5 Skills To Excel In Your Career

To do well in your career, some skills matter more than others. They put you in front of others, connect you to them, build trust and enhance your credibility. 

But building these skills is hard—unlike tasks that are assigned to you in which you’re expected to excel, no one gives the opportunities to practice these skills explicitly. 

The burden to learn and master them is on you. 

Practicing these skills requires initiative. You can’t go about your day unconsciously moving from one task to another and hope to get better at them. You need a good feedback loop—you’ve to experiment, identify what works, what doesn’t and keep repeating the positive behaviors till they come naturally to you. 

If you’re stuck in your career or putting in a lot of time and energy into your work, but not getting the desired results, spend some time building these skills. You will not only achieve great success at work, but mastering these skills will bring a sense of pleasure and fulfillment that will make you perform even better. 

The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.
— Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Build these skills as a conscious choice, don’t leave it to chance. 

Solve tough problems using unconventional methods

Who is most sought after at work?  

People who embrace challenges. Those who are willing to step into the unknown and like to solve tough problems in a non-traditional way.  

These people challenge the status quo. They question how things are done. They foray into uncharted territory to come up with unique ideas and solutions. 

They aren’t afraid to take risks or experiment with new methods and practices. Enjoying the thrill of discovery that comes with an experimental mindset matters to them more than the end result. 

If you want to excel in your career, stop fearing hard problems. Stop denying opportunities that require you to step outside your comfort zone.

Become a problem solver:

1. Identify your stakeholders and customers’ unmet needs. Which problems, if solved, will deliver the biggest impact? 
2. What important issues have been pushed aside that need time and attention? How can you contribute?

Success is not about avoiding problems; it’s about becoming a good problem solver.
— Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Problem solvers are highly recognized and celebrated at work. Become this person and see your career skyrocket. 

View disagreements as an opportunity to stay closer to reality 

How do people react to opposing views?

Most people are terrible at handling disagreements. When others challenge their viewpoint or share alternative opinions, instead of listening with curiosity and filling gaps in their understanding, they disregard everything that contradicts their own ideas and opinions. 

When proving others wrong becomes their mission, finding the right answers takes a backseat. They turn delusional, locked in a worldview that’s far from reality. 

Denying the possibility that they might be wrong or refusing to seek alternative views keeps them trapped in a cycle of mediocre performance. 

If you want to excel in your career, actively seek alternative views. Invite disagreements. Encourage others to find flaws in your thinking or highlight problem areas and concerns. 

Collaborating with others this way not only leads to better solutions, it also builds trust and respect. 

To invite disagreements, ask questions:

1. What have I missed?
2. In what cases might it not work? 
3. What other possibilities exist?
4. How might I be wrong?
5. What alternative solutions are possible?
6. Is it the best decision under the given circumstances?

If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success.
— Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Maturity to handle truth without distorting facts or ignoring reality is a rare skill. Build it and you won’t have a problem standing out. 

Make good decisions at the right time even if they are not the best 

Who deserves an applause?

A person who makes a timely decision even if it’s not the best or the one who keeps delaying the decision with the possibility of a better option out there. 

The answer is obvious. 

And yet when it comes to making decisions, most people choose to procrastinate.

Not the right time.

Not enough data.

Something doesn’t seem right. 

Fear of making the wrong decision keeps most people from deciding. But delaying important decisions is a costly mistake—you may not only lose the opportunity, not acting timely can worsen the problem you intended to solve.

To excel in your career, stop ruminating or overthinking your decision. Become comfortable with good enough—don’t seek and accept only the best. Use a more modest criteria and choose an option that passes the threshold of acceptability. 

To make timely decisions: 

1. Set boundaries for the research you need to do when making a decision. Don’t leave it open ended—limit the information to gather, inputs to consider and set time limits. 
2. Assign a decision date. Set a date considering the scope and complexity of the problem to create a sense of urgency. 
3. Weigh in different options. List the pros and cons of each choice and just pick the one that seems to stand out in the moment.
4. Put it into action. Once you have made a decision, don’t let your mind consider the possibility of a better one. Stop second guessing and get down to putting your decision into action.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
— Theodore Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life

If you want to climb the career ladder, stop being continually afraid that you’ll make a wrong decision. 

