As I began my career over 40 years ago, I really was not aware of my strengths or weaknesses. I was only aware of being young, ambitious, and wanting a successful career.
Strengths and weaknesses, especially strengths were not clearly identified nor understood.
To tell you the truth, I don’t think I knew what these words meant back then. The beauty of youth is that if you are not aware, there is no fear. I prodded along, learning from mistakes, and trying to find my strengths. I didn’t know much about sales except that I wanted it to be my future. As I learned about sales, I enjoyed it more and more. As I began to sell, there were actions that created interest, eagerness, and enjoyment. I enjoyed every step of the sales cycle, especially the pitch, and closing. At first, it was just being courteous to tell others about the product. While being courteous was important, courtesy was not the final goal, it was selling and closing. As such, it was courteous coupled with selling and closing.
Throughout my professional career, many of my peers described me as a person full of enthusiasm. Many commented that it was the enthusiasm that drove my progress in sales and management. In numerous annual performance reviews, enthusiasm was always highlighted as one of my strengths. Enthusiasm was always credited as a reason for my promotion to higher management positions. I was consistently proud of my ability to maintain a high level of enthusiasm professionally and in my personal life. Since Enthusiasm is defined as “intense and eager enjoyment, interest or approval for a proposal, cause or activity,” it seems to be accurate in describing me. Knowing that it represented strength, it was vital that this enthusiasm was sustainable in good and bad times.
While we all have weaknesses, many said that mine were well compensated and overcome by my high level of enthusiasm. Comments like that were always welcomed and appreciated, especially knowing that the enthusiasm was recognized and notable.
I learned early in my career that enthusiasm was important and if I wanted my career to grow, I must continue to always display a high level of enthusiasm. It must be a part of my DNA and it must be on display consistently. It was a goal to ensure that all those who interacted with me, experienced the enthusiasm.
Skills are important and we can teach skills.
Enthusiasm on the other hand is more difficult to teach and usually comes from within. It is an attribute that is developed and nurtured over time. Successful leaders support the actions of their team to encourage and develop enthusiasm. As your career progresses, consider your enthusiasm toward your product and performance. If it needs to be enhanced, consider how this can be done. Your enthusiasm will help you generate the desired results for those around you. It certainly helped me and I want it to help you.
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