14 Characteristics of High-Performing People: Trusting the Process

Are You Committed to Personal Growth? 

Lynn said that most people find it difficult to know what it means to trust the process and it makes this character element the hardest to understand.  It permeates everything – which makes it hard to define.  Our last blog talked about initiating personal growth – and if your goal is to merely tick the box on a learning activity – you’re not interested in becoming more than you were.  You will shun the process of learning and you’ve missed the point of the journey toward your goal.  Your authenticity (or lack of) is revealed in this characteristic.   

We understand that it’s how our culture teaches us – you have to get to the end, the result but pay no attention to what it takes to get there.  If you trust there is something rich in the process of developing your character, you’ll be willing to go through it (not around) and achieve the results you seek.   

In It For The Long Term 

Using the stock market as an example, American corporate culture puts shareholder value above all the other corporate values, “The Bottom Line”.  To be deemed successful, business leaders must show shares increasing month-over-month and failure to do so may result in the proverbial pink slip.  A long-term growth strategy that allows for flat revenue projections is eschewed at the expense of the short-term profit strategy.  Many of the negative perceptions of corporate culture could be mitigated if leaders focused on long-term sustainability which ultimately benefits shareholders, clients and employees.   

Take care of your employees, and they will take care of your business.  As simple as that.

We can look to leaders like Sir Richard Branson whose philosophy is, “Take care of your employees, and they will take care of your business.  As simple as that.”  He built many successful businesses by understanding why he was doing it and trusting the process along the way.  He had failures, too, and struggled through hardship, but kept on going. 

Trust Keeps Us Positive 

Lynn gave an example of one of her senior directors during a recent mentoring session.  Claire asked, “How do you stay so positive through everything?”  Lynn shared why she is doing the work she does, and how she trusts the process of growth in her people and her organization.  Things go well sometimes, and sometimes not so well.  There are hilltops and valleys, but she doesn’t give up because she keeps her vision for herself and for the organization at the forefront of her mind.   

Ben reminded us that one of the important aspects of their coaching practice is to help others remember – or rediscover – why they are doing what they do.  We believe everyone is born with a purpose, but sometimes we trade it away because of fear.  We seek security in our place and focus on feeling safe in our situation.  When we trade away that knowledge and do not trust the process, we are misaligned with our nature.  We lose the energy we need to embrace change and growth.  Instead, we may heed the advice of Henry David Thoreau: 

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”  

Thoreau is talking about trusting the process.  Notice there’s no promise of it being easy and most of us have learned that the opposite is true.   

It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint  

Ben coaches financial advisors to slow down and make less money – now, that is antithetical to the perceived purpose of someone who manages other people’s money!  The advisor may be able to increase someone’s net worth through investments but may not be fully maximizing their abilities.  When they lose focus on their prospecting pipeline and their follow-through in servicing existing clients, it can lead to an overly ambitious investment strategy.  This results in an unbalanced investing position or risk-oriented client base and requires time and energy spending to correct the course.   

One of Ben’s first coaching clients came in during his second year of working as a financial advisor.  Dan was in danger of failing and losing his job because he wasn’t meeting the goals set for him by the organization.  There was a lot of fear associated with the failure but he also questioned whether the path Ben proposed would work, “What if I spend time and money learning a new approach, and I still get fired?”  While working with Ben, he realized that he was approaching his career with a job mindset, working for the short-term payday and missing the long-term benefits.  He decided to commit the time and energy needed to overcome the deficit in his relationship-building skills.  Dan has been a top producer for nearly a decade and continues to trust Ben to coach his team of 12 people how to be successful financial advisors regardless of the current economy. 

The point is that taking time and energy to build a well-rounded foundation of knowledge allows the advisor to spend time “making money” rather than chasing it.  Investing in your professional development pays dividends – personally and financially – for long term success.   

The Roller Coaster is the Journey 

Lynn said that she thinks when people choose not to focus on the process, they’re not aware that they are making that choice.  They are on an emotional roller coaster, and it’s an unconscious choice to avoid difficult decisions, and stay emotionally safe.  They protect themselves from negative feelings, doubt and fear by avoiding the process of working through problems.  They fool themselves, check the box and celebrate their survival.   

When a baby is born, her parents radiate with happiness in the promise and blessings she brings.  

The interesting part is that some people avoid the opportunity to experience good feelings because they are afraid of any emotional intensity.  They never learned how to handle their emotions and so they suppress all of them.  Some people think that if they allow themselves to feel joy it won’t last and they’ll become miserable when the joy leaves.  When a baby is born, her parents radiate with happiness in the promise and blessings she brings.  If they allow the happiness to be replaced with fear, they’ll start to imagine all the bad things that might happen to her as she grows up.   

It’s part of a human’s makeup, to guard ourselves against too much enjoyment of what we have in life.  We spend energy fighting to hold on to what we have, and there’s nothing left to grow and become something new.  Parents are faced with the conundrum of wanting to protect their children but must eventually release them into the world.  If you’ve done your job in the first 18 years, you know that they will have falls and scrapes, but you’ve taught them how to survive the coming decades.  Based on experience, you expect that they’ll have some problems, so worrying isn’t necessary.   

What If? 

Ben offered an example of expecting the worst: 

When a new coaching client comes in, they express concerns about how others will think about them if they change the way they approach others.  “What if people criticize me?” or “What if someone doesn’t like me anymore?” are common questions.  Well, Ben says, “Let me take that fear away because it’s true, they will see you differently.”  When you decide to be more assertive or choose to embrace humility your pride will take a hit.  The good news is that you don’t even need to respond or hit back.   

Trusting the process allows you to understand that the things you fear may come to pass, but they don’t have to have a negative outcome.  Changing your attitude creates a positive environment that embraces the promise of change in the world.