You’ve set your SMART goals. You’ve written them down. You’ve discussed them with a mentor. You’ve shared them with friends and family. You’re working hard. You care deeply about your “why” and you’re excited about the future.

...But why aren’t you where you want to be?

Let’s take a look at eleven ways that you might be holding yourself back from achieving your goals.

1.   You’re not staying with problems long enough. Giving up too soon is a surefire way to never reach your goals. If you’re throwing in the towel or retreating to your comfort zone every time you start to struggle, you’re hurting your chances of success and missing out on key opportunities to take steps forward toward your goals.

2.     You’re only doing the right things SOME of the time. Consistency and self-discipline are the name of the game. You can’t expect to achieve your goals with any efficiency if you haven’t developed the right habits. You might be working really hard in the short term, but if you keep pumping the breaks, you’re only tiring out the engine and slowing yourself down.

3.     You’re sweating the small stuff. Every time you lose your attitude, you’re moving in the wrong direction. If you don’t have thick skin, you’ll go down an emotional rabbit hole whenever you face failure or frustration. Doing so only diverts your attention away from what’s most important and drains the precious energy you need to stay motivated and keep pushing.

4.     You’re avoiding the stuff you don’t want to do. We all have tasks we’d rather not tackle, conversations we’ve been putting off, and areas of professional development that we’ve been hesitant to address. But oftentimes, the things we’re avoiding are the things we most need to do. If you haven’t hit your goals yet, it might just be because you’re not stepping up. Adopt a sense of urgency by giving yourself smaller time-bound goals that will help you move the needle as you battle your procrastination.

5.     You lack self-awareness. If you want to improve in any area of your life, it begins with looking in the mirror. Many people end up stagnant because they blame their lack of progress on outside factors instead of understanding their own role in their successes and failures. Once you see yourself clearly and lose the excuses, you’ll be able to focus on self-improvement and start taking the right steps towards your long term goals.

6.     You’re not planning your days and weeks. When you’ve got big goals to hit, every minute counts. By not planning ahead, you are not only wasting time, but you are leaving space for lower priority tasks to crowd out the ones that will make the biggest impact on your advancement. Make time management a priority to make room in your schedule for things like professional learning and development which can help you build skills you'll need to finally achieve your goals.

7.     You’ve been too focused on just yourself. It sounds counter-intuitive, but sometimes focusing too much on your own career goals can set you back -- especially if you’re working in a team-oriented environment. You’ll find that if you prioritize helping your team hit their goals, that you will in turn hit your own. By sharing your knowledge and skills with others, you'll reinforce your own strengths while you help others achieve their own personal goals.

8.     You’re not receptive to coaching. If your pride is more important than your professional development, your progress will inevitably be slow. If you want to hit your goals sooner than later, it is essential to listen to your mentors and make the changes they recommend.

9.     You’re not working hard enough. If your goals are big, then your effort has to be huge. You can’t expect to accomplish anything great if you’re not giving 100% each day. You might already be working really hard, but sometimes that little bit extra is what’s needed to push you over the edge.

10. You’re surrounded by the wrong people. If you find yourself regularly associating with naysayers and Negative Nancys, it’s going to inevitably chip away at your morale. When you’ve got big performance goals to hit, you need every ounce of energy and positivity you can get. People tend to emulate the people they spend the most time with -- so choose to spend time with only those who are helping you achieve your goals and not setting you back.

11. Success takes time. Never underestimate the role that time plays in reaching your goals. You need to patiently, but persistently, persevere and trust that if you do the right things, you’ll get where you want to be.

As frustrating as it may be to not have achieved your goals yet, it’s important to remember that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Professional development is a lengthy process, but as soon as you recognize the reasons why you haven’t hit your specific goals and start to make the right changes, you’ll be that much closer to the finish line.

We all want to love our jobs, and while most of us accept that not every part of our job can be our favorite thing to do, what happens when you start getting bored at work? Does that mean you’re doing something wrong or that your chosen career might not be right for you after all? Not necessarily. While you should never stay at a job you absolutely hate, feeling occasional boredom at work can actually mean that you’re making valuable progress you’re not even aware of.

