In order to enhance your career, you need to take deliberate steps to boost your performance in the workplace and at job interviews. Working with an executive coach can help with both. Professional career coaches will tell you that there’s no silver bullet to building a successful career.

photo credit: Rodnae Productions / Pexels

Below are some of the strategies that executive coaching professionals suggest to their clients. If you’re looking for more resources on advancing in your field, make an appointment with an executive coach to learn how to advance your career.

1. Practice Effective Communication

Quality communication is one of the tenants of a successful career. You can’t succeed in the workplace if you can’t talk with your staff, peers, and managers. There are many things you can do to practice effective communication in the workplace:

• Communicate in different ways. Speech is not the only way we give information. Make sure your body language and listening skills are conveying the right message.
• Practice, practice, practice. Good communication is like any other skill: it takes time to become great. Practice reliable communication by revising and taking notes on the way you speak with others. Review your spoken and written conversations periodically throughout the year.
• Use simple language. Say what you mean in the most plain language. There is no need to complicate what you’re saying.
• Attend training. There are many courses you can take to improve your communication skills. Executive coaches are also available to share these techniques with you.
• Seek feedback. How well would others say you communicate? Talk to your peers and other members of your team to find out how they would rate your communication skills.
• Listen. Taking notice and understanding is half of the process. Listen to what your staff and peers say. Always be willing to hear out other ideas.

2. Clarify Your Goals

Teams use goals to measure success. Setting measurable and attainable objectives helps ensure that members of your team know their purpose in the workplace.

As a leader, it’s your job to set goals. Spend time reflecting on these ambitions. Put the plans in writing, and share the document with members of your team.

Remind your staff about each other’s goals on a consistent basis to ensure everyone knows their part in the process. If you refine your objectives, then tell your team about the changes you’ve made. Everyone must be working towards the same target.

3. Establish Milestones

Milestones are the individual stops along the way of reaching a target. They are separate from the end goal, but they represent progress. Recognizing milestones when they occur and celebrating these achievements can help motivate your team to continue on the journey. Establishing these breakthrough points makes it easier to identify when your team is making progress.

Once a milestone has passed, keep a record of the time and date. At the end of the year, review the list of milestones that your team reached. This introspective reflection is beneficial for you as a leader and also good for your staff. At the end of the year, send an email or host a meeting to evaluate progress.

4. Give Continual Feedback

Your staff needs continual feedback in order to do their job properly and improve on their efforts. Allow for frequent opportunities to discuss feedback with your team. Make one-on-one appointments with your staff on a scheduled basis to talk about their performance. It can be difficult to get into the habit of providing feedback often, but once you begin, it becomes easier over time.

Many managers struggle with conversations about their employees’ performances because of the potential for it to be awkward. This is especially true when the talks are centered on the need for improvement. Start simply by establishing a time and place to meet with members of your team and have comfortable sessions. Once you’ve established quality, honest conversations with your team members, it will become easier to have challenging conversations.

5. Boost Productivity

Of course, one of the most important things you can do to enhance your career is boost productivity for yourself and your team members. There are many things you can do to increase your efficiency:

• Get organized and stay organized. Establish a system that helps members of your team stay on top of their work and approach their challenges in a logical, organized manner.
• Take advantage of productivity-boosting software. There are many software devices and websites that help teams collaborate, work remotely, and stay on task. Experiment with different kinds of software to determine what works for your team.
• Get your team motivated. People need to be inspired in order to perform at their best. Work carefully to keep them on track so that they can achieve their goals and milestones. However, be cautious as not to micromanage.
• Measure productivity and its fluctuations. How will you know when you’ve boosted productivity? Keep a written record for everyone to see. Track when it goes up and down, and take notes to know where you can improve.
• Add new accomplishments to your resume. Track your progress as it’s occurring, so your resume will always have the most up-to-date information about your successes in the workplace.

Want More Executive Coaching Strategies? Seek Executive Coaching Today

There are countless benefits of executive coaching. The right professional can grant you career advancement tips to elevate your performance throughout your career. Get the most out of yourself and your team members by working with an executive coach.