I’ve held management and leadership roles for most of my career. During that time I’ve seen many highly capable colleagues progress and develop in their careers, while others, with similar potential, have failed to do so. Here I reflect on five reasons some staff self-sabotage their career development.
1. Passive attitude to learning and development
There are two kinds of people; those who actively seek out opportunities to develop professionally and personally and those who wait to be sent on a training course. The former take a broader approach to learning and development; they look up the latest reports and keep up to date with organisational and sector developments. They have conversations with others, read books, listen to podcasts and follow relevant individuals and organisations through LinkedIn and other social media. These staff may also attend formal training courses- but they recognise that this is not the only way to learn.
Staff who don’t have the appetite to continue to develop and grow, essentially go backwards as they don’t keep up with developments within their professional area.
Those who take a proactive approach to learning will be on the look out for opportunities and be far better prepared when they apply. It’s easy to spot the difference between the two types when they apply for jobs. It’s no surprise therefore, that the former are far more likely to make the shortlist.
2. The whinger
Like the Dementors in Harry Potter, these staff suck the joy from the workplace. Stock- in-trade phrases to look out for are “I’m not being negative but…”, “that didn’t work when we tried it 5 years ago..” and “it’s so unfair that x has this opportunity and I don’t …..”. You get the picture.
These staff will often set themselves up as ‘the people’s champion’ and try and get colleagues to join their gang. They often find change hard and so aren’t going to be at the vanguard when you need staff to help champion change. They will take longer than most to process and accept change, often continuing to do what they’ve always done. They bring plenty of problems but rarely solutions. They are critical of ‘the leadership’ but rarely step up to apply for leadership roles themselves.
3. “That’s not in my pay grade.”
This phrase makes my toes curl. Limiting yourself to the constraints of your job role restricts your ability to develop and prepare for future opportunities.
An example. In order to progress from your current role, you may need to demonstrate experience of managing staff. Your current role may not require this. However, there are ways to acquire relevant experience to position yourself more strongly. Proactive staff will volunteer to take on mentoring roles, supervise or buddy new staff or students. These experiences will help strengthen your applications. If you don’t seek out opportunities which stretch you beyond your role, you’ll be at a disadvantage when applying for promotion.
This statement also applies to staff who may be reluctant to take on work that they perceive as beneath them, such as routine admin tasks. However, there will inevitably be times when all staff are required to pull together to ensure a project of piece of work is completed on time. Willingness to ‘muck in’ demonstrates collegiality, which frankly you can never have too much of in a team. This leads to my next point.
4. The egotist
Some staff seek glory and are brilliant self-publicists. They usually have a strong presence on social media and make sure they share their successes with those they consider to be influential. They volunteer to lead on projects which will raise their profile. If things don’t work out, however, it’s never their fault and they will blame others. They expect staff to support and help deliver their vision of success- but are nowhere to be found when their colleagues seek to call in favours.
These staff cause resentment and conflict within a team. They risk self-sabotage when applying for promotions internally as they have essentially marked their own card.
5. Lack of self-awareness
For me, this is the greatest career-limiter of all. Staff who lack self-awareness are unable to understand the impact of their behaviour or attitude on others. This means their ability to progress will be limited. I have witnessed a number of displays of inappropriate emotions over the years. The inability to self-regulate and to press ‘pause’ before reacting has a negative impact on others.
A note of caution
A disproportionate number these last two groups staff do seem to find their way into senior roles where they can inflict an enormous amount of damage- to the organisation and to staff morale. Those who lack self-awareness are often egotists. Or maybe psychopaths. Either way they an present as highly confident, which can fool hiring teams who mistake confidence for capability. Sometimes senior leaders arrive with a great fanfare to an organisation. They may be described as bringing something fresh and different. Of course their previous employer may be keen to see the back of them so perhaps they’ve been ‘over-sold.’ Look out for people like this and try not to find yourself working for one of them. It’s unlikely to end well.
The pursuit of power and a lack of empathy and self-awareness, is a dangerous and disheartening combination.
Dayo Wilson Lanier, M.D.
