Your parents gave you energy, intelligence and a work ethic ... they made you a quick study, a problem solver, a good communicator and instilled a sense of caring in you. You have all these in your DNA. Now, forget about them, their worth is greatly diminished once you’ve launched your career. The attributes that will get you ahead are driven by your experience, what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve done for others. That’s how your managers and mentors will describe you. Here’s a checklist. No one is great at all of these, but in an objective, unemotional look you should see yourself in some of them.

Client partnering
Help people, solve their problem, build sustainable relationships—don’t just sell them something

Embracing challenge
Easier said than done—some people are handed goals that seem impossible. But they don’t always give it their best. Take it on!

Earning trust
“Walk the talk” — find someone who doubts you and over-deliver; they’ll come back to you in the future

Enabling performance
Your willingness to teach others

Developing people and communities
Collaboration is like a symphony, everyone working together ... step outside your org chart to help others.

Passion for the business
You should be excited by future possibilities, interested in what the company is doing and want to help make it happen

Strategic risk-taking
Embrace challenge, experiment to overcome obstacles

Informed judgment
Do your research, don’t “wing it,” have a rationale for why you do what you do

Think horizontally
Look to the left and right to include colleagues in solutions

Collaborative influence
Teaching horizontal thinking is a sign of leadership