Why Adding VALUE Must Be Your Top Priority in 2019 and Beyond
*Note: The original “video” highlighting key takeaways is included at the end of this article. Wanted to provide “value” and give you different options to consume this content.
Are you looking to accelerate your career? Stand out, get noticed, or get promoted at work? Or become more successful as an entrepreneur?
Then without question, adding value and becoming more useful should be, and MUST be your number one priority this year, in 2019…and beyond.
So, every year around the beginning of January, or even at the end of the previous year, we are usually all in hyper-speed goal setting mode.
We’re either…planning our personal and business goals, creating magazine image infused vision boards, or writing down our new-year resolutions that span across areas such as: work, family, health, finance, and many more.
Actually, for the past couple of years I’ve come up with a “theme”, or ONE WORD that will serve as my “north star” to help me frame the category of goals that I really want to achieve.
For example, in 2018 it was all about dreaming BIG. I was focused on creating very lofty goals and stretching myself to achieve greatness, even beyond my immediate reach. I even wrote an article titled Why You Should Dream BIG in 2018 and Beyond, encouraging others to do the same.
Well, let’s fast-forward to this year…
While I continue to strongly embrace the art of setting lofty stretch goals, I wanted to move in a different direction for 2019.
I wanted to be more granular.
More actionable.
More tactical…and execute closer where the rubber meets the road.
Also, based on observations, I realized that the main difference between individuals who truly have powerful brands, that create massive influence and impact and those who are less effective…is their diligent focus on adding as much VALUE as they can to their network.
So for this year, I was going to focus primarily on value, value, VALUE. And, I’m empowering and inspiring you to do the same. Especially if you looking to take your work, business, and life goals to the next-level.
Okay, so you may say that’s great. But how do I do that?
Well, I’m glad you asked.
So here are (3) three key tips and action items that I feel will really put you in a better position to add as much value as you can, as a leader, as a brand, and as someone who is looking to create more impact in 2019:
1.) LISTEN to your audience and your network.
Before you consider anything else, this is the VERY FIRST THING you should focus on.
Well, how do I define who is my audience and network?
As a leader, your audience includes anyone that you have direct impact and influence on.
For instance, if you’re an employee, your audience can be your boss, your colleagues, your direct reports, your vendors, etc. Or at home, it could be your spouse, your kids, your loved ones.
If you’re a leader in the non-profit sector, it could include your donor base, your board, and the people in the community or cause you are serving to impact.
Church leader? Your congregation.
Therefore, in order for you to be in the best position to provide the right type of value to your audience, you have to first listen to understand:
- What are their pain points?
- What are their aspirations?
- What are their goals that you can help them to achieve?
- How can you better help them go from point A to point B.
And the way to do that is to listen first, then offer the BEST solution in the RIGHT context.
2.) Unlock and unleash your unique SUPERPOWER.
Okay, does that mean that you try to find your inner King T’Challa/Black Panther or Arthur Curry/Aquaman?
No.
What this means is that I strongly believe that all of us have unique skills, strengths, and abilities that we can do better than anyone else. I’ll call them our superpowers. Many of us actually have more than one.
Let’s say for example that you’ve been known to facilitate the most productive meetings at your organization.
Or maybe your reputation in your professional career is someone who is a “master networker”, that’s highly skilled at bringing people together to make a broader impact.
Or maybe you’re very talented at writing, presenting, or dominating a microphone with stellar interviewing skills. Then respectively — authorship, speaking, and/or podcasting could be your avenue for success.
Whatever it is, identify what makes you unique, special, and irreplaceable? Figure out what are those things over the course of your life that you’ve been consistently applauded for. Things that people tend to come to you and request counsel and advice.
Those are your superpowers. And you need to define them, unlock them, and unleash them onto the world.
Then you can provide as much value as possible, to the broadest audience by using the tools and skills that you’re the BEST at doing.
3.) Focus on learning and cultivating your SKILLS.
What I say all the time is that I’m a work in progress. I’m not the finished product. I’m always striving for greatness. I’m always striving to fill in any “knowledge” or “skill” gaps that I might have.
Remember, we are all evolving as leaders, professionals, and individuals that are just looking to become better overall. That’s why it’s important for us to focus on self-awareness, growth, and ongoing learning to acquire new skills and cultivate the ones we already have.
For example, there is a great book that I love, called Mindset, by Carol Dweck. And in this book she talks about what separates the great leaders that are very successful, from the less successful.
Carol argues that people either have a fixed mindset, or a growth mindset. Those who tend to be successful, they embrace a growth mindset, where continual self-improvement is a priority. And those who have a fixed mindset are the ones that believe their traits, skills and abilities are stagnant and very unlikely to evolve.
I strongly believe that in order for us to continue to provide the value that we should be delivering, we have to keep growing and learning.
Plus, that’s what so great about this current “knowledge” economy and landscape. There is no shortage of tools to help us truly grow and learn.
There’s online platforms such as Google and YouTube coupled with the always accessible smartphone, which at this point has become an appendage to our human bodies.
There’s also LinkedIn Learning which I absolutely love, that has a number of courses that you can take for ongoing professional growth.
Also for more of a hands-on approach, I would encourage you to look at mentorship. Getting a mentor, coach, or a consultant. Someone that can walk beside you, that can identify those blind spots, and can work directly with you to fill in those gaps.
For example, personally and professional, I’m a mentor and a consultant for businesses and individuals, particularly those in my generation such as mid-career and midlife professionals. I specifically help them with finding their unique voice, and building a strong personal brand, so they can become better positioned for success at work and in life — especially in this stage of their career. And I have a 5-step actionable, proven framework and roadmap to help them do just that.
But what’s key is that, I also I have mentors. I have coaches. I have people that I go to for ongoing advice and counsel. This is critical for not only my own personal and professional growth, but also this enables me to become better equipped to provide more VALUE to those whom I serve.
So there you have it. Why adding value must be your number one priority this year, and three (3) key action items and tips for how you can better provide more value, and become more useful in 2019 and beyond.
I really hope I was able to provide value to you in this article. So now, let’s go and focus on adding as much value as we can to those who deserve it.
Let’s impact, inspire, and empower others.
Let’s create a culture of collaborative achievement and greatness.
Let’s go change the world.
So are you ready? Let’s do it.
Adrion Porter is a speaker, brand strategist, podcaster, and host of GEN X AMPLIFIED, and the creator of the Powerful B.R.A.N.D. Framework™.
With 20+ years’ experience working for some of the world’s top brands, Adrion now helps organizations, leaders, and professionals build valuable business and personal brands.
Adrion’s passionate purpose is also inspiring his generation (Gen X) and those at mid-career/midlife to find their unique voice, maximize their impact, and become successful at work and life.
For speaking and/or business inquires, please contact Adrion directly at: ap@adrionporter.com, direct message here on Medium or on LinkedIn, and/or visit adrionporter.com.
