We’re nearly halfway through the 2016 calendar. Are you making progress on the personal and professional career goals you set a few months ago to become a high performing leader this year?
It’s not too late – we all have six full months left in the year to achieve our goals!

In our study of thousands of professionals, we’ve discovered common criteria for leaders who are recognized as HIGH PERFORMERS. First and foremost, high performing leaders set and achieve goals. They also outperform their peers…on a consistent basis. It takes dedicated, constant action to become a high performing leader.

The 12 Actions to Become a High Performing Leader we’re sharing over the next two weeks can help keep you on the path to successfully achieve your 2016 goals. Find a quiet place to sit down and reflect on your development. Here are the first six actions to cross off your list:

1. 40 HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Determine the top five skills required to reach your desired vision.  Then assess your top five skill sets and skill challenges.  Map your skill strengths and challenges to the skills you need to achieve your vision. Then commit to 40 hours over the next 6-12 months for your own professional development to fill your skills gap. These activities can range from reading a book on professional development to taking a class or hiring a coach.

2. BUILD YOUR BRAND
Take a few minutes to write down your vision, core values, and annual goals.  Then jot down the five things that people in your network would say when describing you. With that information documented, spend some time reviewing your social media channels and commit to aligning your brand with your vision, values, and goals.

3. INVEST IN RELATIONSHIPS
Think about the people whom you consider to be in your top 50 relationships. Write down their names. From that list, determine the contacts that are your top 10 influencers. Map your time spent last year to your relationship and influencer lists, then commit to investing in your top 10 influencers and top 50 relationships in the coming months. These people will be thrilled to hear from you!

4. IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Honestly assess your current public speaking comfort level and capabilities. After your self-assessment, determine what you truly do well and where you would like to make improvements.  Commit to developing your public speaking skills by taking a course or watch and listen to recordings of your presentations. Successful public speaking experiences are excellent confidence builders for high performing leaders.

5. ENHANCE YOUR INFLUENCE
Give some thought to the five people who influence you? Write down their names. Then compare and contrast your influence ability against that list of five names. Learn from your named list and emulate their influencing ways. Commit to developing your own persuasion, influence, and negotiation skills.

6. INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY
Write down the five most important things you need to do in the coming month. Create an action list, to-do list, and project plan to align with your ‘five important things’ list.  This will help you commit to improving your time-management, focus, and overall prioritization.

We’ll share the next six actions with you next week. In the meantime, if you need professional support to help you or your team with leadership development, we encourage you to learn more about the Velocity Performance corporate programs and Fall 2016 Open Enrollment Training Academies.

Our programs for Executives, Leaders, and Emerging Leaders start in September 2016. You can access course information and register online at: velocityhub.com/open-enrollment or contact Chris Williams at chris@velocityhub.com.