Editor’s Note: Dawn Lennon is an Expert Author with EmployWise^TM. She is currently president of her career & small business coaching/consulting practice, Big Picture Consulting. She spent over 20 years in senior manager positions in consumer programs, HR, customer service, and change management at a Fortune 500 energy company and has a master’s degree from Lehigh University. She is the author of the book, Business Fitness: The Power to Succeed—Your Way. and her Business Fitness blog. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

In my last post I wrote about restless employees, questioning the traditional methods of retaining them and offering a new approach to spark up their work lives. It’s the concept of “business fitness” that they need to understand so they are aligned from top to bottom.

Business fitness comes from a set of smart moves essential for professional growth. Achieving it is a like any other fitness model; there is a regimen to follow at your own pace.

At work there are first four private moves (actions we take under the radar) and then three public moves (actions that engage others).

1. Stay well—Dependability is the underpinning of career success. If we don’t come to work ready to make a difference, we brand ourselves as long-term risks. Employees need know how to connect health wellness to their future.
2. Stay focused—Being goals-driven is the backbone of achievement; that’s where our value is demonstrated. Employees need to understand how to develop and perform against goals.
3. Stay current—Even though employees today are social media savvy with wireless access to lots of information, it doesn’t mean they are on top of business breakthroughs in the context of the marketplace. They need to become and remain knowledge experts.
4. Stay connected—Building a network of solid relationships essential to job growth and success takes interpersonal skills as well as social media dexterity. Employees need to know how to engage with others, negotiate, and influence.
5. Attract a following—In order for employees to build their reach, they need to be regarded for their competencies. We need employees whom others want to work with, so they need to know how to be effective team players and/or subject matter experts.
6. Take the lead—Leadership roles, large or small, are where employees can make the broadest difference. It takes insight, willingness to be accountable for the actions of others, and courage to lead. Employees need to develop that strength.
7. Implement new ideas—Innovation is the life-blood of our companies, so employees need to understand where and how initiatives can take hold. Learning to innovate and how to position new ideas is challenging.

These seven smart moves, when mastered, mean that employees are business fit, prepared and ready to take on any challenge with expectations for real success. Each of the moves is detailed in the book with business examples, actions, strategies, and rationales.

Recently, Paul McCord, globally recognized authority in prospecting, business development, and personal marketing and author of SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales SuperStar, wrote this in his review of Business Fitness.

“Business is action.  Information is worthless if it doesn’t result in some sort of action—and action, not just information, is the real meaning of Business Fitness.

Every businessperson is responsible for their own growth. Expecting the company to provide for your training and skill development is one of the surest ways to fail….”