4 Reasons Why You Are Not Getting Ahead At Work That Have Nothing to Do With Your Skills

4 Reasons Why You Are Not Getting Ahead At Work That Have Nothing to Do With Your Skills

By Michelle Wanjiku
We all know that working hard and having the right skills will help you grow in your career. People get promoted based on the skills they have both soft and hard skills. However, what happens when one fails to get promoted yet they have all the skills needed?
In this article, see why you might be missing out on those career growth opportunities yet you are more than qualified for them.

Why are you not getting ahead at work?

1. You lack self-awareness
In the book, Leadership 2.0, by Travis Bradberry, he notes that 83% of people who rated high in levels of self-awareness are also rated as top performers.
You cannot achieve any sort of career growth until you know where you are going. You need to have a solid idea of the path you want your career to take. If your boss or manager has no idea where you want to go, then they will not give you the opportunity to grow.
You will only be able to move up in your career once you have a clear path because then your boss will know where to place you and where you will be more useful as well as where you will achieve your career goals.
2. Your emotions manage you
Another critical hindrance to career growth is not being able to manage your emotions. Yes, things can get stressful at work but lashing out at your colleagues or subordinates will not fix anything. It just goes to show that you lack emotional intelligence which is also a crucial aspect to career growth.
If you want to one day hold a leadership position, you need to be able to keep your emotions in check; you cannot afford to lash out at everyone the moment things don’t go your way.
You need to find a way to manage your emotions as opposed to letting them manage you.
READ ALSO >>> Why Being Smart Isn’t Enough To Succeed At Work
3. You can’t read the room
Imagine you are making a presentation and at the beginning everyone is paying attention, however, ten minutes in people start doing their own things, you have lost the room, what you need to do is find out why and try to fix it, maybe no one understands what you are talking about, if so then you need to take your time and explain it to them well.
If you fail to notice that you have lost the room and continue with your presentation, you will not be able to get your message across. This also shows that you are not suitable for a leadership role because you are unable to listen to others this is not a quality your boss is looking for in a leader.
4. You struggle with managing relationships
No man is an island, which is why most people work in teams. If you want to get a promotion at work then you need to have a good relationship with the people you work with. In most cases, they are the ones, who will be asked whether or not you should be promoted. This means that if you have a terrible relationship with your workmates your chances of getting a promotion are very slim.
A research that was conducted shows that 85% of your success will come from your ability to manage relationships, communicate effectively, negotiate conflict, and influence others.
People are more likely to help you achieve career growth if they like you and feel like they can trust you. This only happens if you have a good relationship with them.
In Conclusion,
Career growth doesn’t only come from having great skills and working hard, there are other factors that also determine whether you will achieve growth or not. If you are one of those people who has been missing out on growth opportunities because of the above, ensure you work on them.
You can do this by taking leadership classes where you will learn how to be a great leader and open up doors for your career growth.

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