Boss Yourself: Jumpstart Your Successful Career

Leadership isn't only about leading others. Start with leading yourself: your actions, mindset and behaviors. Learn to consider those around you. This is how you'll stand out.

We often think of leadership as these outgoing, brave, and dynamic people who step in and take action.

Leadership has so many attributes. It doesn't always mean being the bravest and most outgoing person who can get others to follow their lead. Everyday leaders start with leading themselves, their thoughts, emotions, habits, and actions. You literally Boss Yourself. That helps you then get prepared to show leadership, regardless of whether you ultimately manage or are in charge of others.

I believe each of us has a leader within. We know and show leadership in a lot of ways, most specifically by choosing to develop ourselves and use our power for the betterment of ourselves and those around us.

In this lesson, we start diving into the secret sauce.  You'll learn critical steps to take towards ensuring you are successful in your new role. It doesn't matter if this is your first role or your tenth, you'll want to consider and apply these steps.  It's the stuff the wildly successful people do but no one ever sat down and mapped it out for us.

Watch the video to learn the details about what to do and how to do it.

• Know your priority

• Learn when and how to do your job right

• Discover how to do your job better

• Get known

• Know your manager

• Check your Basics hygiene

• Learn how everything else works

• Track yourself

Download the Basics Checklist and evaluate how you are doing with each of the basics.

Hanging myself out on the edge here.

I'm gonna share advice with you that most people won't touch. It's polarizing. It even feels a bit demeaning. The great thing is you get to Boss Yourself. That means you get to decide if this is worth your consideration or not.

To be clear, I fit into this same category we're covering in this lesson. And, I put barriers up or feel angry and pissed off when people share advice with me that says tone it down or be more like somebody else. I especially get angry when it's suggested that any of us are less than anybody else.

Later in life and my career, I found I had a lot more freedom to do as I wanted, to let my unique self shine. But the reason is because, first before trying to buck the system,  I was able to establish success and support.

And that is because I chose when I'd fit in and when I'd stand out.

The same old BS is still out there; I just choose how I'll face the impacts now.

So, I want you to do you. Be your unique self...

...as long as you understand and know that there often are consequences. Especially, if you're very new to work or your job is critically important to your well-being, then take time to consider this lesson and decide how you want to show up.

For those of you who don't even realize that you're up against subtle and sometimes concealed obstacles, who are taking at face value what the recruiter told you the culture was like, I'm asking you to pause and consider.

Keep your integrity. Be safe. Don't be a barrier to your own progress. Make informed, smart choices for who YOU want to be.

Again, I'm jumping right into the frying pan.

When being authentically you, is actually not making a very good impression on your boss your team.

But, I prefer direct. I'd rather know than not know.

And, I'm not being mean. These things really happen. And most people will dance around it instead of explaining it to you.

If you do any of these, take a long pause and consider if you can present this way at work and still get ahead. If the answer is no, then Boss Yourself to where you need to be.

Done with the heavy.

So, we've talk about the basics of Bossing yourself and success at a new job. We've looked at how to fit in and how NOT to stand out.

Let's shift back to what you should do. Here is a lesson full of advice on how to surpass expectations.

• Volunteer

• Help your Leader Win

• Ask for Opportunity

• Advocate for yourself

It makes me happy to imagine you completing this course and walking away with positive intent to Boss Yourself and lead.

Thank you so much for joining this course. Be sure to grab the extra resources that summarize the key points from this course.

To continue learning and evolving your leadership, stay connected with Boss at the Helm on Instagram and YouTube & at the Boss Blog, where you'll find free insights and resources. And sign up for Helm Insights, our newsletter.

Go forth, Boss Yourself. You've got this!