Creating Success Teams to Realize Your Goals

Many of you have heard of strategies that include creating a personal "advisory board" made up of mentors close faculty advisors, successful family members and others whose values and opinions you trust and would like to emulate in your career and life. The logic in formulating such teams is that by doing so you will have a very personal team of advisors committed to encouraging and teaching you the ropes of success, and pushing you to your limits to achieve your full potential. These people should be accessible (not inaccessible in this case) people that will pour themselves into your development and guide you in a path of similar results or outcomes as their own. This is one example of an excellent success team to develop.

Another excellent success team to develop includes one of peers with similar academic and professional goals, similar standards of excellence, a similar "burning desire to succeed" as your own. This peer team (not a large group but a small group of 4-5 people) can establish "accountability agreements" on intense studying habits and schedules, can drive all members to excellence in working through difficult classes, push each other to attend critical networking and related professional development events. This group can also share information on internships, scholarships, and of course pulling each others coat tails if someone is slipping in their performance or not upholding the agreed standards of the group.

Many of you may belong to such a group, but I recommend that you formalize it, up the standards and establish a private pack to reach the highest levels of success possible. Remember, everyone "ain't" ready for the level of intensity I am talking about, and weak links or talkers won't do; you should only include those with the same level of intensity, discipline and character as you.

Success teams are an excellent way to achieve some of your greatest goals as a young black professional and gain a professional edge whether your goals are to attend elite graduate and professional schools, maintaining high GPAs, or transitioning into competitive career opportunities. A great side benefit is the lifelong friends you will make along the way!

Let us know what you think. Kwells@howard.edu

Kim R. Wells