10 Things That Held You Back In 2022 - And How You Can Overcome Them in 2023.

Sometimes, taking an honest look at the negatives can give us better results than only focusing on the positives. While neither should keep a mutually exclusive hold on our thinking, ignoring one at the expense of the other can lead to confusion and frustration. Simply put, we can't ignore reality. And sometimes, when things don't go our way, we need to be able to admit that the failure may very well lie with us. So while there is a lot of focus on "new year, new you" messaging, I thought I'd add some counterbalance to the dialogue.

If you feel you were passed over for an award, recognition, a raise, or a promotion in 2022 (or any other perceived professional slight) then it may be worth exploring potential shortcomings that you can improve on in 2023 to make sure that negative experience doesn't repeat itself. And sometimes during self-evaluation, we need to look at the negatives honestly. That doesn't mean this exercise has to be accompanied by forty self-administered lashes. On the contrary, we can look at the negatives within ourselves objectively and for no other reason that to learn where we can improve.

So without further ado, here are the top 10 most likely reasons you were passed over in 2022:

1. Lack of ambition or drive to succeed - The antidote could lie in finding a purpose in your work that excites you. Check out the book, The ONE Thing for help.
2. Poor performance or lack of results - I'll refer you to the same antidote as point one.
3. Lack of necessary skills or knowledge - Learning shouldn't stop after structured schooling. Continue to find new things in ancillary industries or at the periphery of your own industry to learn more about. Find a book on that topic specifically! And you can always check out the book The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition for a primer.
4. Poor communication or interpersonal skills - Many of us likely have times that we fall short in this arena. Whether it's because we're constantly too distracted or overwhelmed to pay attention to the conversation at hand, or perhaps we're just shy. Again, there's no shortage of literature on this. There are classics such as How to Win Friends and Influence People (Carnegie) and The Power of Now (Tolle). Or perhaps you need a boost of confidence, in which case, maybe you just need to shift your perspective no the situation. If that's the case, Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle is the Way is great. You can also take on challenges in your personal life or do something new outside the norm - conquering new experiences is a great way to build confidence.
5. Lack of teamwork or collaboration - This has been an issue on some level ever since grade school group projects. Like the rest of the items on the list, it's a skill that can be developed. A few recommendations to help gain insights on improving in this area are 1) Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink, 2) Leaders Eat Last and Together is Better by Simon Sinek. You can also find some great TED talks on this topic if you'd prefer to listen on the go by checking out: 1. Tom Wujec's?TED Talk on?“Build a tower, build a?team” and 2. Simon Sinek's?TED Talk on?“How Great Leaders Inspire Action”
6. Lack of strategic thinking or problem-solving ability - We're not all drawn to chess at an early age. Some of us prefer to create and innovate more-so than sit and plan. But we can still add some value to our creative side by improving this skillset. Check out The Long Game: How to be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World. I would also recommend the Future Authoring program; it's a self-paced, guided writing program that helps you meticulously plan and consider your future.
7. Lack of leadership potential or experience - Again, our friend Jocko Willink makes the list with Extreme Ownership - and check out his organization Echelon Front that provides leadership coaching and mentoring. Really, anything by Jocko Willink has great content for developing your leadership skills.
8. Poor time management or organization - Again, there are no shortage of books on this topic! A few recommendations would be 1) The 80 / 20 Principle, 2) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, 3) 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management.
9. Negative attitude or poor work ethic - Oh boy. This is a complicated one! There are myriad reasons you may be experiencing these. Generally, it has to do with a lack of interest (or even a disdain) for the work you are doing or the place you find yourself in within your own professional / personal life. To help get to the root cause of why you have a negative attitude or poor work ethic, it's worth doing some self-exploration to find out what's going on with YOU. Could it be your health? Could it be your job? Could it be issues in your personal / professional relationships? Could it be your financial situation? Many times, this issue presents itself due to underlying issues. Take the time to figure out why you may be seeing these traits surface. And then begin working to resolve them. While this is the most mentally-demanding recommendation on my list, either professional therapy and / or completing the entire Self-Authoring Suite of programs could both be of value in helping you to resolve these.
10. Lack of networking or political savvy within the organization - Again, our friend Carnegie comes to mind with How to Win Friends and Influence People. It's important that you learn the bureaucracy within your organization and how things operate. Every organization is a mini nation-state, with its own rules, customs, and culture. Study them. Pay attention to them. Learn how to use them. The book The First 90 Days has some good tips and insights on how to do this (even if it's not your first 90 days there it's still valuable). What Got You Here Won't Get You There addresses some of these items. Robert Greene's Mastery has countless lessons and examples about doing just this, and his book 48 Laws of Power, while more polarizing, provides insights into how many worlds operate and how you can wisely navigate in many situations. For a deeper understanding of Culture and the role it plays in any organization, Ben Horowitz's book What You Do Is Who You Are is a great study as well.

In 2023 resolve to improve your deficiencies. Transforming a negative into a positive, or even a neutral, will likely yield higher results for you than further improving an existing positive.