Why People Are So Afraid to Own Their Careers

My husband Jim Sniechowski, PhD and I just completed a series of interviews dedicated to discovering what makes career management so difficult for most people. And the majority of the answers we repeatedly received fell into these three categories:

* I shouldn’t have to toot my own horn. My work and my team’s work should be enough.

* It’s demeaning to play politics and run around to the top brass, glad-handing, and polishing the mirror.

* I’ve never thought about my work in terms of an elevator speech, or the benefits I provide, so I don’t even know where to start.

Do you identify with any or all of them? Most people do.

And that’s why those who "know how to work the system" repeatedly get ahead while most people continually feel frustrated, victimized, and treated unfairly by the system.

But are they really treated unfairly, or are they radically unprepared for the real world of corporate promotions?

My vote goes to the latter. Here’s why: Most managers are way too busy to take extra time away from their required work and responsibilities to be hunting down undiscovered talent. That’s not their job, nor is it their obligation to provide a therapeutic atmosphere for those who are unskilled at promoting themselves and/or making themselves highly visible within the company.

So it’s incumbent on the individual to take command over their own career, and their desire to advance in that career. And, let’s be clear. Some people are perfectly comfortable with their current position, and have no need to move ahead. And that’s just fine. I’m not concerned about them.

I am concerned about all of the multi-talented individuals who seem to be hiding under their desk rather than using their jobs to get ahead.

So if you identified with:

* "I shouldn’t have to toot my own horn. My work and my team’s work should be enough, I’m not talking about ‘tooting your horn.’" That would be bragadocio and work against you. I am insisting that if you are good at what you do, you need to get with your manager/supervisor and let him/her know you want their honest feedback about what you need to do to be considered for advancement. Assuming your work, or your team’s work is sufficient to get that kind of attention presumes that other people are in charge of your life. And they aren’t.

When you have a clear outline of what’s needed for consideration to the next level, not only do you need to set about making those changes and implementing steps for your professional growth, you need to keep your manager/supervisor informed about what all you are doing to

follow what was suggested. And you need to then ask for a time line for when you will be

considered for promotion.

If you identified with:

* "It’s demeaning to play politics and run around to the top brass, glad-handing, and polishing the mirror." If it’s demeaning to make yourself known to leadership who can influence your career, you must be suffering from an old message that you need to be humble and modest or

something like that. Because, otherwise there would be room to understand that if you are good at what you do, leadership will want to know what you are doing to contribute to the company. Making your specific value-adds known to those above you is not glad-handing, it’s helping the organization better understand how you fit the larger picture and what they can expect from you in the future.

If you identified with:

* "I’ve never thought about my work in terms of an elevator speech, or the benefits I provide, so I don’t even know where to start." You are far from alone here. Most people we’ve worked with don’t have a clue. So, here’s what to do to get started: Make a list of all the ways your colleagues, your department, your team, your company, and your customers (whatever all categories apply) are helped by the work you do—those are the benefits you provide. Features describe "WHAT you do." Benefits describe how what you do "HELPS people or companies." Next, write three sentences that describe the way you provide benefits that are unique to you. For example, my husband and I specialize in executive coaching designed for the brightest and best, drawing out of our clients their already existing leadership talent and capacity.

With this orientation toward your career trajectory, and your ownership of your future, what will you do differently in the coming months? I look forward to hearing from you.