Common Sense Ideas for Becoming the Career Star You Are Meant to Be

Today is Friday, so this post focuses on building interpersonal competence.  Here are a few quick points on how to become a truly interpersonally competent person.

• Be honest.  In that way, you’ll never have to remember what lies you told to what person.  Honesty makes your life easier.
• Keep your word.  If you say you’re gong to do something do it.  If you can’t let the other person know.
• Be humble.  Braggarts generally don’t fare well over the long run.  Remember the old saying “lions don’t need to roar”. 
• Be courteous.  It costs you nothing, and it can mean everything to the other person.  It also helps in getting what you want.  You really will get more flies with honey than vinegar.
• Keep your cool.  Any fool can get upset and angry.  It takes a real gentleman or lady to handle the situation calmly and with aplomb.
• Be responsible for yourself.  No one can “make you angry”.  No matter what they do, you can always choose to act in a civil, forthright, constructive manner. 
• Walk your talk.  Do what you say you will do.  Live the life you profess to live.
• Build and nurture relationships with colleagues, customers, suppliers.  Take the initiative to build relationships.  Don’t wait for the other person to do so.
• Work hard at relating well with all kinds of people.  People who are different from you, might make you feel uncomfortable at first.  However, they also have the potential for teaching you something you didn’t know.
• Listen well and demonstrate your understanding of others’ points of view.  As questions if you don’t understand, repeat your understanding to make sure you got it right.
• Be a consensus builder.  If you focus on where you agree with another person, you’ll find that it will be easier to resolve differences and come to agreement.
• Use conflict as an opportunity to develop creative solutions to problems and issues.  Treat conflict as a learning opportunity.  It’s just a difference of opinion, and differences of opinion have the opportunity to create something new and interesting.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more career advice.  Check out my other blog www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a business.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud