How do you measure your professional success?

Deals closed, revenue generated, money made, targets (over)achieved? Well done you, let’s pop the Prosecco!

Sounds familiar?

All my professional life in corporate, my success was measured based on hard numbers. Almost all of them were connected to revenue made or revenue saved.

These measures are the currency of corporate success and failure.

And by lack of other measures of importance, we are adapting these monetary-focused metrics and start to believe that our impact, our value, our own professional success centres around how many deals we closed and how much revenue we create.

I like measuring things, so naturally I like measuring financial impact too!

But I wonder: is there maybe more to success?

I am currently developing my professional success measures for my growing coaching business. And yes, clients signed, money made and profit generated are some of my measures. After all, I need to run a financially viable business here.

But I noticed that the days when I feel most achieved and successful, are not necessarily the days I signed new clients or landed new business opportunities. I feel most achieved when I hear things like this:

“This session was eye-opening, I never realised this about myself before!”

“I feel energised and motivated for the week ahead, thank you so much for offering this group learning space.”

Looking at this in more depth, it became clear, that I measure my professional success on things like:

• facilitating learning and growth for others

• facilitating learning and growth for myself

• inventing and creating new services, processes and projects

• collaborating with others

• maintaining the balance between work and my personal wellbeing

I now measure both, or better: all of this. I have developed a monthly success metrics grid that captures these non-monetary measures alongside the hard business facts.

I have added my strengths to the mix as well, rating how well I created opportunities for humour, curiosity, hope, perseverance and honesty to flourish. The impact I am already seeing is profound!

⭐️ I rate more days as successful than before!

⭐️ I acknowledge the multi-faceted work I have to put into a successful business and weigh my efforts more balanced.

And here is an interesting finding:

⭐️ I am generating more leads! By focusing on what is important to me and in line with my personal strengths and values, I believe that I become better at what I do every day and that attracts more people to my services!

So I ask you, what measures can you add to your success matrix?