Your professional career can be affected by small day-to-day mistakes that can go unnoticed. Many of us witness the mistakes of others and can easily identify them, but it is not so easy when it comes to ourselves. We live in fear of making a big mistake, and most of the time it is a small mistake that takes us away from that path we walk with so much sacrifice to achieve our goals.
Some reactions or behaviors can end a good career. We often overlook some things because “we’ve always done them” and no one tells us anything. Well, perhaps that attitude that at home or at a party may seem funny, can be fatal in the workplace. No one is safe.
6 behaviors that will harm your career
1. Fear of change
One of the things that can affect you the most is the fear of change . Humans, by nature, change, and that constant change is what makes us better.
Change your routines, the way you work or update your resume, do little things to always keep up. Getting hooked on the past and how things were before is not going to work in this modern world where everything changes every second.
Many times, the routine makes us think that everything will stay the same and nothing will change. That thinking is very wrong, since change is inevitable. We must adapt to changes and reinvent ourselves. In this case, the famous saying “if something works, don’t change it” doesn’t apply.
2. Promise things that you do not deliver
In this highly competitive modern work environment, we often have to promise more than others to be chosen when asked to do a report or assignment.
It is fine to demand more of ourselves and create better alternatives for our bosses or clients, but these promises will be useless if we cannot keep them. For example, it is better to give realistic deadlines than to believe that we are Flash and can finish that 20-sheet proposal in one night. Even if you do it with a short delay, this will disappoint your boss or client, no matter how hard you have tried.
You shouldn’t offer too little either, just try not to overestimate or underestimate yourself to stay afloat in the workplace.
3. Have your ego through the roof
Have you ever worked with someone who only saw the good things they did but saw nothing else? For sure YES. The ego can cloud your view of reality. It can take you away from your goal even if you don’t want to and it puts you in a position where you don’t allow other people to nurture you, as well as losing that general and objective view of things.
Never settle for your job. Let it speak for itself but don’t let a successful job be the excuse for not working on the next one. The moment you do, you are only heralding failure.
4. Negativity
Have you ever had a colleague who just spreads negativity? Probably yes, and perhaps you too have fallen into the trap of frustration by being unnecessarily negative.
Although we must push ourselves and sometimes things do not go as we would like, the answer is not to believe that everything will continue to go wrong. A bad week does not mean a bad life, a bad project or a bad year. Advise realistically but with kindness to whoever you can and do your best.
5. Be very “political”
In all social relationships there are disputes, where sides and even gossip can be created. You should avoid meddling in these types of activities, as someone can get emotionally hurt or fired.
Entering into these types of games is dangerous, even more so if you don’t know your co-workers well. Just as you talk about other people, those people may be talking about you. Also, there are people who take advantage of friendships. For example, if someone is a close friend or relative of the boss, they are probably always complimenting them to get a promotion or simply keeping them happy in case someone complains about their lack of ability. If this is your case, do your best and achieve your success on your own merit.
On the other hand, it is very inappropriate to want to earn “points” by speaking ill of your colleagues. If they are doing a bad job, it will fall on its own accord. You must be authentic and focus on your work.
6. Have low emotional intelligence
Since emotional intelligence was discovered, jobs are harder to come by, as companies look for people who possess this type of intelligence. You cannot work in a team if the person does not control his emotions and is not willing to be flexible with his colleagues and colleagues.
Countless times it happens that a person is very competent in the intellectual field, but when it comes to emotional intelligence, they do not know how to share or negotiate some essential aspects in the day-to-day work. On the other hand, letting your emotions always show up can be detrimental. In the work environment, a neutral posture must be maintained, and although this may not always be possible, it is necessary to control our emotions if we want to reach an agreement with our colleagues and continue advancing in our career.
conclusion
Your professional career can be as vulnerable as a house of cards if you don’t know how to take care of it and improve it. Do not fall into the routine of always doing the same thing, always update your inventory of skills and improve the ones you already have.
When you are so immersed in your work, sometimes it is difficult to realize what is happening and how we can remedy it, but it is not impossible to end those behaviors or aspects that little by little diminish the trust they have placed in you.
References
- Travis Bradberry. 9 Things That Will Kill Your Career. For Inc [Revised October 2017]
