associates, inc.5 Bad Habits That Will Kill Your Career
Here are bad workplace habits that many of us you can change. If you change any one of them you’ll improve your chances of success in your professional life. Change all five and you’ll be unstoppable.
1. Thinking you’re always right
Most people like to be right. What if I told you that thinking you are right is bad for you, or even a downright career killer? My guess is you’d disagree. We’ve all been conditioned from birth to think we are right.
And once you are convinced you are right, it becomes an ironclad belief. That is where the problem starts. When we believe we are right, we limit our ability to creatively solve problems. Being right eliminates the opportunity to create, to discover, to grow, and to learn. Instead of thinking you are right, I recommended that you learn to be open-minded and curious.
2. Taking too long to make decisions
One of the biggest mistakes I see executives make is not trusting their instinct. They wind up over analyzing every situation. While analysis is useful, it is not always effective. At a certain point, a decision must be made and an action must be taken. Your instinct is going to be correct more often than not. You have innate wisdom borne of life’s experience. You can learn to trust your instinct to naturally guide you. Don’t ignore it.
3. Avoiding risk
What is your career vision or goal? Are you aiming for that promotion or entrepreneurial leap or are you unwilling to take a chance? What is stopping you is usually fear of failure. The irony is that those who succeed wildly are those who have failed the most. The difference is they do not accept the negative mind chatter that usually results from failure, nor do they pay attention to what the outside world thinks when they fall on their face. So, you’ve got to go for it. The path to success is paved with failure. Get comfortable with it.
4. Wasting your precious energy
What is your most valuable characteristic, the one that drives you to succeed? Are you a great strategic thinker who sees solutions when others see confusing and disparate noise? Do you effortlessly connect with everyone to make them feel accepted and comfortable? Are you a brilliant communicator who can articulate and express ideas in a convincing and readily absorbed manner? How about a master sales-person who simply understands customers and how to service their needs so they want to buy your product?
You are very good at something, but probably not good at all things. Nobody is. We all have innate strengths and weaknesses, but often waste precious time and energy trying to improve on our weaknesses. Don’t bother: they are weaknesses for a reason. Spend your energy maximizing your talents. If you can sell, talk, write, think and be the best at your game, the world will beat a path to your doorstep.
5. Acting like an employee and not the owner.
The last career killer is probably the most elusive and most important one: not treating your job as if the company’s very existence depends upon your performance. If you are acting like an employee, rather than the boss or owner, you are holding your career back. Owners spend all their time figuring out how to solve problems, how to enhance customer satisfaction, how to improve the product, how to squeeze additional profit, how to grow the business, how to get an edge on competition, and how to have great employees. If you’re interested in more money, a bigger office, and more responsibility, start acting like an owner.
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Featured photo courtesy of Cadbury Schweppes.
Business Coaching Secret # 1- How to Get Unstuck & Change Your Career