Being an A-player is a true investment in your career. When you are an A-player, people
will delight in working with you and will fight to offer you better, and higher earning,
positions. It’s common sense that there is an abundance of B and C players, so pushing
yourself to the top rung by being an A-player means remaining competitive in your field.
will delight in working with you and will fight to offer you better, and higher earning,
positions. It’s common sense that there is an abundance of B and C players, so pushing
yourself to the top rung by being an A-player means remaining competitive in your field.
But what makes an A-player?
Failure.
The hardest aspect of being an A-player is that failure is less than desirable. When you
put in your best effort and fail, you want to throw in the towel. You want to wave the
white flag and walk away because it feels much better to succeed than it does to fail.
put in your best effort and fail, you want to throw in the towel. You want to wave the
white flag and walk away because it feels much better to succeed than it does to fail.
This is the performance of a C-player. They try, they fail, they quit.
When at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
What if you are not a quitter? You fail, and you try again. You think twice as hard and
put in twice the effort... and you come up with another failure. And that doesn’t feel
good. But you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. You decide to give it one more
shot, test out the truth behind “third time’s a charm”. After another effortful try,
you fail again. At this point, you are fed up and you are not going to commit anymore
energy to this. You put in a good effort, B-player effort.
put in twice the effort... and you come up with another failure. And that doesn’t feel
good. But you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. You decide to give it one more
shot, test out the truth behind “third time’s a charm”. After another effortful try,
you fail again. At this point, you are fed up and you are not going to commit anymore
energy to this. You put in a good effort, B-player effort.
Failure is an option, but quitting is not.
An A-player knows that there is a way to get it done. After every fail, they pick themselves
up again, brainstorm next steps, and keep their team and leadership in the loop. Failure
is an option, but quitting is not. The A-player will try and fail, try and fail, try and fail,
try and fail, try and fail, wash, rinse, and repeat until they accomplish their goal.
up again, brainstorm next steps, and keep their team and leadership in the loop. Failure
is an option, but quitting is not. The A-player will try and fail, try and fail, try and fail,
try and fail, try and fail, wash, rinse, and repeat until they accomplish their goal.
Being an A-player is about being relentless. It is being innovative, energetic, passionate
and devoted. As an A-player, you set your goals and you problem-solve until you achieve
them. And your career will thank you. Colleagues and leadership respect the A-player that
promise they will do something and do not stop until it is done, and done exceptionally well.
When you focus on your results, good things will follow.
and devoted. As an A-player, you set your goals and you problem-solve until you achieve
them. And your career will thank you. Colleagues and leadership respect the A-player that
promise they will do something and do not stop until it is done, and done exceptionally well.
When you focus on your results, good things will follow.
What now?
Are you an A-player? Take the next week to monitor yourself. How many times will you allow
yourself to try new solutions? Challenge yourself to make less excuses and gain more ground.
Identify the A-players in your office and learn from them. Push yourself to be relentless and
get comfortable with failure. Success lies ahead.
yourself to try new solutions? Challenge yourself to make less excuses and gain more ground.
Identify the A-players in your office and learn from them. Push yourself to be relentless and
get comfortable with failure. Success lies ahead.
ONE BCG is hiring A-players to join our dynamic, energetic team.If you are ready for your next chapter of success...
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