Foolishness, Pride, or Naivety: Which is Sabotaging Your Career?

To be human is to be foolish, naive, and proud… on occasions.?

I certainly find myself there from time to time.

And it usually takes getting a fresh perspective through an open and honest conversation to wake up and realise I’m where I don't want to.?

Unknowingly operating from foolishness, pride, or naivety land us in a place in career I call 'Struggletown'.

If we're being honest, we've all been in Struggletown at one time, many times, or there now.

Signs that you may be in Struggletown:

??Things aren't working the way they they’re supposed to.

??You feel you’re lagging and that you should be further along than you are.

??Confidence, belief and drive are waning.

??There’s confusion about what your next steps should be.

??You don’t have the breadth and depth of relationships to secure desired promotion.

Here are some common behaviour traits that may land you in Struggletown:

??Ignoring feedback - repeated developmental feedback around the same point but insisting the problem is others not you or falsely believing you know best.

??Circling the same career situation for a long time but making no investment in yourself to learn how to change the situation.

??Waiting for things to change rather than initiating and driving the desired change. Fundamentally, things change when we change. Until we change, our experience tends to remain the same.

??Underestimating challenges and not fully grasping the ramifications of unresolved personal or work challenges e.g not fully realising that not meeting KPIs, even when there are good reasons to support your position, leaves you exposed.

??Not prioritising personal development - how we spend time is a function of the priorities we’ve chosen. So, not having time for personal development activities is a function of prioritisation not lack of time.?

??Short-Term Focus: Pursuing immediate gains at the expense of long-term success.

The root cause of the behaviour traits above is usually foolishness, naivety, or pride. Whichever is the root, the impact is the same - it creates barriers to success.

As a result, leaders with these traits may experience isolation, missed opportunities, and a negative personal brand, ultimately hindering their advancement and realisation of their career potential.

A coaching conversation can reveal these derailing behaviour traits in a psychologically safe way that allows an individual to get the tools to create change.

Leaders need support to uncover what may lie at the root of their being in 'Struggletown' and precisely how they can move out of it.

You may read a book on a personal development topic, but a book can't read you.

What is most powerful is having an opportunity to read yourself i.e., see the blind spots, mindset and perspectives sponsoring the behaviour traits that are sabotaging your success.

In other words, see clearly where foolishness, naivety or pride may be lurking and inadvertently creating unnecessary problems for you. This is the opportunity a powerful coaching conversation provides.

The truth is no one knows it all. We're all operating from foolishness, naivety, or pride in something - the quicker we uncover it, and the more of it we uncover, the faster our personal development, and consequently, better positioned to change how we're perceived, paid, and promoted. Don't stay in the dark.

Uplevelling the attributes you’re bringing to the table is the quickest way to move out of Struggletown and make a high impact with stakeholders.

If you’d like to explore coaching support to move out of Struggletown, send me a private message here or email Buki@citadelcoaching.co.uk to request a discovery call.

OnTuesday, July 16 I will be hosting the linkedIn audio event shown in the image below. Register to join me here.

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About the Author:

Buki Ishola is a London-based Executive Coach. Buki, through her Elevate 'You' Coaching Programme supports leaders and executives to master attributes that elevate how they're perceived, paid and promoted.