Look around your office and you’ll see three types of people: those who hate their job and complain bitterly, those who just tolerate their job and do it to pay the rent, and those who love their job and relish the challenges and opportunities it provides.

The third category represents a small subset of professionals globally but it is this group that gets things done and changes things for the better. If you want to thrive in the workplace, it’s important to make an impact. Here are some suggestions on steps you can follow…

Make sure you’re always prepared

It’s always good to be one step ahead. If there’s a forthcoming engagement, key meeting or project on the planning board, ensuring you’re adequately prepared will make you more relaxed, tension-free and effective.

Make the most of mentors

Navigating the maze of office etiquette and understanding unwritten rules can be incredibly difficult. A mentor can help you understand the norms of your workplace, particularly when you are fairly new.

Finding someone from whose experiences you can learn something can be critical to your success in making a positive impact. Think about a mentor who has the skills or qualities that you’d like to model yourself on and don’t restrict your options to someone who looks like you. Quite often, having a mentor with a different background can help you see other points of view and provide you with different experiences that will be of help to you.

When you do find such a mentor, treat the relationship with respect. Follow through with any assignments that you are given and be ready to take advice when it’s offered without being defensive.

Get well connected

Another critical way to make an impact is through networking. Whether we like it or not, the harsh reality in any society is that it’s not always what you know but who you know. Understanding this and knowing how to network is one of the most critical of the skills you need to apply at work.

When you start a new job, you won’t know any or many people in the office; it’s down to you to build a network. Seek connections both within and outside of your immediate department, and keep the contacts fresh.

Be a good colleague

How can you make yourself into good colleague who has a positive impact at work? The answer is that it’s partly to do with support and a lot to do with being an easy person to get along with – someone others are comfortable to seek opinions and share ideas with.

Stay out of the rumour mill

Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that we’re there to pursue our professional work, and it can be easy to get caught up in internal spats. But if you can stay out of the rumour mill, you’re more likely to be regarded as somebody who is not only independent but also trustworthy.

Bring your unique value

Especially in an international or offshore work environment, it’s likely that you won’t have exactly the same background as everyone around you. There are therefore going to be things that you alone can bring. It’s down to you to identify and share such things with your team and office.

Bring solutions not problems

People naturally gravitate to successful people who make them feel better about themselves, and this applies as much to work as it does to other areas of life.

Deliver what is asked of you. If your manager asks something that doesn’t seem possible to achieve then step back and consider how the goal might alternatively be attained. Adjust the task and process until the goal becomes achievable then deliver on the new approach. (Likewise if an unforeseen problem rears its head.)

Your impact at work is hugely correlated with your ability to do what is needed to achieve the goal. Always do your best to bring solutions to the table rather than problems. They’ll appreciate you for it.

Be known as competent

We come into work with a level of competence, which people get to know pretty quickly. They know not just what we’re capable of doing but how well we do it and at what speed. Staying competent requires us to keep up to date with our CPD and widen our range of experience. Competence has to be nurtured.

Adapt yourself to the people around you

Successful professionals who really make an impact at work tend to be skilled in their ability to adapt to the team surrounding them. They tune into the personalities of the people they are working with in order to cooperate to best mutual advantage. In a way, it’s less to do with who you are and more to do with how you are able to develop relationships with your colleagues, and react and respond to them accordingly. It is this that will help to get you noticed and make you a crucial member – and future leader – of your team, department or office.

Act ‘half a level up’ all the time

Think, speak and present yourself in a way that is half a level up from your actual job position. This means if you are an Audit Senior, behave as if you are already practically an Assistant Manager. Of course, this doesn’t mean walking all over your supervisors or attempting to undermine them but it does mean behaving in a way that inspires confidence from others.

Volunteer for difficult tasks that others are not keen to do

When everyone else is looking down and avoiding eye contact, be the one to look up, take charge and be counted. By being accountable in this way, you will quickly get yourself noticed. Be a contributor and earn a reputation as someone who is willing to get things done. The more you do that, the more your colleagues will have faith in you to take control, and making an impact will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Be authentic

We’re hardwired to sniff out a fake so stay true to who you are. Be the best version of yourself you can be but make sure you’re genuine. The world of work (in particular on the Islands) can be a very small place and you should not compromise your place in it.

View the journey as the goal

Positive influencers don’t take short cuts or go for the easy answer. And they don’t view some arbitrary goal or outcome as a destination, because they believe there is no end – it’s all in the journey.

It’s about what they’re learning, experiencing, and building that helps others and makes an impact and, for that, there is no defined end point. Such influencers embrace failure more readily than others as ‘information’ that guides them to future success. They are more fluid and flexible because their ultimate goal is not just about upholding their title, income, reputation, stature or power but about new ways to help and share what they know.

See also: Banish ‘Monday Morning Blues’ Forever

If you are a lawyer or chartered accountant and interested in working in the Bermuda/Caribbean region, visit our jobs portal to see the latest vacancies. Our site also includes a downloadable All You Need to Know guide which will tell you all you need to know about living and working offshore.