Listen to others with the intent to understand, not speak

Who is considered a great communicator at work—a person who speaks all the time or one who speaks less?

People who speak less and listen more make others feel heard and appreciated. Making people feel this way invites them to communicate, collaborate and pay attention to what you have to say. 

Doing all the speaking, trying very hard to make others listen or never pausing to let them speak makes them shut down. They either ignore whatever is being said or don’t take your words seriously. 

Effective listening—listening to others with the intent to understand and not speak—breaks down communication barriers which is a source of misalignment of expectations, confusion and a lot of misery at work.

Learning to listen to others is not optional if you want to excel in your career. This skill once built will be the biggest tool in your toolkit to help you shine and succeed. 

To build this skill:

1. ​​Listen to understand, actively and purposefully. Understand what’s said in entirety and not what’s relevant to you.
2. Gather more information by analyzing the situation and asking relevant questions. 
3. Control and self discipline your mind, don’t let it get distracted by thoughts. 
4. Allow others to finish their thoughts before responding. Avoid interruptions as much as possible. 
5. Slow down and give the other person a chance to explore and express their thoughts. 
6. Be aware of personal filters and prejudices and do not let them impair your judgment. 
7. Learn to listen between the lines. Do not take words literally. Look for non-verbal cues like body language and tone (excited, frustrated, emotional) to perceive the information better.

The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.
— Ralph G. Nichols, Are You Listening?

A good career comes with great listening abilities. Speak less. Listen more. 

Resolve conflicts using a win/win outlook, not a win/lose approach 

What kind of people are easy to approach and align towards a common goal? 

Those who don’t put off conflict or avoid them. Attending the conflict at the right time prevents the problem from turning worse. 

These people approach difficult conversations—difference of opinion, disagreements, expectations mismatch—not with the intent to win, but with the intent to work out an approach that’s acceptable to all the parties. 

Win-lose mentality shuts down dialogue and leaves one side unhappy and disgruntled. Win-win mentality on the other hand encourages exchange of ideas and keeps everyone aligned and delighted. 

To excel in your career, you’ve to learn to face conflicts head on. Avoidance makes whatever you’re trying to avoid extremely difficult to tackle later on.

To manage conflicts well:

1. Take control of your emotions: Don’t deny or disengage with your emotions. Recognize them, accept them and then guide them into constructive action instead of engaging in destructive behaviors.
2. Put things in perspective: Show willingness to change your mind by challenging your thoughts, accepting that you might be wrong and detaching your ideas from your identity.
3. Focus on what can be controlled: Let go of things you can’t control and put all your time and energy on things within your control. 

Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.
— William James

All the knowledge and experience in the world is of no use if you can’t navigate conflicts and align people towards a common goal. Learning to do it well not only improves your productivity and performance, but also ensures you get the results without compromising on your mental well-being. 

Your career altitude is bound by the skills you build. Solving tough problems, embracing disagreements, making timely decisions, listening to others and resolving conflicts can ease out traversing this path and help you reach the peak faster. 

Summary 

1. Solving problems that come easy to you or saying no to opportunities that involve a risk can make you do reasonably well in your job, but it can’t make you excel. Practicing the courage to step outside your comfort zone is essential to build an excellent career.
2. When approval is all you seek, you lose out on tons of other great possibilities. Missing these options not only keeps your impact limited, not encouraging diversity of opinions makes others feel left out, discouraged and disrespected. 
3. A ‘good enough’ timely decision is better than a perfect decision at the wrong time. To stand out at work, stop fearing the worst and realistically evaluate the various possibilities.
4. Acting as the person who does all the talking and never letting others speak is the worst way to work with others. Listening to them, making them feel heard and understood is necessary to get their attention and make them interested in your ideas and opinions. 
5. Your career is bound by the number of difficult conversations you’re willing to have. Embrace the discomfort and face difficult conversations without avoiding or putting them off for too long. 

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