A FUNDAMENTAL goal of most employees in the workplace is to attain job success. Different employees have different standards for success.

These standards include having upward mobility (promotion or opportunity to grow), good pay, responsibility or position, level of authority, satisfaction with the kind of work he/she does, comfortable relationships with boss and peers, recognition by peers and awards by the company.

Whatever the standards are for job success, attaining it in a competitive and challenging work environment could take more than simply having the resolve, working hard and doing your job as defined by your job description or your functional tasks.

To be successful, you need to have that edge that differentiates you from all the others who are carrying out their functional jobs as well as you do.

Learning and applying management and leadership skills to your functional tasks and to all your other responsibilities will give you that advantage that could lead to attaining your standards of success.

Success in one’s career depends on the degree of focus one commits to each of these three job components: functional, management and leadership. Success on each of these components is achieved when both technical and non-technical criteria are met.

There is technical success when the job is done per requirements — the tangible criteria. Non-technical success is when others have perceived it to be a success — the intangible criteria.

Functional component

Functional tasks are the day-to-day responsibilities in your jobs, generally defined by your job description as well as those other tasks assigned to you. It is doing what you were hired to do and sometimes applying what you studied for in school. Your functional task may be preparing a budget if you are an accountant.

Typically, we prefer to focus on our functional tasks, especially if we believe that the key to our success is simply doing them diligently.

For the most part, we are proficient in our functional tasks, hence, there are low risks as well as high comfort levels when we perform them.

We can be perceived to be successful in our functional tasks by being structured and systematic in our approach to them, using the basic project management tools of planning, implementation and evaluation.

It provides efficiency in the use of company time and resources and improves opportunity for success, by knowing what to do, where to go and how to get there.

It produces adequate documentation of the process, results and success, which are needed to advance your career. A structured and systematic approach to your functional tasks does not guarantee success but it is essential to your success.

Management

The management component of the job is not about functions or job positions. It is about managing your functional tasks.

Task management is planning, developing policies and procedures, improving the process, setting up systems and structures, monitoring performance, implementing and managing communication flow, and ensuring that your corporate leadership is aware of your processes and progress. It gives structure and order to your tasks.

Applying the principles of task management improves your efficiency, enhances your credibility and reduces your costs and stress. Effective management of your functional tasks does not guarantee success but it is essential to your success.

Leadership

The leadership component is also not about functions or job positions. It is about your attitudes or behaviors and applying leadership skills to your functional tasks.

Task leadership is developing the strategy, goals and objectives and effectiveness and efficiency of the process, having a clear focus and directions, making alliances or partnerships, developing and mentoring people and communicating at all levels.

It is focusing on the “big picture” and on people and relationships. It is a higher level of managing your tasks and yourself.

Task leadership includes: challenging every process, questioning all activities, benchmarking progress, setting the strategy, keeping the tasks focused on the deliverables, anticipating impacts of any deviations in scope and cost, addressing the critical issues, and properly communicating issues of interest to management.

Task leadership is also learning and implementing personal and self-management skills to help convey your competence and credibility in the execution of your functional and management tasks.

Personal and self-management skills include: being personally productive, having high self-esteem, positive attitude and a life balance, striving for higher EQ — Emotional Intelligence, taking responsibility, ownership, initiative and risks, and developing and nurturing relationships.

Opportunities for success

Any failure or misstep including the perception of failure or misstep in your job is not a career enhancement situation, especially if there is no tolerance for them.

It could be costly to the company, to your reputation, your career and your self-esteem.

It is therefore crucial that you attain success in all aspects of your job. Your management expects it, it is your job and it is what you were hired to do.

After all, if the goal is to fail, why even do it?

Success in managing and leading your functional tasks is contingent on how that success is perceived by your peers and corporate management. (Perception is reality and success is in the eye of the beholder). Managing that perception at all times is absolutely essential.

Eighty percent of what we do (our functional tasks) is not recognized because it is expected — it is our job.

The remaining 20% of our job is our opportunity to excel — to do beyond what is expected.

This opportunity is in the management and leadership components of our job, where, unfortunately, stress levels and personal or job risks are particularly high.

In addition, they require the most effort for success, but this is where the opportunities are for good compensation and rewards, career enhancement or success, and personal and job satisfaction.

Success does not just happen — not by accident nor luck. It takes deliberate, planned and consistent effort to make something successful. Your success is about YOU. Using managing and leading skills in the performance of your job will enhance your opportunities for success.

Success in the workplace takes hard work, structured work, working with a plan and purpose, and applying management and leadership skills.

To succeed you need to change your attitude and approach to your responsibilities, regardless of your position in the workplace.

Being proactive and by shifting your focus to managing and being a leader of every aspect of your functional task is the key to your personal and career success.

Author: ELY T. ARCILLA
Ely T. Arcilla worked as senior principal engineer at 3M Co. based in St. Paul, Minnesota, for three decades. E-mail him at etarcilla@msn.com