Finding One’s Success Thread Crucial in Drawing Out Their Workplace Superpowers, Says Executive Coach Steve McKinney

What is the formula for success? Some claim to know it and will try to sell it to others, but, just as there is no universal cure for all illnesses, there’s no single sure-fire way to succeed in career or life. However, according to Steve McKinney, a business coach and executive search leader for more than 20 years, each person has a unique set of qualities that will enable them to succeed in their professional and personal goals. Because these are not always apparent for everyone, McKinney says the challenge is determining what these qualities are and finding the “success thread” that runs through all of these.

McKinney, who founded McKinney Consulting in 2001, says that many people are not aware of this success thread, and it’s his role as a coach to draw it out. Being able to determine this success thread can help a professional unlock their “superpowers”, or the things that they do best and are the keys to their continued success. By knowing these, people can make the choices that place them in a position to utilize their skills to their full potential.

“A ‘superpower’ is more than just skills, it’s also a mindset,” McKinney says. “And, often, people have them without noticing it. It’s because they do it so well and so naturally and so good that they don’t even realize that they’re unique and not everybody can do what they do.”

To help draw out these success threads, McKinney developed the Success Factors program, which identifies the exceptional qualities and challenges faced by individuals, whether they are seasoned business leaders or new startup founders. The program then provides the solutions to these challenges through tools developed by McKinney throughout his decades as an executive search and coaching professional. These are designed to provide transformational benefits immediately.

As part of the Success Factors program, McKinney spends an entire session talking with the client about their background and their achievements, whether they be at work, family, hobbies, or the community. He works with the client to dissect and analyze these achievements and then distills these down into four or five statements or success factors that form their success thread.

“A person’s success factors are four or five key things that they can do well and do consistently, no matter what the position they are in,” McKinney says. “For example, public speaking scares some people to death, but others thrive in speaking to a large audience, and they have a lot of practice in it. We find the common thread in all of these, which serves as a guide for them in moving their careers forward.”

By fine-tuning the statements and arranging them logically, McKinney can help the client create something that can be made into their elevator pitch or placed in their resume, which will stand out to everyone who reads it.

Using one of his past roles as an example, McKinney came up with a statement: “I successfully managed the largest factory of an international athletic footwear brand, working with global logistics and local import-export teams in factory management. The factory had 5,000 employees and produced 1.2 million pairs of shoes a month, with factory costs of around $35 million.”

According to McKinney, anyone who hears or reads this brief statement will be able to appreciate his skills and achievements, even if they don’t have an idea about the industry, thanks to the numbers. The statement can also serve as a guide for people, such as recruiters or investors, to ask further questions.

Furthermore, McKinney says that if people are aware of their success factors and success thread, they can know not just what role they’re good at, but also the conditions and culture to look for in an organization that they are working for. 

“From my decades in executive search, I’ve observed people who moved to a competing brand,  to do the exact same role,” McKinney says. “Many would assume that since they succeeded at their previous job, they’ll succeed at their new one. However, this assumption ignores the effect of the work environment and corporate culture. It’s difficult to see on paper, but some people can be superstars in one company and super failures in another – because they’re not allowed to work in a way that they’re very comfortable.

“There is no single formula for success, but there are ways to help people discover their own path that will make them most likely to succeed,” he continues. “This involves helping them find out who they are, how they think, what they do very well, and how they can apply it. I believe this is the key to a person’s job security, as they will always be able to find work opportunities.”

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