Do you ever say to yourself, “I should be a lot further along in my career than I am?” I used to say that to myself quite a bit, however, one day I made up my mind to stop putting a time limit on where I should be in my life at a certain point, and not get caught up in comparing my progress to anyone else’s. I’ve grown satisfied in knowing that I’m exactly where God wants me to be, and this has been my reminder to myself in every season. What about you? Are you being too hard on yourself with your progress and in your career? In this post, I’m sharing 5 Career Mistakes That Sabotage Your Growth.
Mistake #1: You’re Not Expanding Your Professional Network
Doing this is critical to your professional growth. There are many connections that you will be able to make on your career journey, regardless of whether you’re a 9-5 Employee or an Entrepreneur. Making these connections will give you access to new groups of people and you never know where those connections can take your career. This is helpful because you can even explore different industries based off those connections and conversations that develop.
Some of the ways you can expand your network is by attending networking events, joining a social organization, volunteering, tapping into alumni networks, serving on an organizational board, getting referrals from your current network, attending trade shows, and more.
Mistake #2: You’re Not Negotiating Your Salary
Just because the company has offered you a certain salary doesn’t mean you have to take it. If the work you do is producing a significant profit for your company or department, there are ways you can negotiate with your leadership for a higher salary. Make sure you go into the conversation with an open mind and also prepared with the reasons why you feel you deserve a salary increase. The goal is for you to present the things you’ve accomplished in your current role, and the impact you’ve made to the department and/or company with your skills and expertise. You may even want to put together a visual presentation that highlights your accomplishments using a program like Powerpoint.
Calling these things out is especially effective when you’re going beyond what your job already entails. If you’re able to put your accomplishments in a quantitative breakdown, that is even better. For example, you might say something like, “I’ve increased company sales profits by 25% over the second quarter, as compared to Q2 of the previous year.” No matter what, you’ll need to call out the specific reasons that would support why you should receive a salary increase.
Mistake #3: You’re Getting Caught Up in Your Title
Credit for this one goes to John C. Maxwell and my Mentor
So many people get caught up in their job title and forget to actually develop the skills that will not only help others but will also help them grow at the same time. Many people make it to leadership and management roles and end up being micromanagers and neglect building a relationship with their direct reports. This is not a good thing because if growth and development isn’t a focus, they can easily get lost in just going through the motions.
John C. Maxwell has a book that I love titled, “5 Levels of Leadership.” This book was referred to me by my Mentor, someone who has been instrumental in my professional and personal growth since I’ve been on this entrepreneurial journey. In his book, Maxwell points out that Leadership does not come from your title. To go along with the 5 Career Mistakes That Sabotage Your Growth, I want to also point out Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership which are:
- Position – People follow you because they have to.
- Permission – People follow because they want to.
- Production – People follow because of what you have done for the organization.
- People Development – People follow because of what you have done for them personally.
- Pinnacle – People follow because of who you are and what you represent.
Mistake #4: You’re Not Developing Your Leadership Skills
Even though you may not be in a leadership position in your current role, that doesn’t mean you don’t have leadership qualities that can’t be developed. Continually learning new things, meeting new people, and developing new positive habits will keep you growing. This can also teach you things about yourself that you may not have realized before. To develop yourself even further, you can take educational courses, online certification courses, join a public speaking club like Toastmasters, or even launch your own side business.
Mistake #5: You Don’t Explore the Opportunities Beyond Your Department
Many times, people get into positions and get comfortable. They learn the job, in some cases, learn new things, and then stay stuck because they don’t feel the need to learn more. This tends to happen with more seasoned employees that may have been at a company or in a certain role for a certain amount of time. If this is you, I encourage you to explore opportunities beyond where you’re currently at with your company. Not only will you meet new people, you will also open yourself up to new opportunities. Doing what’s “comfortable” is not going to push you to your next level of growth.
Staying away from these 5 Career Mistakes That Sabotage Your Growth will help you grow in ways like never before. Because personal growth is a part of life, you should find ways that will help you grow toward wherever your dreams are taking you. It’s one thing to dream, but it’s something totally different when you get intentional about making those dreams your reality and doing whatever it takes to make them happen.
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