I am often asked what is it that separates the high performers from the rest of the pack, and how can I become a high performer? The answer to this question is that the high performers know and apply seven secrets that the average run of the mill people do not know let alone apply. In this article I’ll tell you about the seven secrets and their importance in view of the major changes that are coming.

This is an important question as the economy is about to enter a new phase and it will not be business as usual and there will be important challenges and expectations addressed to those who want to take advantage of the new opportunities that will emerge.

What will be expected of us as the world emerges from the financial/economic crisis and comes to terms with repairing the Earth’s damaged ecology? It’s certain that the world will be a different place, and in our work and careers a whole range of new demands and expectations thrust upon us.

These new demands will involve a new relationship to our work, to the way we understand our responsibilities and to the sort of things we do. High performance will involve much more than just being technically competent. It’s not going to be business and life as usual.

The big question mark at this time is whether we will be able to meet these expectations?

It is doubtful that we will be up for the demands that these expectations involve unless we can reach a new level that the seven secrets of how to advance your career hide. I want to make it plain that this is a time of great opportunity for those who learn and apply the seven secrets of what it involves to achieve high performance.

There are simply not enough people who can do the critical work of the new emerging economy. This work involves being able to collaborate with others to get things done in many cases where opinions differ, where the stakes are high and emotions run hot, finding creative solutions to customer’s and fellow workers’ needs and dealing with people of diverse ethnicity, gender and religious orientation.

The qualities needed in the new emerging realities are secrets possessed by relatively few people. If you are to be a player in the new realities you too will need to learn these secrets.

There are seven secrets of how you can advance your career that will ensure that you will achieve your unlimited career potential.

The first of these secrets involves learning how to live in the moment, monitoring your actions and adjusting your actions as events unfold. People who understand this secret are able to treat everything that arises as an opportunity to learn and adjust their activities and practices, their opinions and their beliefs in the light of what they learn. Most people realize what they should have done when it’s too late.

The second secret involves learning how to take unconditional responsibility for the choices that you make and thereby becoming a player in the game of life rather than a victim. People who understand this secret have a proactive approach to life that becomes a cornerstone of the way they operate.

The third secret involves achieving emotional mastery. This is also coming to terms with any shadow elements that can inhibit our effectiveness. There are few people who don’t have some sort of shadow material in their consciousness. People who understand this secret are able to use the energy invested in their emotions as a source strength that can be mobilized to deal effectively with the situation that has given rise to the emotion in the first place.

The fourth secret involves understanding how to engage in conversations where opinions differ, where the stakes are high and emotions run hot. When confronted by a crucial conversation some people become aggressive in order to win the argument, or withdraw rather than “buy a fight”. People who understand this secret are able to help a group find constructive solutions to common problems, reducing tensions and frustration and also contributing to the best decision.

The fifth secret involves understanding how to negotiate the best decision when the way ahead is unclear. People who understand this secret are able to identify the common interests that people have and guide the discussion to a point where a mutually satisfying decision is reached.

The sixth secret involves making and honoring commitments through commitment conversations. People who understand this secret exercise care in what they promise and don’t promise what they know they can’t deliver. Whenever they are unable to honor a promise they do all they can to repair any damage caused. This is the key to living a life of integrity.

The seventh secret is matching one’s talents and interests with the work being done. People who understand this secret have a sound grasp of their strengths and weaknesses in terms of their abilities, their working style and level of awareness. They are a round peg in a round hole.

Understanding these secrets and developing the capacities that they hide stands at the heart of how you advance your career. Those who master these secrets find that their careers are propelled forward, they participate fully in life and they have the opportunity to experience their unlimited possibilities. The result is true happiness with an enhanced self esteem. These secrets will take you to a place within yourself where you can develop a deeper relationship with the Earth, new ways of defining your needs and how you can satisfy those needs, new ways of understanding what it means to succeed, how you can expand your span of care and concern for others and other life forms and how you can discharge your social and political obligations.

These are all critical factors in meeting the expectations that all of us face as the world evolves to a new stage of its evolution.

Career Mentoring Institute has developed a program called “The seven secrets of how to advance your career: how to achieve your unlimited possibilities”. This program is available online. You receive a workbook that deals with each of the secrets and has practical exercises as to how you can unlock the secrets and incorporate them in your life. The exercises can be uploaded to a website and assessed, graded and you are provided with helpful feedback that is very useful in advancing learning. There are very few programs that provide you with the level of feedback provided here. In order to find more about the seven secrets program go to the website http://www.careermentoringinstitute.co.nz/seven-secrets-advance.html