There are of course a myriad of ways to increase your capabilities and raise your game when it comes to work performance and results, clearly not limited to only 5 ways to boost your work performance!
However, most advice for how to so do centres around recommending fundamentals, such as better time management, goal setting, reducing distractions, acting on feedback and so on.
These are all valid and important foundation blocks, without which you will certainly find it harder to perform well.
However, if you are looking to move beyond these starting points and towards something that can really have an exponential impact on your performance, you can try these 5 ways to boost your work performance.
Table of Contents
1 – Targeting Your Weakest Skills First Yields the Greatest Returns
The first of our 5 ways to boost your work performance considers skill targeting.
Human nature tends to draw us toward refining skills we already perform reasonably well at. This is comfortable – after all, few of us enjoy confronting areas where we fall short.
For example, if you are already (to keep the example simple) 80% proficient at creating and delivering presentations, it may be very tempting to go for additional training that might elevate you to 85% or even 90% – we usually like to become even better in areas where we already feel successful.
But while this would indeed be an improvement, the question is: does the incremental gain justify the time, money and energy required? More importantly – will your audience significantly benefit from the difference between ‘really good’ and ‘very good’?
Now, consider a different scenario. Suppose you are only 50% effective at delivering feedback and discussing performance appraisals. With a few simple techniques, you could raise that ability to around 75% – quickly, affordably and with minimal effort. The impact of this shift would be profound. People’s performance and career trajectory is strongly driven by the quality of feedback and appraisals they receive.
Moving from ‘amateur’ to ‘competent’ in any skill is usually faster and easier than progressing from ‘competent’ to ‘expert’. The first leap delivers a far greater return on investment than the second.
So, focus first on transforming your weakest areas into reliable strengths. This approach produces substantial, visible improvements. Once those gains are secured, you can turn to refining your stronger skills for smaller, but still valuable, marginal gains.
2 – Optimise for Your Rhythms
The second of our 5 ways to boost your work performance looks at the role of biology in performance.
Remember first that your brain is attached to your body….! Although it is clearly not always (or even frequently), possible to arrange your work around what suits your daily rhythms best, wherever practicable try to organise your work in a way that optimises your potential for higher performance.
For example, some people work better in the mornings, others in the afternoons. Some people get a boost of energy after a decent lunch, others slow down after eating. Work out when you usually feel at your most mentally acute and focussed during the day, and then slot the more complex and demanding tasks into those time periods.
Optimise yourself psychologically as well where possible – for example, some people prefer to get the biggest task of the day done first, others are more motivated when they can tick a number of smaller items off the list before tackling something more substantial. Some people prefer to just put their head down and plough through all of the work, surfacing at the end with time to spare. Others work best when work is split up throughout the day, taking short breaks or switching between tasks to keep fresher.
To discover what ‘Flow State’ is and how it can lead to exponential performance gains, read our article ‘Flow State for Peak Performance’ For insights about how to reduce distractions and increase focus, take a look at our article ‘How to Radically Improve Concentration’. |
3 – Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
The third of our 5 ways to boost your work performance is a reminder that you don’t need to create novelty.
One of the fastest ways to get to where you want to be, or to achieve what you want to achieve, is usually to model on others.
Almost everyone (if not everyone), around you is good at something. Whatever job level they are, whatever industry they are in, whatever tasks they perform – they all have abilities. We tend to be so focussed on what we are doing, or should be doing, or could be doing better and so on, that we often fail to simply observe what is around us.
The more you can watch and learn, model and replicate, the faster and more comprehensively you will grow and develop. It really is that simple.
Identify your weaknesses (starting from the weakest first), then actively seek out examples of people who have that characteristic or skill as a strength. What are they doing? How do they do it? Most skills and abilities are actually acquired just by learning a pattern or strategy, then practicing and repeating it until the person becomes competent at it.
We tend to have the idea that because we all have certain areas of life or work that we naturally find easier or more tricky, that it is very difficult to become good at something we have little natural aptitude for. Whilst it is true that if, for example, you have no natural aptitude for maths you are unlikely to become an expert mathematician, it is usually not true that you are unable to develop any competence in mathematics at all.
When it comes to improving your work performance, fortunately you are not usually in the position of having to acquire a completely new skill (such as mathematics) in order to do so. More often, what you need to do is supplement your existing skills, find a better solution than the solution you are currently using, or achieve a new perspective for example.
So if you are not great at public speaking and presenting, find someone who is and model them. If you are not so competent at influencing people, consider who is able to influence you and why that is the case. If you find work events awkward and struggle to make small talk, watch how someone good at it pulls it off.
Whatever the skills or competencies you wish you had more of, replicating strategies used by people who excel at those will get you a long way towards where you want to be.
4 – It Is What It Is. You Are Where You Are. Deal With It.
The fourth of our 5 ways to boost your work performance targets realism.
It is inevitable that you will mess something up, fail in some way, feel disappointed or upset with yourself or others, or simply just have off days for no particular reason, at regular intervals throughout your working life. It is simply not possible for everything to go perfectly all of the time.
However, the quicker you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back to it, the better your overall performance will be.
Whilst it is self-evidently useful to analyse what happened, why it happened and what (if anything) you could do better or differently next time, it is equally self-evident that beyond this considered, but brief critique, it is useless to continue to wallow in what went wrong.
High performers are the ones who can see a situation for what it is, take any lessons on board, and then move on quickly. The faster you fail, the quicker you will get to your ultimate goal or destination. The vast majority of success is born out of performing repeated experiments, learning from those experiments, perfecting and adapting as a consequence and experimenting again, until eventually the desired result is achieved.
5 – Engage with Higher-Level Performers
The final of our 5 ways to boost your work performance encourages the right context.
It’s natural to take satisfaction in areas where we excel. Yet growth stalls when we stop aiming higher, whether because we’ve reached a comfortable position or because competition no longer feels necessary.
One of the biggest challenges for anyone is the ability to see their own blind spots – it is very difficult to ‘know what you don’t know’. Without comparison points, it’s challenging to gauge where improvement is possible, or even necessary.
That is why one of the most effective ways to accelerate your development is to spend time with others who outperform you – and ideally, those who approach professional demands and tasks in ways very different from your own.
The principle is universal. A footballer sharpens their skills by playing against stronger opponents. A player with great pace but less agility improves fastest when matched against someone whose exceptional nimbleness forces them to adapt and respond in new ways.
Growth and development requires exposure to fresh contexts, alternative approaches and higher standards. Surrounding yourself with people who perform at a higher level pushes you beyond your comfort zone and expands your capabilities.
Importantly, your circle doesn’t need to be drawn solely from your own field or market. Some of the most transformative insights come from observing and engaging with people in entirely different industries, disciplines or environments. Diversity of experience often sparks the most significant breakthroughs.
For tips on how to retain and develop high performers and high potential people, read our article ‘Developing High Performers’. |
5 Ways to Boost Your Work Performance: Interested in Increasing Your Work Capabilities and Performance Further?
At Mary Taylor & Associates our coaching goes well beyond standard coaching.
With qualifications and experience in corporate law, psychology and leadership, plus over 20 years of business, coaching and consultancy experience, Mary provides unique new ideas, inventive proposals, lateral solutions and visionary perspectives.
Our coaching is personalised, practical and focused on creating immediate, meaningful impact. If you are looking for advanced coaching that equips you with outstanding skills and a service that provides full client satisfaction guarantees, we are ready to support you.
We provide a variety of coaching interventions, including:
We offer all potential clients a complimentary initial consultation, with no obligation, to discuss what they would like to achieve and the services we can potentially offer. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have and expand on the information contained on our website.
