Is Short-Term Thinking Hampering Your Career Progress?

Over the years, I’ve read stories about people who have fabricated elements of their past to land jobs or falsified something to accelerate their career progress.

Most recently, there was the case of Jonathan Pruitt - a one time academic star whose research focused on animal personalities and social behaviour. It turns out that much of his research data was fabricated and falsified.

As one writer asserted, “He amassed a huge number of publications, many with surprising and influential results. He turned out to be an equally prolific fraud”.

This example of lying to get a job or progress one's career is not isolated.

A study found that 93% of people know someone who lied on their resume, and resume lies are most commonly about job experience (27%), skills (18%), and job duties (17%). The researchers found that 36% of people admitted to lying on their resume, while a further 20% of people admitted to ‘stretching the truth’ on their resume.

People lie for many reasons. While the scale and scope of the lie may differ, the root cause is often a desire for progress without being willing to put in the effort. The person makes short-term decisions, looks for the easy way out?or tries to take a short-cut to success.

Make Deliberate Decisions

You have choices every day about what you do and don’t do.

Like most people, there will likely be times when you fail to act in a way that aligns with your values and who you want to be.

Perhaps you put things off until tomorrow, delay tough decisions, or always look for the quick fix to complex situations.

The allure of short-term decision-making can be strong. Immediate results and quick wins can?seem like the most efficient path to success. However, there are drawbacks.

The Short-Term Danger Zone

When you focus solely on immediate outcomes, you may miss the bigger picture. You risk making choices that provide temporary benefits while throwing you off course for the longer term.

In contrast, when you take a long-term perspective, you are better able to make wise choices.

Remember, your professional reputation is crafted over time through consistent performance and reliability. Short-term decision-making can lead to shortcuts and prioritising quick fixes over sustainable solutions. Cutting corners to meet a deadline might save time initially but it can result in poor quality work, damaging your credibility and reputation.

As you navigate the twists and turns of your career, you’ll see how each step you take and each decision contributes to outcomes.

Take Accountability

Career progress is never about one step. You can make a career move that doesn’t unfold?as planned, and you will be okay.

Progress requires consistency and focus. It’s taking the time to constructively reflect and challenge yourself while backing yourself.

Consider, do you:

• Appreciate and congratulate yourself when you’ve done well, or do you always look to find fault?
• Let yourself down by not having the courage to back yourself by having difficult conversations, saying ‘no’ when you need to, and asking for what you need?
• Allocate time and resources each year to support your growth and development, or do you see it as someone else’s responsibility to invest in you?
• Cruise along with your career and wait for it to happen or do you see yourself as the leader of your career and willing to take proactive steps?
• Constantly change your mind, lack focus and direction, and fail to deliver on commitments?
• Consistently fail to meet the goals that you have set?
• Look for the easy way out, or do you persevere despite the challenges and hurdles?
• Treat yourself as well as you treat other people, or do you always put your needs last?
• Place unrealistic expectations on yourself about what can get done and by when?

Answering these types of questions isn’t easy. It takes time to reflect, and it can help to have someone who challenges your mental thought patterns as part of this process.

Find a buddy or colleague or engage in executive coaching support. You want someone who can help you see the possible perspectives.?

In life, there is no sustainable shortcut.

Whatever shape or style it takes for you, career progress requires a strategic approach that prioritises?continuous learning, relationship building, and creativity with a healthy dose of risk-taking.

When you focus on the?long-term over the short-term, you will make decisions that better align with who you are and what matters most to you.

Getting you ready for?tomorrow, today?

Michelle Gibbings is a workplace expert, the award-winning author of three books, and a global keynote speaker. She's on a mission to help leaders, teams and organisations create successful workplaces - where people thrive and progress is accelerated.