Don’t Be Your Own Worst Career Enemy
We’ve all been in job situations that weren’t ideal but if you are looking to move up or move on, your professional attitude is something that will pave the way for a new opportunity. I read a great piece in Gamut News about self sabotaging career behaviors that you need to be aware of. When company morale is low and you are frustrated with things beyond your control, your best weapons for advancement are positivity and productivity.
Here are the Top Five Career-Limiting Habits that may prevent you from being recognized as a promotable professional.
- Unreliability
- “It’s not my job” attitude
- Procrastination
- Resistance to change
- Negative attitude
Joseph Grenny, co-author of Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success has some great tactics to successfully shape better habits for career success.
Create a personal motivation statement. This nod to positive psychology helps you think about what career life would be like with the promotion or career change, so you can focus on what you really want, and adjust your professional behavior accordingly.
Invest in professional development. New habits require new skills. Hone your craft, increase your knowledge, and seek out workshops, webinars, books and other resources to motivate you and increase your value-add.
Hang with the hard workers. Your current professional peeps may share the same limiting career behaviors so use positive peer pressure to surround yourself with the achievers who share your goals. Positivity is infectious.
Find a mentor. A trusted mentor will help you stay accountable for your new behavior and possibly assist you in navigating new opportunities within or beyond your current organization.
Even if you are looking to leave your current company, you don’t want negative traits seeping into you performance evaluation or job reference. Empower yourself with promotable behavior inside or beyond your current organization.
