Career Derailment
Are You at Risk?
by Barbara Reinhold

Getting bumped off the track on your way to the top is every high- achiever's recurring nightmare. How can you be sure it doesn't happen to you? Contemplate the following six career-derailing errors uncovered in research by Michael Lombardo, principal of Lominger Limited. If you get a little uh-oh reaction to reading them, you'll know where to put your energies:

1. Disagreements with Higher Management

Obviously this is a no-no, even if your point of view is correct. Those who would rather be right than promoted almost always get their wish.

2. Problems with Team Building

You need to be good at spotting talent. Building diversity, developing talent and helping your people work together effectively are also core capabilities that you can't do without for very long.

3. Problems Developing Working Relationships

If people don't want to be around you, your career is in trouble. Bullying, isolation and being out of the loop in various ways all torpedo corporate careers.

4. Lack of Follow-Through

When you consistently forget to follow up on promises and don't attend to important details, people notice and question the wisdom of handing you anything else to forget.

5. Problems Moving from a Technical to a Strategic Level

Here's where engineers and other highly technical people can stumble and find themselves unable to go beyond what they know to formulate more complex strategies. If you're on your way up the ladder from a highly technical role to a more managerial one, be sure to ask your boss for some feedback as to whether your strategic skills need honing.

6. Assuming that Something Other Than Your Own Hard Work Will Take You Where You Want to Go

Being overly dependent on a powerful boss, some other advocate or even your natural talent, sometimes causes high-potential people to get a little lazy. "I know I'll make VP this spring," a rising young star once said, "because all the important people are on my side." Wrong. He was passed on the inside lane by somebody who had just made a great presentation to the senior VP. The only person who can get you noticed and promoted is you.

Anything on that list sound familiar? If not, take a second look or consult a friend. Psychologists tell us that self-evaluation is a terrible indicator of performance. To be on the safe side, ask somebody who knows you well and will tell you the truth to have a look at the list and give you some objective feedback. When it comes to keeping your career on track, what you don't know about yourself will definitely hurt you!

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