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Here are five reasons why feeling a little bored at work can sometimes be a good thing:

1. Mastery Takes Repetition; Lots of It: You can’t always be working on something new and exciting. Sometimes it’s all about doing the same things over and over again until you’re an expert at them. It’s that practice and experience that will drive you to the next level of success. And for some jobs, like sales, it takes a certain level of exact repetition to ensure success, because it’s a numbers game. You have to do the same pitch to hundreds of customers in order to ensure the right number of sales. Sales people call that the law of averages, and mastering your pitch by delivering it exactly the same way to as many customers as possible, is the ideal way to hit your sales goals.

Make the Most of It Tip: Rather than focusing on the monotony, remind yourself that even if you can’t see the improvements right away, you are getting better at what you do with each repetition.

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2. It means you’re focused: In today’s workplace, a lot of emphasis is put on multi-tasking, but bouncing from one thing to another, might mean that you’re not doing any one thing really well. Rather than shifting gears, what might be called for is digging deeper, even when a project or task gets tedious. If you start to feel bored, it might mean that you’re doing a good job of tuning into the project at hand, and for those of us used to constant distractions and stimulation, that level of focus can sometimes feel a little strange.

Make the Most of It Tip: Tell yourself you can check your emails, surf the web, get coffee, or spend ten minutes socializing with coworkers once you’ve finished the assignment in front of you. By giving yourself small rewards to work towards, the strange feeling of only paying attention one thing at a time might not feel so uncomfortable. At the end, you might be surprised to see how much you’ve accomplished, and it may help you enjoy those periods of focus a bit more the next time.

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3. It means you’re not skipping steps: Sometimes, when you become familiar with your job, and you know it like the back of your hand, it becomes tempting to start cutting corners. But being a little bored can be a good indication that you’re tackling the project as it needs to be tackled rather than handling only the lighter, easier version. Being efficient is great, but not at the expense of quality. Doing a job the right way, doesn’t always mean doing it the easy way.

Make the Most of it Tip: Rather than looking for ways to speed things along, take pride in the fact that you’re accurate and thorough. Tell yourself that doing things right is part of your personal brand, and know that it’s that attention to detail that will help you stand out amongst the competition.

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4. It can Signal that You’re Ready for a New Challenge: It can sometimes be hard to tell when you’re ready for a promotion or greater responsibility at work. It’s easy to let fear and self-doubt hold us back from asking for what we think we deserve. If you’re finding yourself bored because you can do your current job in your sleep, use that feeling as an excuse to ask for a big new project that demonstrates what else you’re capable of.

Make the Most of it Tip: Use those moments of boredom as opportunities to think through the case you’ll make to management for why you’re ready to move up to a new role. Use the ease with which you do your current tasks as part of your argument. Explain that the job has gotten so easy that you’re confident you could be doing more, and offer to help train your replacement to be as proficient at your current role as you are.

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5. Boredom can Leave Room for Innovation: When we’re always rushing to meet tight deadlines, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for creative thinking. Studies have shown that daydreaming may be good for our brains, and a reasonable amount of daydreaming can allow you the space to come up with those new and untested solutions that might prove to be game changers.

Make the Most of it Tip: When your mind starts to wander, take advantage of those moments by choosing to brainstorm new ideas for your company or ways you can make projects more efficient. In other words, decide to use your daydreams to benefit your company, and you may be surprised how that decision can boost your own career growth as well.

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Like most things in life, boredom, in moderation, won’t hurt you, and it could even help you take your career to the next level. Remember that being great at your job may not be fun and exciting every day, but feeling the occasional boredom shouldn’t send you running for the hills either. Realize that even the greatest jobs will have ups and downs, and what may seem like a rough day today could be helping you toward that big win tomorrow.

What does it take to be a successful salesperson? One of the best ways to unlock your real sales potential is to look at the traits of successful people in other fields. Whether it’s astrophysics or technology or sports, there are a number of traits that successful people share. Discover what those traits are here, and find out how you can utilize them to become the most successful salesperson you can be.

Passion

It’s nearly impossible to be successful in any arena if you aren’t passionate about what you do. It takes long hours and hard work to get to the top of any field. If you’re not passionate about what you do, it makes it that much harder to put in the effort. But when you love what you do, all those sacrifices you make for the job no longer seem like work. They feel worth it, because this is what you were meant to do.

