Avoiding the Three Deadliest Career Traps

Achieving the position you aspire to might seem like the end game in terms of your career path. However, holding onto that position requires constant vigilance. Learn how to avoid the three deadliest career traps that can flatline your future prospects while maintaining employee respect and cooperation.

Allowing Your Ego to Rule the Office

As you move up the corporate ladder, attaining higher levels of power over what your company does and how employees under your direct management become inevitable. Letting your ego get out of hand becomes one of the key career traps to avoid. You may find yourself in a position where yes men outnumber workers willing to provide you with objective feedback.

Encourage honest communication while maintaining employee motivation by providing a way for people under your command to submit anonymous suggestions to reduce the fear of losing their own positions. Hold meetings with key members of your team where creative criticism of existing strategies can be explored without consequences. Consider hiring someone who works closely with you whose main job duty is to second-guess your decisions with an eye on preventing pride from destroying all you have accomplished.

Failure to Change with the Times

You have gained traction at your company by becoming known as someone who produces excellent results. Banking on those previous successes is a career trap that can lead to failure, taking you down the ladder much more quickly than you moved up. Avoid career traps such as resting on your laurels by being willing to change with your company and with new information.

Challenge yourself to learn new skills and adopt new strategies, ensuring you have a base understanding of what those under your command actually do. This helps you be a better manager and aids in employee motivation by showing the people you work with that you're willing to do what it takes to make your entire team a success.

Using Your Position for Personal Gain

Abusing your power for personal gain is one of the most common career traps that derails even the smartest and most capable executives. A key factor in avoiding career traps like this one is to realize that your personal desires are secondary to your responsibility to your employees, clients and the company itself.

Give your employees the support they need to do their jobs effectively and free from fear of retaliation as your future success often hinges on their own. When meeting with clients, make sure they understand that you are there to serve their needs and not the other way around. Give back to the community that hosts your company as the goals of your company often depend on a good working relationship with locals in the area.

Moving up the ladder only to be knocked down by your own personal flaws is an unenviable position for any manager or executive. Learn to identify potential career killers so you can avoid making mistakes that can completely derail your career. By keeping an eye out for the deadliest career traps, you can keep your career on track while you add value to your company and empower employees under your command.

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