The saying goes, it ‘takes a village’ to be successful in raising a family. Well, I can guarantee you it takes a village to have a successful career. From a leadership perspective, surrounding yourself with a team of individuals that complements your skillset is critical. I have said before, hire people smarter than you, and you will be successful. As a leader, its important to know that you don’t have all of the answers and that success comes from the team working together towards a common goal. Its always great to get different perspectives on a particular topic, as often times working through problems with different perspectives leads to a better outcome. A recent example would be when one of our clients had a particular need that we never would have handled for them, but the team pulled together to come up with a custom solution to fit that need. Not only did we get an extremely happy client, but now have a new service offering we never would have thought of! All because of the ideas from the team.
Its critical to celebrate your success. Often times we get caught up in the ‘day-to-day’, trying to meet our goals, and anxious to start on the next task so quickly that we forget what we just accomplished. As a leader its important that the team takes time to celebrate achievements! One of our core values is “Living Well & Having Fun”. How great is it when you accomplish a goal and now you get to celebrate that accomplishment? This summer we took a break as a company and celebrated a great achievement, meeting a particular goal we had set over a year earlier. Taking a break and ‘toasting to success’ helps lead to even greater success.
Lastly, remember to thank the people that got you there. Think about all of the people that had an impact on your career. It could be your co-workers, friends, your clients, and especially the support from your family. We have notes around the office thanking fellow team members for things we have done for each other. We make a habit of thanking each other throughout the year, because that’s part of our culture.
Its not always easy being a leader, but having your own ‘village’ that you can count on will definitely help with your success.
Written by Jamie Hogan, President of Specialized Accounting Services LLC.