated and informed risks, coming up with new ideas, and keeping on schedule at all times.^{[32]
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- Don't wait for work to be assigned to you. If you're finished with a project, let your boss know and ask for more work. It will show initiative and strong work ethic.^{[33]
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- Manage your time. Plan backwards from the anticipated deadline and know in advance what portions of your project need to be completed by what date(s). That way you'll be able to stay on schedule (or even finish early), and you'll make a strong impression on both your colleagues and your managers.
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Learn to ask. Whether you're asking for help, asking for clarification, or asking for a promotion, you've got to be willing and able to ask. Opportunities rarely come without any effort, and the same is true of professional opportunities. If you're unclear on a manager's instructions for a project, ask for clarification. If you need help with a project, ask someone whose work you trust if they can take a look at the plans with you. If you want a promotion or a raise, you've got to work up the nerve to ask for it.^{[34]
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- There's seldom any harm in asking. If you work with reasonable people, you'll probably get a reasonable response.
- Asking for things, including asking for more responsibility or additional projects, will not only boost your reputation—it can also make you feel more fulfilled by your work.^{[35]
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Make SMART goals. Goals are important to better yourself, both in your personal life and your professional life. They give you something to work toward and they help fill your work and your life with greater purpose.^{[36]
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- Specific goals: be simple and clear with what it is you hope to accomplish. For example, instead of vaguely wanting to do better at work, have a clear goal in mind, like getting a raise or a promotion.^{[38]
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- Measurable goals: as you create your goals, be sure that they can be measured. That way you will have a clear idea of whether or not you've accomplished your goal. For example, if your goal is work-related, you may want to measure your goal by whether or not your salary or responsibilities have increased.^{[39]
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- Achievable goals: make sure your goals are realistic and relevant to your career. A good achievable goal should push you just enough to test your abilities, but ultimately be defined clearly enough that you can accomplish your end goal. For example, instead of hoping to become the CEO of your company, work for a promotion into a position that you are actually qualified for. You can always aim to move upward from there, but start with a position that is realistic and achievable at this point in time.^{[40]
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- Results-focused goals: create goals that measure the outcomes of your effort, not your activities. For example, create a goal with a clear objective that will produce some type of unambiguous result (like a better position at work or a higher salary, to continue with the previous examples).^{[41]
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- Time-bound goals: set up a timeframe that is close enough to create a sense of urgency that will spur you to action, but distant enough that you can actually accomplish your goal. For example, don't try to get promoted by the end of the week. A better timeframe might be to work hard over the next six to eight months, prove your worth to your boss and coworkers, and then approach your boss to ask about a raise or a promotion in six months to a year.^{[42]
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