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Truth 59. Career Derailment Can Happen At Any Time
You’ve just got a promotion, you have the total support of
your boss and you’re playing golf with her boss. Everything
looks good! But don’t relax too soon. There may be
minefields ahead on this wonderful career path.
However successful you are, virtually everyone experiences
shaky moments in a career. The irony is, these instances
often occur at times when failure seems unlikely and you are
therefore not on the lookout for it. Following a long spell
of good results, for example, when you’re happy with your
achievements and respected by others; it doesn’t take long
for comfort to slip into complacency. Or after a major
promotion, when your talent has just been acknowledged and
rewarded.
In the case of a promotion, the transition period can bring
more trouble than joy if you’re not careful. You’re taken
away from familiar situations, and required to adapt to
something new. If you’re accustomed to “winging it” and
relying on your memory for follow up, that may have worked
in a smaller job. Now that you have a bigger job you may
need to develop better work habits to enable you to cope.
Also, beware of the new-found power in a higher position. It
can go to your head so that you think that you can do no
wrong. Before you know it, the mood can turn, mistakes can
be made, and you’ll find yourself sidelined into some
“specialty” role or, worse, out of a job.
The Center for Creative Leadership uses the term “derailment
factors,” to describe those minefields that appear in the
path of previously successful executives. Their research has
shown that there are three major reasons for career
derailment in the US and Europe:
Poor working relations: failing to effectively network or
build consensus with key stakeholders, or experiencing
ongoing conflicts or communication problems with colleagues.
Inability to develop or adapt: having trouble coming to
grips with the way things are done in a new position or
place of work.
Organizational isolation: putting up boundaries around your
unit or department, isolating it from the rest of the
organization and from external influences.
Malcolm, a superb salesman, suffered from all three.
Following a great performance turning around a small team he
was made Co-Head of Sales and Marketing leading 220 people
in four offices. The other Co- Head had great marketing
ideas but wasn’t very good at sales, so they made a good
partnership on paper. Without further ado, Malcolm
immediately started visiting all the sales offices, trying
to pump up the staff just as he always had done before with
his small team. He didn’t stop to consider what the
promotion meant, to look at the bigger picture, or to
strategize. Spreading himself over more locations, Malcolm
began to get overloaded, forgot details and missed
appointments. As people tried to intervene, Malcolm got
defensive about his territory and started publicly
conflicting with his Co-Head.
As Malcolm hit minefield after minefield his former boss
started dropping hints. Malcolm didn’t pay any attention. He
thought that if he got the numbers up everything would be
okay. Then, after just three months, management told him
that they were thinking about replacing him. Given another
three months to turn his performance around, Malcolm
suddenly opened his eyes to the mess that was around him. He
invested in a coach, who gathered comprehensive feedback
from everyone around him in the organization, and then
worked with him to change his ways.
Don’t make the same mistake as Malcolm. When you are in the
thick of things it can be hard to spot that derailment is
imminent. But even if you don’t notice, be sure that others
will. Take any feedback very seriously. Once you realize
that things are out of kilter, take urgent steps to ask
trusted colleagues for more detail and advice on the things
that aren’t working. Then do everything you can to get back
on track. |
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