If your career has been taking off, you may consider yourself irreplaceable at the office. That attitude, however, can be one of the signs that you're actually in great career danger. When you think your company can't survive without you, you may be on the verge of having to figure out how to survive without it. Here are three warning signs of a self-destructive attitude and three good attitude tips.
Warning Sign 1: You Can't Be Bothered With Paperwork
Avoiding paperwork shows you feel the rules don't apply to you or that you're too important to touch all the required bases. Cultivate a good attitude by having the good sense and humility to fill out your reports and avoid shoving your work on someone else.
Warning Sign 2: You're Not Bothering to Prepare
Not bothering to prepare shows you feel you can wing it and skip the necessary preparation, whether it's for a sales call or an important meeting. Instead, take the time to do your homework and learn about the clients and prospects you're dealing with so you always give the impression that you're the most prepared person in the room.
Warning Sign 3: You Don't Understand Why People Are Blaming You
It's natural to be defensive if you're blamed when things go wrong at the office or out in the marketplace, and of course you want to avoid becoming the fall guy for someone else's bad work. Take a step back, however, when you find blame frequently heading your way. Has your cocky attitude or slipshod work been problematic? If the answer is yes, considering yourself irreplaceable may be damaging you badly.
Good Attitude Tip 1: Focus on Helping Others
If you focus on yourself, you're likely to lose the interest of your customer. Instead, focus on helping your customer or client with what he thinks he needs. When you combine that good attitude with a focus on helping those around you in the office, you're likely to find you spend less time bragging and more time being appreciated by your bosses and co-workers.
Good Attitude Tip 2: Be Grateful
Turn your focus on all the things that are going well, even if it's just a great cup of coffee as you arrive at work. Try making a list of good things that happen each day, and check them off once you've expressed your gratitude about them verbally to someone at work. A positive attitude makes you a more pleasant person to be around.
Good Attitude Tip 3: Put In the Time
When you think you're irreplaceable, you're likely to become a little lax about petty things such as showing up to work on time. Push that self-sabotaging attitude away by forcing yourself to arrive at work and at every meeting early. Stay a little later than usual to make sure you've finished one day's work and prepared well for the next day before you head home.
A good attitude on the job can send a message to your boss that you don't consider yourself better than everyone else at the office. Putting in that little extra bit of effort can make all the difference in both your work relationships and your success rate.
Photo courtesy of stockimages at Freedigitalphotos.net
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