4 Reasons You're Not Getting Ahead At Work That Have Nothing To Do With Your Skills

You’ve heard all the advice about how working hard means good things will come your way. You’ve been doing that. Long days, nights and even some weekends. You’re getting it done and going above and beyond, which is, what you heard you have to do to succeed in this hyper-competitive career world.

When you look around, though, you notice something awry. You’re not getting promoted or even praised. You’re not introduced to the managers upstairs or given an opportunity to present to the team. But that colleague of yours, the one who was hired two weeks after you, is getting acknowledged left and right, and the last you heard, he’s up for a promotion. Sure, he’s a fine employee and a hard worker too, but he’s not better or smarter than you.

1. You’re Clueless About You

You’re in a one-on-one with your boss, and she’s asking about your career aspirations. You’re not sure. You don’t really know where you’re headed, or even (gulp) how your skill set can be an asset to the team. In short, you’re failing in the self-awareness department.

One of your most powerful career tools is exactly that. Knowing who you are, what you’re good at, what you need to work on and how you will use your talents to create success is essential to your professional growth.

High levels of self-awareness are correlated to successful performance. In Travis Bradberry’s Leadership 2.0, the author notes that 83% of people who rated high in levels of self-awareness are also rated as top performers. What’s more: Your overall satisfaction with life increases the more self-aware you are.

Think about how empowering it would be to have a productive and insightful conversation with your manager about your key strengths and how you’re going to leverage them to help make the whole team successful.

An easy way to start building self-awareness is with three simple assessments. Get started by learning about your strengths with the help of Strengths Finder 2.0, your personality type through this online assessment and your emotional intelligence quotient, explained in Bradberry’s popular Emotional Intelligence 2.0. In short order, you’ll soon be an expert on you.

2. Your Emotions Run Amok

You’re having a rough day on the job as it is when a stressful situation pops up. That 5 p.m. deadline is looming and you haven’t heard back from the guy in shipping as to whether or not you can commit to the client. You are literally seeing red when your phone call to him goes to voicemail.

Beyond frustrated, you explode. It isn’t pretty. Your co-workers run for cover. Your boss silently questions your judgment. Instead of managing emotions that crop up in the workplace—like your frustration with shipping—your emotions manage you. That’s going to be a problem come promotion time.

When you aren’t good at managing your emotions in times of stress, you’re a liability. If others can’t predict how you’ll respond to provocative situations, it’ll be hard to recommend you for an advancement. Your boss may not be willing to risk his hard-won reputation in the process.

The solution lies within you: Tame your inner emotional tyrant. One very simple way is to use the ol’ “count to 10” technique. When you’re tempted to explode, take a deep breath, and count before you say anything. In that short amount of time, you’ll reverse the grip your emotions have on you—or at least lessen it—and you’ll be able to respond in a calm, professional manner.