Episode #288 – The Core Value of Results in Your Animal Health or Veterinary Career
Caleb: Welcome to “The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider,” brought to you by The VET Recruiter. In this podcast, Animal Health executive recruiter and Veterinary recruiter Stacy Pursell of The VET Recruiter provides insight and practical advice for both employers and job seekers in the Animal Health and Veterinary industries. The VET Recruiter’s focus is to solve talent-centric problems for the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. In fact, The VET Recruiter’s mission is to help Animal Health and Veterinary companies hire top talent, while helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals attain career-enhancing opportunities that increase their quality of life.
Today, we’ll be talking about the core value of results in a person’s Animal Health or Veterinary career. Hello, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello, Caleb. As always, I’m glad to be here with you today.
Caleb: Stacy, today’s core value seems a bit odd.
Stacy: Caleb, why do you say that?
Caleb: Well, when I think of core values, I don’t necessarily think of results. I think of some of the other core values that we’ve been discussing during the past several weeks.
Stacy: Well, that’s actually one of the reasons why results is a core value of mine and also a core value of The VET Recruiter. You can’t take results for granted. Results are not a foregone conclusion. Is everyone in world getting the results that they need to get? Or want to get? The answer is no, they are not.
The second reason that results is a core value of The VET Recruiter and should be a core value for a person’s Animal Health or Veterinary career is that results are what employers want the most.
Caleb: Employers want results the most?
Stacy: Think about it. Why do organizations want to hire employees in the first place?
Caleb: Because something isn’t getting done that needs to get done.
Stacy: That’s right. Specifically, there is a problem that the organization needs to solve, and company officials believe that hiring the right person will help solve the problem. And solving the problems usually involves getting results of some kind. They want to hire a person who will get the results they need to solve the problem.
Caleb: So being able to provide results is a form of value?
Stacy: Exactly! And this is where personal branding becomes part of the equation, because when you brand yourself as someone who gets results, you’re branding yourself in a positive fashion. You’re branding yourself as someone who provides value. So when results is a core value, that means you’re committing yourself to getting results and providing value in your Animal Health or Veterinary career.
Caleb: In addition to personal branding, it seems as though The Principle of Reciprocity is part of this, too. Is that right?
Stacy: Yes, that is correct. We talked about The Principle of Reciprocity in regards to the core value of a “win-win” mindset, and it also applies here. When someone gives us something, we feel compelled to give them something in return. On the other hand, when you first give something to someone else, they will feel compelled to give something to you in return.
Within the context of our current discussion, results are the thing that a person should strive to give to their employer, and yes, they should strive to give those results first. Now of course, the employer is going to pay them. The employee knows that.
However, I’ve seen people with the attitude of, “I’m not going to work hard and put forth an effort until my employer starts paying me more.” That’s not a winning attitude. Instead, a winning attitude is that you’re going to work hard and put forth your best effort first, knowing that your reward for doing so will arrive eventually. Then you will have a better chance of getting a raise and possibly a promotion at some point.
The difference is that you have committed yourself to the core value of results in your Animal Health and Veterinary career and you’re committed to providing those results first.
Caleb: Stacy, now that you’ve mentioned it, the core values of a “win-win” mindset and results appear to be related. Or intertwined in some way. Is that the case?
Stacy: Yes, they are intertwined. As I just mentioned, we discussed the “win-win” mindset in our previous podcast episode, and that core value is related to this one. I’ll give you an example. In the case of my firm, The VET Recruiter, we strive to create a “win-win” outcome for both our client and also for the candidate. We solve our client’s problem by presenting a good candidate who they’re able to hire. These are the results that we get for our client. However, not only is the client happy, but the candidate is happy, as well, because they’re able to grow their career with a great new employment opportunity.
Caleb: Stacy, when it comes to achieving results, is the process the same for an individual as it is for a group?
Stacy: That’s a great question, and yes, most of what works for getting results with an individual works for getting results in a group setting. However, because there are multiple people involved, there are some subtle differences. I’ll touch upon both individual results and group results today, but I also encourage our audience to listen to podcast episode #286, which is about the core value of teamwork in a person’s Animal Health or Veterinary career. That episode contains more information about working together within a group to achieve goals and get results.
For now, I’d like to address what it takes to consistently deliver results at an individual level.
Caleb: That sounds great. What does it take to achieve and deliver results at that level?
Stacy: There are four main elements. First, strive to always perform at your highest level of capacity. This also relates to the core value of hard work in a person’s Animal Health or Veterinary career. You can see how all of these core values are related and intertwine with each other.
The second element is following up on your tasks. This is similar to checking your work. Think of it as a quality control measure. Employers don’t just want results, they want quality results.
Third, follow through on your commitments. This is actually an easy one because the rule is simple: if you’re going to promise to deliver results, then you must deliver those results. At the very least, you must do everything in your power to deliver the results that you promised.
Caleb: Is this why it’s important to under-promise and over-deliver, as opposed to the other way around?
Stacy: That’s exactly right! When you over-promise and under-deliver, then you brand yourself as unreliable. And if you brand yourself as unreliable too many times, then you start to brand yourself as untrustworthy.
Caleb: And that’s one of the worst ways to brand yourself, isn’t it? I believe you’ve talked about that before on the podcast, as well.
