Ok, I admit that I am writing this blog not only because I wanted to share tips on how to become the best professional you can be, but because I wanted to share my personal experience with you while I spit out some things I have always wanted to say. Even though I am easygoing and very casual at work, two things that I can’t stand are the lack of professionalism and how people tend to victimize themselves instead of taking responsibility for their acts.
I come from a family of entrepreneurs. I grew up seeing examples of how you should run a business, and how you should not run a business (believe me, my parents were never perfect and I have learned a lot from their mistakes), and one thing that I am grateful for is that my parents never taught me how to be an entrepreneur, they taught me how to be an employee.
Growing up, I have seen thousands of employees passing by my family business. I have also seen employees lasting a lifetime working for my parents. No jokes, we have employees that have been working with us since before my brother was born. Some of them passed away, and some of them are still there. But the most important thing is that I have seen what a good employee looks like. From both perspectives: the employer and the employee.
Being raised to be a good employee with moral values, ethics, and passion for what I do always opened doors for me and, most importantly, helped me build my way up faster than anyone else I have seen. Yes, you eat a lot of shit sometimes and yes, you need to be patient, but being professional and humble is the key to building a career in New York.
If you are coming here to build a career, you have to learn to be humble and take accountability for your acts. Be responsible for your actions and admit them. Sometimes mistakes happen and it might not be your fault, but it is always easy to say “I didn’t do this” or “ this was not my responsibility”. Guess what? A true professional doesn’t say any of these things!
A good professional simply reviews the situation, checks what went wrong, and takes notes to avoid the same mistakes again. Instead of saying “I didn’t do this”, why don’t you simply listen and learn? Yes, you might want to point out that it wasn’t your mistake, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from your coworkers' mistakes as well.
People are always trying to defend their own butts. That is for sure, but taking accountability for your mistakes and being humble to admit them will take you to further places. As I said, I grew up in a business environment and I have seen the good and the bad. People who put their hearts into what they do and are humble enough to admit that there is always a learning curve are the people who I have seen growing.
Do you want to take in more responsibility and have a to-do list that is above your pay rate? No! Nobody wants that, but sometimes you have to understand that, to grow, sacrifices are needed. If you want to increase your salary, become the head of your department or the CEO of the company, and be ready to embrace tasks that are not under your scope. My parents always told me “in the same way you need your job, your employer needs you. So work side by side with your boss and put your heart into what you do. A company doesn’t grow alone, the employees make the company”.
I will be honest here, the fact that my parents never taught me to be an entrepreneur is something that is hitting me right now and they should regret that (lol, but for real). The entrepreneur life is kicking my ass in so many aspects, but I think the clearest one is that I am good when I have a mentor guiding me. Being an entrepreneur I don’t have a mentor, I am the mentor and there is a lot about being a boss that I have never learned. Being proactive, being the biggest example, being the bigger person, negotiating with clients… All of these are basic entrepreneurial skills but, for me, they are a challenge right now.
In Brazil we have a popular saying “before telling somebody what to do, learn how to do it yourself”. I stood for this saying my entire life. Even if you want to be the boss, you have to start from the bottom. You will never get anywhere by using the excuse “this isn’t my job”. Take accountability for your mistakes and, more than that, take accountability for everyone's mistakes. Learn from your coworkers and always put your heart into what you do. If you even want to become the boss (either of your own business or for someone else’s business), remember that a company doesn’t grow alone, good employees are needed and, to become the boss, you need to be an employee first.
Commentaires