Don't waste valuable effort with all the external reasoning. Take responsibility when your career is not where you want it to be, starting with these 9 career management mistakes that are holding you back.

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9 Career Management Mistakes
That Are Holding You Back 02 February 2017
Don't waste valuable effort with all the external reasoning. Take responsibility when your career is not
where you want it to be, starting with these 9 career management mistakes that are holding you back.
There are probably endless reasons we could come up
with to explain-away why our career hasn’t worked out
as we would wish. Or why it isn’t where we wanted it to
be, by now.
But if your career is not as you’d have it, a more
productive place to start is not with all the external
reasoning. But instead, to look at oneself as the source to
unlock your career potential.
Here are 9 career management mistakes worth revisiting.
And the career-building habits to avoid them.
#1 You’re not getting
intentional.
I’ve said many times before: you have a career strategy.
Even if you think you don’t, you do. Intentionally or
unintentionally, you do. And that strategy is working
perfectly: delivering exactly the results you’re currently
getting. And this tell us something else: there is no neutral.
Either you’re working on your career; or (in your neglect),
you’re working against it. So get intentional with your
efforts.
Career Builder Habit #1: Get Intentional.
#2 You’re not working at
it, day-in, day-out.
Whilst some people make career look a breeze, flowing
perfectly and seemingly without effort … don’t kid
yourself. Careers take effort. Regular, steady and well-
judged effort, continually focused on just the right things.
Not sudden stop/start, on/off bursts of uncoordinated
activity. Consistent decision-making and action-taking that
becomes habit and mindset. Cultivate the career
management habit by working at it daily.
Career Builder Habit #2: Act Daily.
#3 You’re not taking
enough initiative.
Perfect careers don’t exist – we create them. Perfect careers
aren’t handed to us – we fashion them. And so we need to
take initiative to create the career that we want for
ourselves. One of the surest ways to do that is to get
comfortable making career decisions. And the more we do
it, the better we get at it. So practise career-decision-
making – more regularly than is comfortable. Make them

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commitments. And always pair your decision with an
action.
Career Builder Habit #3: Take Initiative by
Taking Decisions.
#4 You’re not integrating
your brand.
A career that succeeds is one that is built on your most
valuable asset: YOU. And “You” plays out at work as
your professional brand: the coming-together of your
authenticity, differentiation, reputation and promise.
When it comes to building a career, not enough of us put
this asset to work. Integrate your brand into your career-
building efforts: demonstrate thought leadership, inspire a
loyal following, cultivate strategic partnerships, seed
special projects, work towards a legacy. Have your brand
be the cornerstone of your career development efforts.
Career Builder Habit #4: Integrate Your Brand.
#5 You’re not connecting
with the bigger picture.
In the harried day-to-day, it’s easy to lose sight of how
your work on the ground is contributing to the company’s
goals, objectives and mission. But maintaining an up-to-
date understanding of what the business wants to achieve
is essential to identifying your place within that machine
– and establishing yourself as an indispensable element.
It’ll also give you a deeper sense of purpose and passion for
your work. And keep you coming back to the big projects
that drive the most business (and career!) value.
Career Builder Habit #5: Link Your Value to
the Big Picture.
#6 You’re only focused on
doing a great job.
Best assignments, regular promotions, rising through the
ranks. These things don’t come to those who just do a great
job. There’s plenty just doing a great job. Stellar career
success belongs to those who stand head and shoulders
above the rest. And they do that by focusing on the other
career journey that makes them the most promotable. That
focuses on material contribution, showcase performances,
big picture insight.
Career Builder Habit #6: Stand and Deliver
Above and Beyond.
#7 You’re failing to spot
the pivotal moments.
Success is defined, created, shaped and made to happen in
those career-defining pivotal moments. And those
moments are happening all the time – if only we’d see
them for what they are. Identifying these moments is all
about awareness and responsibility and can be improved
with effort in 3 areas. (1) Decide what you’re looking for –
to help your brain usefully chunk and filter. (2) Move
yourself into a positive state – a great position from which
to take a mental step-back and see opportunity from your
high-level view. (3) Listen to yourself – whether instinct
(gut reaction), intuition (gut feeling) or insight (“aha”
moments). Ask: yourself now: what moments am I
missing?
Career Builder Habit #7: Learn to Spot the
Pivotal Moments.
#8 You’re failing to
embrace the pivotal
moments.
We work consistently to setup the pivotal career moments.
But then, in that meeting place of talent, drive, purpose
and opportunity … we shrink from the challenge. Do those
who succeed in their careers have more opportunities than
those who don’t? Or do they just step up and seize those
opportunities? And that’s not a technical challenge. That’s
a thinking challenge. So ask yourself now: how pleased
am I with the quality of my thinking in the moment?

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What beliefs do I need to drop that aren’t supporting me?
And what do I now need to choose to believe to my
success happen for me?
Career Builder Habit #8: Learn to Embrace the
Pivotal Moments.
#9 You’re not taking
responsibility.
And finally: we’re back to where we started. The
undercurrent of every other career management mistake:
responsibility. And its simple antidote: choosing to take
(more) responsibility for our careers.
Career Builder Habit #9: Take Responsibility.
From Career Autopilot to
Career Advancement
If some of this is ringing true for you, take heart that we’re
only ever one thought away from focused, meaningful,
career-changing work towards our potential. So, elect now:
to pivot from career autopilot to rapid career
advancement.
Dan Beverly is a leadership and performance coach helping high-calibre, high-
performing professional women embrace the pivotal career moments.
His mission is to inspire possibility in others: to help us excel in careers without
compromise; and to leave us feeling energised and uplifted by a new future.
Go online to book your “Session Zero” with Dan – and start capitalising on
your pivotal career moments today.
http://danbeverly.com/session-zero