When BBC’s elite team of entrepreneurs make their decisions about the hopeful participants who go into the Den, they are usually as much concerned about the person who is presenting to them as in their product. This is because success in business and most aspects in life are founded on the vital trio of skills, qualities and attitude.
In the last edition of Careerscope, John Botten, former Education Business Partnership leader, looked at the importance of transferable skills as a key element of the work-readiness looked for in Sir Alan Sugar’s Apprentices. This time John takes us through developed personal qualities as the second pillar required for career success.
When the Dragons are looking at investing, the personal qualities of the person who wants their money and support is a critical factor in their decision whether to invest. There is a considerable debate about whether our personalities are a result of our genetic make-up or a result of the environment in which we grow up and our experiences of life. But it is true that , for example, some people seem to be more outward going than others, that some people are very optimistic and others less so, and that variations in our personal qualities make us unique.
There is no right set of personal qualities. Different people are useful in different ways in businesses and life. For example, every team needs people who are completer-finishers as well as people with bright ideas. The Apprentice has often illustrated that teams with too many people with leadership qualities can fail for lack of members who make sure that the ideas are translated into action. Similarly, those who are good at seeing the “big picture” need the help of people with an eye to detail to succeed. If we develop them carefully we all have personal qualities which are of value to others.
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Levi Roots and his Reggae Reggae Sauce
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- Enthusiasm - this is one of the most important qualities. Think of Levi Roots who won support because of his infectious enthusiasm for his Reggae reggae sauce. Employers and investors like people who a genuinely enthusiastic and cheerful about their life and work.
- Honesty and trustworthiness - both are very important to those around us and can have a big impact on how successful we are. Employees have to handle money, goods and information in a way which gives confidence to others.
- Adaptability – you will find this as a key element in many job advertisements and descriptions. Employers and investors want people who can grow and develop in their work, adapt to change and implement new ideas.
- Resilience – this is a combination of determination and persistence which often relates to problem-solving. Employers and investors don’t like people who give up when faced with difficulties; they do like people who look for a way through the problems they face.
- Flair – this is the ability to “think outside the box,” to create new products, services or ideas.
- Attention to detail – too many of those who go into the Dragons’ Den have failed to prepare sufficiently for the detailed questioning to which they are subjected, - for example, on their profit margins, projected sales or the return for investors. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail!
- Reliability – this is one of the most important of all; employers hate and investors shun anyone who is unreliable, who , for example, does not turn up to work, fails to deliver on commitments or cannot be relied on.
Whatever qualities we have, it is important to use the opportunities which are available to develop and demonstrate them. These can be in school sports teams or clubs, drama activities, part-time work and in a myriad of circumstances at home. Employers and investors need to see or hear evidence of your personal qualities, not just to hear you claim that you are enthusiastic, determined, reliable and so on. So try to obtain third party testimonials to evidence the qualities you have.
So we’ve now looked at how your transferable skills and personal qualities matter. In our final article, in the Spring edition, John will take us through the last important personal trait that employers are looking for in you; Appropriate attitude.
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