Career Success Tip: Get Out of Your Own Way

There can be many obstacles on your road to career success. Sometimes they are external obstacles, but most of the time they are internal obstacles. In fact, 90% of our coaching clients say that THEY are the biggest obstacle to their career dreams.

Clearly, to set and reach career goals, you have to get out of your own way. But how can you get out of your way if you don’t know what you’re up against? Here are some of the most common internal obstacles that business professionals face and tips to overcome them.

Attitude. Your attitude is essential for career success. It affects your actions and therefore has a direct connection to your final outcome. For example, if you have a negative attitude about taking on more responsibility at work, you are already setting yourself up for problems and failure.

Here are a few ways to keep your attitude in check:

• Avoid negativity. This could be negative nellies or a negative environment. Try hanging out with coworkers who are positive and avoid negative articles.
• Ask for support. If you are having trouble staying positive on your own, ask a friend or family member for help.
• Take little steps. When you have small victories, celebrate them! This will help you feel positive towards bigger risks.
• Conduct informational interviews. These can help you see how others have overcome challenges to get where you want to be.

Fear. You career goals may come with a lot of unknowns:

• How will I get there?
• What if it’s too hard?
• Will I really like my dream job?
• Do I qualify?

The unknowns can be paralyzing. Fear of the next step can cause us to ignore it altogether and get stuck in our careers. This is one reason why 71% of business professionals do not feel totally engaged at work.

In order to beat your fears, you have to identify them. What is that voice in your head telling you? Once you have identified what your fears are, you can develop a process to manage them.

For example, positive and reasonable affirmations can help you keep your fears at bay. When your fears say You don’t qualify for the position you want, try responding I am working on my skill set and I will qualify very soon.

Managing your fears doesn’t mean that they will entirely go away, but they won’t prevent you from reaching out to the next level in your career.

Impostor Syndrome. Studies have shown that 70% of people have felt symptoms of Impostor Syndrome at some point during their career. The Impostor Syndrome can cause the following:

• You feel like a fraud
• You fear that others will find out that you aren’t really good at your job
• You feel that you don’t deserve certain achievements or understate them
• You may discount your accomplishments

How can you bear the Impostor Syndrome?

• Educate yourself. Read up on the Impostor Syndrome and what other symptoms it may cause. You may be surprised to find that others that you admire have suffered from the Impostor Syndrome. Read about how they have overcome it.
• Talk about it. If you feel that you have any of the above symptoms, talk to a trusted friend or family member. Ask them how they have handled any lack of confidence in their life and found success.

Assumptions. Sometimes we have a predisposition to like or dislike something based on our experience, our background, and our culture. This can affect our business decisions and goals and keep us from finding true fulfillment.

For example, you may discount your strengths as unimportant because of your background, or categorize them to be only for a certain industry or gender. This can therefore hinder yourself from career growth.

To work on assumptions, talk to others about your strengths. Ask them what you do better than anybody else they know. You may be surprised to find the strengths that you discount are actually very special. Then you can determine how you can use them more frequently for career success.

Awareness. A lack of awareness about yourself, your goals and your environment can cause you to miss opportunities in your career. You may need to work on:

• Thinking about the big picture
• Keeping an open mind
• Mapping out your career plan

To work on your awareness, get started by thinking about where you want to be in 5 years from now. Then determine what you need to get there. It could be things like:

• Training
• Education
• New skills

Now determine if there are any opportunities available to you now that can help you work on those areas. The opportunities may not look the way you expected them to, so being aware will help you take advantage of them and reach the next step in your career.

Hallie Crawford, MA, CPCC

Certified Career Coach and Founder, HallieCrawford.com Career Coaching

Career Direction, Job Search, Resume, Work Performance

404-228-6434

[email protected]

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