Innovation

Innovation is one of the main traits of successful people that pops up in nearly every field. But how, exactly, do you tap into the creativity that leads to innovation? Try looking at the obstacles in your life. It may seem counterintuitive, but every obstacle has an upside. It provides you with a way to find a solution. Ideas are born from the combination of a need to accomplish a task and a fresh perspective. Keep your eyes open for novel solutions that others may not see. Keep your ears open to listen for obstacles that others might have. Ask questions that can uncover the root of the obstacle, and you’ll unleash your inner innovator in no time.

Self-Improvement

Think about your favorite sports figure for a moment. They are exciting to watch—thrilling even. You root for them and you’re disappointed when they lose. Now imagine if you found out they no longer showed up to training and refused to practice. It wouldn’t take long for you to find someone else to cheer for, would it? Self-improvement is a process that never ends. There’s always room for you to be grow, improve your skills, and become a more successful salesperson. There really is no such thing as a plateau, because there is always more to learn. Maintain a student mentality to avoid becoming complacent. Look for ways to further your education, your technique, and your motivation to ensure long-term success!

Self-Reliance

Successful people don’t become successful through luck.  Luck is merely means being prepared when an opportunity arrives. You have to develop your skills and position yourself in a space where opportunity exists. That way you are ready, available, and capable to meet your opportunities head on. Remember that a successful salesperson can thrive in any market, because when you are living up to your potential, you create your own success.

Provide Value

You’re never really selling goods or services; what you are always selling is solutions. Your clients have problems that they need resolved, and you have the means to resolve them. Listen carefully to your client, and ask them questions that get to the root of what their issues are. Then, you are poised to add value to their day-to-day life. Think about Martha Stewart. She mastered the skill of making a beautiful home, and in turn, she sold the solutions she discovered along the way to millions of people across the country and benefitted their lives.

Persistence

Failure is inevitable, and the ability to work through it and keep yourself dedicated to your goals is one of the defining traits of successful people. There are countless examples of this. Sir James Dyson created 5,126 failed prototypes before creating a bagless vacuum that worked. Dyson Vacuums is now valued at billions of dollars. Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, had his first book rejected by 27 different publishers. Stephen King threw away an entire early draft of Carrie because he was unsatisfied with his product. His wife saved it from the trash and it eventually launched his career. Every failure is a chance to learn, to adapt, and to refine your approach.

Self-Control

A successful sales person doesn’t need anyone other than themselves to hold them accountable. Similarly, you are the only person who truly knows just how valuable you are to a team. While your manager will set certain expectations of you based on your potential, to really excel, you should set even higher standards for yourself. You know what you are capable of. You have the discipline to achieve success. You must answer to yourself at the end of every day.

Exceed Expectations

There’s an old sales saying, “under-commit and over-deliver.” But what happens when you over-commit and still over-deliver? Successful people do more than what is asked of them. They think of their job description as where their job starts, and then they look to add even more value to their team. In addition to proving to others that they are a team player, their work really stands out.

Goal-Oriented

Across all disciplines, it is a proven trait of successful people to remain goal-oriented in spite of any and all surrounding circumstances. The key to obtaining the goals you set for yourself is to approach them strategically. Differentiate short term goals from long term goals and prioritize your progress accordingly. Realize that long term goals are often made up of a number of more easily actionable short term goals. Tackle those short-term goals one by one, and soon you will discover you have achieved the success you deserve.

Be sure to check the Cydcor Blog regularly for more tips on how to become the successful salesperson you are meant to be!

Management and leadership are two sides of the same coin, and both are necessary for a business to succeed. Learning the difference between management and leadership is important for developing effective management skills.

Great leadership is about inspiring enthusiasm and drive, while great management is about building highly efficient teams that produce impressive results. Managers are experts at getting things done and meeting targets and deadlines; leaders know how to evolve people and organizations and help them meet their potential. Each is a unique discipline that helps teams meet their short- and long-term goals, while also fostering commitment to a shared vision and outside the box thinking.

So What IS the Difference Between Management and Leadership?

Management skills are concerned with assigning tasks, committing to deadlines, and creating systems, while leadership is focused on defining a purpose and uniting individuals behind big ideas. Managers ensure teams meet their deadlines and deliver what’s expected of them, while leaders focus on the future and how teams might prepare for challenges on the horizon.  Management is about limiting risk, while leadership encourages bold action. Leadership is primarily about engagement, while management has more to do with execution.  Management focuses on performance, while leadership focuses on development. Managers develop processes and create smooth operations, while leaders build relationships, encourage communication, and build trust. The most successful businesses are built with an ideal balance of management skills and leadership skills.