Stacy: Yes, branding yourself as untrustworthy is one of the worst ways to brand yourself, no matter the situation, professional or personal. And if you continually fail to deliver the results that you promise, that is exactly what will happen.
The fourth and final element of individual success is to hold yourself accountable. If you didn’t get the results that you wanted to get or were expected to get, what was the reason? It’s important to not make excuses and instead to analyze the real reasons for the lack of results. When you hold yourself accountable and you know that you’re going to hold yourself accountable, you’re more likely to achieve the results that you’re seeking.
Caleb: Stacy, we’ve looked at the elements involved in delivering results, but what about the steps? Are there any specific steps involved in achieving individual results? Or group results, for that matter?
Stacy: Yes, and one of the best ways to track your progress and continue to improve your results is to measure those results. And I have some steps for doing just that.
First, you must identify and fully understand your priorities. After all, you can’t get where you want to go if you don’t know where you’re going.
Second, identify the challenges and obstacles that stand in your way.
Third, formulate key solutions for meeting those challenges and overcoming those obstacles. Ideally, you’ll be able to develop multiple solutions, because when you have more options, you’re able to make better decisions.
Fourth, choose the solution that makes the most sense. Once again, the more options you have, the better.
Fifth, implement the solution that you’ve chosen and execute it to the best of your ability. When it comes to getting results, execution is a critical part of the process and it might be the most important part.
Sixth, measure the results. Hopefully, you can measure them in some quantitative way.
Caleb: Because if you can’t measure it, then you can’t improve it.
Stacy: Yes! You’ve probably heard that saying before, and it’s true. If you want to improve a result, then you must measure it first.
The seventh step is to identify the lessons that you learned while achieving your results and record those lessons.
Caleb: Stacy, what other tips do you have for getting results, either individually or as a group?
Stacy: Actually, I’d like to harken back to one of the core values that we’ve already covered, which is perseverance. One of the best ways to get the results you want is to be persistent and persevere, and as we discussed a few weeks ago, this is closely linked to being resilient. Resiliency is a very attractive trait, both in a job seeker or candidate and also in an employee.
Another tip is to make decisions and to do so quickly and with confidence. Yes, some decisions take more time than others, but if you’re lackadaisical about making them, then it can be detrimental to the entire process and you won’t get the results that you’re seeking.
A third tip is also something which we’ve alluded to before on the podcast, and that’s to surround yourself with people who get results. This is just like any other core value or characteristic. If you want to exhibit a specific trait, then it’s a good idea to surround yourself with people who already exhibit that trait. Their mindset and their actions will “rub off on you,” and you can learn from their attitude and habits. But if you’re constantly around people who do not get results, then you’ll find that it’s more difficult for you to achieve your goals.
Fourth, be as organized as you can possibly be. I understand that some people are more organized than others, but organizational skills are like any other skills—they can be learned and they can be improved upon. When you’re organized, you can work more quickly and decisively, which means that you can solve problems and overcome obstacles more quickly, as well. In short, not only can you achieve the results that you want, but you can also do so in a shorter amount of time.
And finally, solicit feedback from others who you trust. This is especially applicable if you work with a mentor in your professional life. Even if you don’t have a mentor, soliciting feedback can be valuable if you don’t take the feedback personally and you view it as a gift and not as a personal attack. Those people who are open to constructive feedback typically get better results and enjoy more success in their Animal Health or Veterinary career.
Caleb: Stacy, we’re just about out of time, so is there anything else that you’d like to add before we wrap up today’s podcast episode?
Stacy: Yes, there’s one more thing that I’d like to say about the core value of results in a person’s Animal Health or Veterinary career, and that’s the importance of celebrating success.
Caleb: Why is that Stacy?
Stacy: There are a couple of reasons why celebrating success is important.
First, when you celebrate success, it’s a kind of positive reinforcement, both mentally and emotionally. You feel a sense of accomplishment for what you’ve done and you’re rewarded for what you’ve done. This can serve as motivation for you to improve and continue to achieve more.
Second, when you don’t celebrate your successes, you can get caught in a negative mental feedback loop. You might start to think, even subconsciously, that you’ll never achieve results that are good enough. When you never celebrate your success, then you redefine what success actually is, even if you don’t realize that you doing it. Then, no matter the results or what you’re able to achieve, you’re never satisfied with what you’ve done. This can create a dangerous negative feedback loop.
So while you want to hold yourself accountable for your results, you also have to celebrate your successes. It’s not all one way or all the other. An “all or nothing” attitude that produces extremes is typically not a recipe for success.
Caleb: Stacy, thank you so much for joining us today and for all of this great information about the core value of results and a person’s Animal Health or Veterinary career.
Stacy: It’s been my pleasure; Caleb and I look forward to our next episode of The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider!
Caleb: Before we go today, I want to remind the members of our listening audience that if you are looking to hire one person or a group of people, or are looking to make your next career move, then look no further than The VET Recruiter. If you are an employer with hiring needs, reach out to The VET Recruiter. If you are an experienced Animal Health or Veterinary professional check out our hot jobs or send your resume to Stacy at The VET Recruiter. We look forward to seeing you next time on The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider!