“I did my job” and 9 other career-limiting mindsets

These attitudes are great indicators of your career ceiling.

Geoff Wilson

I’ve spent much of the past 15 years navigating complex organizations and talking to people at various stages of their careers. Combine that experience with my standing as an amateur social scientist (kind of like the old adage about crazy: You don’t have to be a social scientist to be a consultant, but it helps), and you get my ability to write lists of insights about a lot of things in organizational life.

Here are 10 mindsets that are career-limiting to anyone who wants to do great things in modern business management. They’re also toxic to organizations when they become the norm around the lunch table. Try them on, and if they fit you … change.

1. I did my job – Said by a world of downsized and rejected managers. And totally focused on the wrong thing. Doing what you’re told is only a fraction of being a successful senior manager. Your job is to find out how to do what’s necessary. “I did what you told me” is a defense mechanism, not a rationale.
2. I don’t have the resources to be successful – OK, then why are you keeping the job? If you think your job is impossible, at least have the integrity to walk (or raise the issue). In today’s economy, resourcefulness is at a premium. How do you show it?
3. I’m on vacation – Yes, and so are your chances for accelerated promotion. I know of very few professionals who can deploy this mindset without it having a very long half-life in their colleagues’ memories.
4. It wasn’t my fault – Sure, you can articulate the reasons for a failure, and even your role in the chain of responsibility.  That’s fair game. Just don’t start with defense.
5. It wasn’t my job – See points 1, 2, and 4. I’ll bet that a lack of accountability wasn’t something you highlighted on your resume.
6. I don’t know how to do it, so I didn’t – See points 1, 2, 4, and 5. Inaction is a great way to show a glaring lack of initiative.
7. I deserved that promotion, not him/her – We can never sweep politics aside, but in many if not most instances, a person who has this mindset hasn’t really examined the situation well. Any attitude that starts with “deserve” ought to raise big, flapping red flags.
8. I’ve had a really tough time at home – I’ll let you in on a little secret. Individuals may care about this and say so. Your company does not. I could be even more harsh and say that, in reality, nobody cares, as Ben Horowitz said best.
9. I took that promotion/relocation for the money – If that’s why you did it, you’ve already received the reward. Stop complaining about it being hard, unrewarding, or a career dead-end.
10. My boss was unethical – Usually said by someone who has just been passed over or fired by that boss. Where was that sense of ethics while you were in favor? How often did you raise the issue? Most companies have plenty of ways for you to get the word out. How many did you use?

Healthy strategic management must often start with a healthy examination of a company’s dominant mindsets. If these or related mindsets rule your water cooler (or your pillow talk at home), you’ve got a problem.

What mindsets either help or hinder your own professional growth?