Can you differentiate between management and leadership? Test yourself with the scenarios below:

Scenario 1: Suzy Business Owner has promised a new client 2,000 flyers by the end of the month, but she recently lost two employees, and she knows it’s going to be a stretch. She creates a workflow document that helps remaining team members understand when they must complete their portion of the project, and she meets with each team member one-on-one to train them on the new system. By following the workflow correctly, the team is able to meet their deadline.

Is this an example of management or leadership?

Answer:  Management

Suzy is faced with a short-term business challenge, and by managing her overstretched team correctly, she’s able to help them successfully achieve their goal.

On the other hand…

Suzy should be careful. Her team is being pushed beyond its limits. To continue her team’s successful streak, Suzy must also lead. She has to remind team members that accepting these kinds of challenges can help them transform the organization, leading to a more successful future for everyone involved.

Scenario 2:

Jim Entrepreneur is hoping to push his company to become the leader in its industry within the next five years. He knows it’s possible if everyone gets on board. He calls a team meeting where he presents his long-term vision and asks team members to imagine what it will feel like to someday be the best of the best. He hands out paper and crayons and asks everyone to draw a picture of one thing the company can start doing differently to help towards its goals. The team eagerly participates and many turn in more than one idea.

Is this an example of management or leadership?

Answer:  Leadership

While Jim’s meeting may not produce any tangible results immediately, it serves to unite the team and get everyone excited about the company’s potential. His brainstorm encourages creativity, and it reminds each team member that his or her ideas matter. The meeting also helps inspire people to focus on the big picture rather than just short-term results.

On the other hand…

Jim has a talent for getting his team fired up, but this effect could fade if his team members start to notice that he’s all talk and no action. Jim will need to use his management skills to prove that he can translate ideas into tangible business systems.

Scenario 3:

Eric the Executive grows concerned when the company does not hit its goals for the quarter. He schedules one-on-one meetings with each member of his team to investigate the problem. One team member, who has struggled to meet his deadlines, says he’s been having trouble with the company’s current software, and he has been leaving work 10 minutes early every day to take a training class on another software he was hoping to pitch as a replacement. Eric tells the team member he’s sorry to hear the current software is challenging, but he asks the employee to consider dropping the class to allow him the extra time needed to finish his daily tasks. The employee agrees to focus on his work.

Is this an example of management or leadership?

Answer: Management

Eric is doing a great job using his management skills to monitor the bottom line and ensure his company is meeting its quarterly goals. He understands that every team member must be contributing 100 percent of what is expected of them if the company hopes to produce the results it has promised.

On the other hand…

While Eric has solved the problem in the short term, he may be missing longer term opportunities to help the company operate more efficiently. If he had found a way to help the team member stay in the class, Eric would have provided the employee with a chance to develop himself while also exploring a new software solution which might improve company operations far into the future.

Scenario 4:

Brenda the Boss has discovered that her team’s projects have consistently come in over budget, and the executive team has suggested that if Brenda can’t curb spending, they may have to reduce her department’s budget for next quarter. Brenda can think of a few ways she could reduce spending, but instead of implementing those ideas automatically, she decides to throw the problem to her team, asking them to brainstorm some solutions to cut costs.

Is this an example of management or leadership?

Answer: Leadership

By empowering her team to find solutions, Brenda encourages them to think outside the box and demonstrates confidence in their abilities to problem solve. She also shows that her priority is not implementing her ideas, but rather, finding the solutions that are best for the team.

On the other hand…

Brenda will still need to make sure the solutions her team comes up with will deliver as promised. If they cannot reach their cost cutting goals, the whole team will suffer under a slashed budget, so Brenda may have to nix more creative ideas if they don’t seem likely to reach the goal.

Every business needs both great management and bold leadership in order to achieve its goals. Vision without action is ineffectual, and efficiency without a purpose is a recipe for maintaining the status quo. Managers help businesses function like well-oiled machines, while leaders help organizations evolve and take giant leaps forward. Innovative companies can count on their managers to work out the kinks, lower costs, and increase volume, while well-managed companies benefit from the creativity, passion, and unity leaders inspire. Whether it’s achieved by one executive or a team of one hundred, the most successful companies will be those who recognize the difference between management and leadership see the two as complementary and inseparable parts of any thriving business.