We work hard at developing our careers, carefully crafting our futures and growing our experience and skill sets. Too often, we fail to realize how easy to is to undo all that hard work and completely sabotage your own career. Here’s just a few popular ways that people do this, take note so that you avoid them:
1) Believing that hard work is the sole reason you will get ahead: How many people do you know with their heads down, hell-bent on working every available hour? Even if their work is good, a company isn’t going to whisk them off up the corporate ladder purely because of this. While working hard and working well are vital for promotion, you cannot sit back and count on someone noticing your efforts and giving you a raise.
2) Fear of expressing your true opinion: A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that they need to have the same views as their bosses, so they try to second-guess their boss in a situation and run with that, rather than thinking for themselves and assessing each situation on its own merits. Your organization would benefit from your views if you let them – it builds cohesion. Be respectful, be professional, but be honest, and people will appreciate the value you add and respect you for your candor.
3) Failing to market yourself: You are your number one product, and you need to market the results you get and showcase what you can do. In order to get to the top, you have to get noticed. So, without looking like you’re ‘blowing your own trumpet’ all the time, make sure those around you know about your successes at work. Build networks of people who believe in you, and who you can ally with. Spend quality time with them – it is an investment in relationships which will help you succeed.
4) Failure to market others: Everyone likes helpful people, and those people you help will become great ambassadors for you in return. If you help others to improve and get ahead, it will help you get ahead, too. Too many people erroneously believe that, by helping others, they could be cutting their own throats – which is just not true, it’s giving yourself a great boost towards the top.
5) Pretending that there are no politics: Many of us hate political situations, but doing the equivalent of putting your fingers in your ears and whistling won’t help. Unfortunately, refusing to acknowledge or participate in the political framework of your company can be career limiting. Even if you hate office politics, you need to be aware of the political aspects; even if you don’t take an active part. It is important to know who has what power, understand how the corporate culture works, and to maximize your networks and positive connections to others.
6) Unwillingness to take on tough assignments: There are always projects that are harder than others but, when you take on the assignments that no one else wants and do a good job, you’ll be seen as a great team player, and also as someone who will go the extra mile for the organization.
7) Failing to participate well in meetings: This may sound small, but meetings are vital in any organization. They are where everyone gathers and every meeting you go to is an opportunity for you to show who you are and what you can do. It’s also a place where you can be judged for poor participation. Preparing well, participating effectively, and especially leading the meeting well if that’s your role can all be career advancers. Avoiding important meetings or avoiding joining in at them can do exactly the opposite. If you show up late, people may draw conclusions about how well you work, or may find it disrespectful. Looking bored or disinterested, or arriving unprepared will hurt you more than you think.
8) Reluctance to build alliances: Some people feel that building alliances feels insincere and false. However, getting ahead in any company requires others to promote you, just as you promote yourself. The people you build alliances with are unlikely to become your best friends, but they are people who you can count on based on mutual trust and respect. On this basis, it isn’t false at all if you respect them. You can’t get to the top all by yourself. The sooner you build strategic alliances with others in the organization at all levels, the better your chances are of moving up within the company.
9) Backstabbing and end–runs: We’ve all experienced people bad-mouthing behind people’s backs and circumventing structural hierarchies to get ahead, especially at the lower levels of the organization. There’s a reason you see this at the lower levels of the organization more – its because gossip and backstabbing are surefire ways to stop your career progression in its tracks. It is much better to confront issues positively and with the person who can help affect the result.
