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If life at work is not going quite the way we feel it should, it can be only too easy to play the blame game, whether we think it's the economic climate, constant change, our boss or our co-workers who are holding us back. In truth, at least part of the answer often lies much closer to home. Here are four common behaviors that can seriously impede your chances of success, and what you can do about them.
1. Not Delivering on Your Promises
Being reliable is an essential part of what it means to be professional and credible at work. This can help make you the 'go to' person for new and interesting tasks and projects. But being too obliging or unrealistic about your capacity can actually end up having the opposite effect as you become overloaded with work and those deadlines (and your reputation) start to slip.
What to Do
If you frequently find yourself missing deadlines, then it's important to look at your approach to time management. Ask yourself:
- What currently takes up a lot of my time?
- How might I be more efficient and effective at work?
- Have I got my priorities right - if not, what should I be doing more/less of?
- Is there some work that I could delegate (not simply offload!) to someone else?
- Could I be better at just saying 'no' sometimes to non-essential work?
Being honest and realistic is key. You may want to put your hand up for that exciting new project that has just come along. But if you already have lots of other deadlines and commitments, do you have the time and energy to devote right now? If, after taking stock of your other work, the answer is really no, then make it clear that you would have loved to have been involved. And keep the door open by asking to be kept in mind for any such future work. Better that than taking on too much, overpromising and under-delivering.
2. Lack of Self-Awareness
Most of us like to think we have a handle on what our strengths and weaknesses are, and how we come across to, and impact, others. But how can we really know? If, as a manager or leader, you don't take time to find this out, then you could be oblivious to potential barriers to your career progression, and to problems within your team. What you believe to be your strong management style, for example, might be perceived as controlling or even bullying behavior to others. But without asking the right questions, you may be missing important feedback that could help you develop and progress.
What to Do
One way to help you build your self-awareness is to seek formal feedback on your performance. This could be via 180 degree feedback (between you and your manager). Alternatively, 360 feedback is a good way to compare your perception of yourself with how you are perceived by your colleagues (and even clients or suppliers) at different levels. Speak to your manager in the first instance about the different feedback options open to you.
While gathering formal feedback can help you to create a personal 'to do list' to aid your self-development, you can also feed the results into your performance discussions with your manager. That way, you can ask for any relevant support and track your progress in the areas you know you need to work on. Also try to take advantage of informal feedback opportunities to listen out for clues about your performance and impact, whether that's in one-to-one meetings, team discussions, coaching sessions, or even chatting to your family or friends outside of work.
3. Fear of Failure
In order to progress in your career it's important to be able to rise to and meet whatever new challenges come your way, and to actively seek out new experiences. While most people feel some apprehension about trying something for the first time, for others this can lead to procrastination, stress and passing up chances to develop, upskill and even be promoted. So what can you do if you feel a fear of failure is holding you back? Here are just a few tips:
- Talk about your fears. Voicing your concerns with your manager or a trusted colleague can help you to keep your concerns in perspective, boost your confidence and remind you of the potential benefits of stepping outside your comfort zone.
- Consider the worst case scenario. Ask yourself, what's the worst that could happen if things do go wrong? Often, the lessons you and your team or organization will learn from doing something new or different will far outweigh any time or cost implications if you don't happen to succeed. It's about taking gradual, calculated risks, not avoiding risk at all costs.
- Visualize success. Rather than focusing too heavily on what might go wrong, think back to challenges you have faced and successfully overcome. Imagine how you will feel when you've delivered that successful project, or gained that promotion you were hoping for. Use those positive emotions to keep you focused on success rather than failure.
- Set yourself a challenge outside of work. This might be joining a local committee, becoming a community volunteer or signing up for a charity run. This can help you to build your confidence and practice transferable skills such as planning, networking and goal-setting that you can then apply to challenges and tasks back inside the workplace.
4. Lack of Self-Promotion
Your skills and achievements should speak for themselves, shouldn't they? All that great work you're doing is getting you noticed across the business, right? Well, probably not, unless you're actively promoting it yourself. The issue many people have with self-promotion is that they worry they'll come across as pushy and showy, so they simply don't do it. But it doesn't have to be that way. It's all about how you present your personal brand.
What to Do
- Be clear about the value that you add. Use performance appraisals and departmental presentations as an opportunity to highlight the work you do, and the specific value that you add, quantifying this if and when you can.
- Be a thought leader: Social media can be a great way to share your ideas and expertise, and build your professional profile. You could also offer to write a blog post for your company website or newsletter, if appropriate.
- Get networking. Whether you choose to connect in person, online or both, networking is a great way to promote your skills both inside and outside your organization, and to spot self-development and business opportunities.
By recognizing and following these simple steps, you can address them and prevent them from affecting your career.
