“Cindy, I deliver amazing results at work. So, why do I still feel invisible and overlooked?”
This question landed on my desk and dang…it really hit close to my heart.
That was me. 100%. I was that person.
When I think about where I got stuck in my career and where my clients are stuck when we start working together, we have a very similar story.
You see, I had big jobs with a lot of responsibility and I was rewarded for the contribution that I made along the way. I made a solid six figure salary, had a big team, the sexy title, and all the things that come with it.
But I often felt like I was creating the success in what I like to call the corporate shadows.
I felt like the best kept secret;
working really hard and only getting so far.
I always felt like I had more to give and more potential to live up to. But the biggest gap for me was that I just didn’t know how to bring this to life.
Can you relate?
So, I kept doing more of the same. I continued to work hard, produce great quality results that I took pride in, and expected my work to speak for itself. Because it was really that good.
My mindset was, ‘Hey, doing this worked for me before, so it must work now too, right?’
Over time, repeating this same pattern turned my career into a plateau that I stood on for years.
I had to learn that after a certain point in my career, it had to be about more than just the work.
Managing your career has to be about more than producing great results.
Don’t get me wrong, the quality of your work must always be there. That’s a given. But know that doing great work can only take you so far. When you hit that threshold (for me it was a few years after getting into management), you have to add new skills, new strategies, new habits, and new ways of thinking to your career navigation toolkit.
Without these and by doing more of the same, I was actually getting in my own way instead of moving myself forward.
As you move further along your career path, always be in a continuous cycle of growth & evolution.
To be clear, I’m not talking just about your technical expertise. You definitely need to make investments there. What I’m really focused on is they way you manage your career must evolve as you get further on your career path. Especially as you move into higher ranks in the corporate world.
The 5 Habits
After dissecting the learnings from my career journey, I learned that I blindly adopted 5 habits that got in my way and kept me, my brand, and my career stuck for years.
Learning to identify and shift these habits early will help you claim your seat at your company’s decision making table before deep frustration kicks in.
Habit #1: I didn’t face truth
I’m used to being a problem solver.
I have an endless supply of ideas. I can think and strategize my way through most situations. I did this not just in my day job, but also with figuring out how to get to my next professional level.
I’d think there has to be a way. I can figure this out. Let me try one more time. Let me do this instead of that. Find solutions is what I do!
But by taking this approach, I overlooked something really important.
Sometimes it’s more about seeing the reality of the situation, accepting it, and leaving it behind if it just doesn’t fit anymore.
Not everything can or should be fixed. Not every situation is one that you’re meant to stay in for a long time. The important thing is to get real about what’s not working and know that at some point it’s okay to move on.
In my case, my drive to “fix’ kept me in jobs that didn’t fit and I stayed for way too long. I can see this now, but at the time I was just really driven and focused on, figuring out how to make the situation better. On trying to figure out what I needed to do differently to make it work.
Unfortunately I didn’t see that I’d outgrown the role and my next best move involved a change. Not facing the truth became one of those habits that kept me stuck much longer than I needed to be.
Habit #2: I didn’t embrace my ambitions
I wanted more. I knew this deep inside. I carried that feeling for a long time.
But I didn’t see that it was my job, not anyone else’s, to tap into my desire for more and bring it to life.
I had to learn to accept my ambition, nurture it, and let it fuel me forward to my next career move.
Having professional goals and ambitions are certainly not bad things. Sometimes we worry about what other people will think or say about us if we have a desire for more, especially if what we already have is pretty good.
But it’s also important to see that even though a situation looks good from the outside, if it’s not fulfilling or allowing you to work at your highest capacity, it doesn’t serve you on a deeper level.
Always remember that life is rich & abundant. You have full freedom and permission to create exactly what you desire to have, others’ opinions aside.
Ambitions are there to guide and fuel you in the direction that you’re meant to go. Give them space to grow.
Habit #3: I didn’t have a clear lifestyle plan
I’ve learned that one of the best ways to tap into my ambition and let it launch me forward is to get really, really clear on what I want. And also to get clear on why I want it.
Here’s what I mean.
I wanted to make a career move so that I could have a more meaningful impact through my work, but I didn’t stop to ask myself why making that impact mattered to me so much.
Empowering women matters deeply to me. So, how would making an impact at work connect me to this personal mission?
Ask yourself this: What causes am I most passionate about and how can I connect to that through my work?
As another example, if I had an income goal, knowing exactly how I planned to use that money was the piece I was missing.
For me, travel is a huge part of my life. I needed to know that with the income boost I was pursuing, I could book a trip to Greece (or fill in the blank of where you want to go) and be on a plane in 6 months.
Or maybe I wanted to put $10,000 down on my mortgage or pay off my credit cards in full. Whatever it is, aligning your professional goals to the impact it can have in your life is fuel that strengthens your desire.
Making that personal connection is incredibly powerful. It can’t be just about doing the work for the sake of doing the work. It’s got to be connected to something bigger that truly matters to you on a personal level.
Habit #4: I didn’t power up
Career change be tough. It’s easy for our dreams and our goals to get lost in the shuffle of life.
Instead of using my natural determination and grit to keep a steady eye on what I wanted for myself, I allowed distractions to take over.
And when those distractions come at the expense of me standing still time after time, year after year, I had to stop and ask myself if was a price I was willing to pay. And, of course, the answer was no.
I had to learn to support and elevate my goals as much as I lifted up everyone around me.
Self-sacrifice isn’t as noble as it sounds, especially when it leads to feelings of disappointment, frustration, or resentment.
The solution is to POWER UP and be persistently determined to create the career that allows you to live up to your full potential.
Habit #5: I did not celebrate myself
I overlooked the things that I was incredibly and massively talented at doing.
I took them for granted and, in turn, that gave other people permission and space to take them for granted too.
I had to learn to see, hear, and celebrate my gifts, talents, and accomplishments. Downplaying or overlooking myself didn’t serve me, my team, my mission, or the company. Nobody wins.
And I’m happy to say that I don’t have that problem anymore. It’s become really easy for me to say things like I’m brilliant at helping people find real solutions to breakthrough the plateaus that keep them stuck and small.
This talent is key to how I approach my work as a Coach and it makes me really, really good at what I do.
It’s easy for me to say things like that now, but that didn’t come overnight. It comes with practice so I want to encourage you to start seeing your talents as important pieces of your career story. Those are some of the brand building blocks you’ll need to become magnetic and irresistible.
So, how about you? Which of these habits do you have on repeat now? Which one gets in your way the most?
Leave a comment below and let’s keep the conversation going. I’d love to hear what you think.
And be sure to watch the video to hear me talk about this topic too.
P.S. Next week, I’ll be sharing five MORE habits that kept me stuck for way too long. Sign up below to make sure you don’t miss out on part 2 of this important topic.
Did you hear??
I made something special for you! It is my new FREE career guide, Get Promoted Playbook!
Learn the 10 strategies you can use to help position yourself for a promotion, even if playing politics isn’t your thing. Go to www.cindyharveyonline.com/playbook and grab your copy today!
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Cindy Harvey is a Leadership Coach and Founder of Amelia Dee, a career strategy company for women. She has coached hundreds of clients on leveraging the power of energy & mindset to create success at work as well as designing a magnetic professional brand to make their next career move a breeze.
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