1273: 6 Career Killers and How to Avoid Them by Mikey Rox of LenPenzo.com on Mistaking Activity for Productivity

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[00:00:58] This is Optimal Work Daily, Episode 1273. Six career killers and how to avoid them by Mikey

[00:01:08] Rocks with Lin Penzo.com. And hey there I am Dan. I'm your host of the show and I'm here with you

[00:01:13] every single day including weekends and holidays reading from these great blogs that contain some

[00:01:18] of the best work related content that you can find. So now let's get right to our post for today as we optimize your life.

[00:01:29] Six career killers and how to avoid them by Mikey Rocks with Lin Penzo.com

[00:01:36] Want to get ahead at work? Here are six big career killers that many people fail to realize

[00:01:42] will minimize their professional potential in the workforce. One, mistaking volume for effectiveness.

[00:01:50] Just because you're doing a lot of work doesn't necessarily mean that you're doing your best work.

[00:01:55] If you're feeling overwhelmed with your workload or you feel like you're not putting out quality

[00:01:59] material because you have too much on your plate, tap into a professional organization platform to

[00:02:04] help sort things out. Gretchen Pisano, co-founder and CEO of Peelink Coaching Center says quote,

[00:02:12] the most effective communication is focused, consistent, trustworthy, and accessible.

[00:02:18] Internal communication platforms like Slack transform office communication,

[00:02:23] eliminate email from the process, and dramatically reduce unproductive status meetings that are

[00:02:28] designed to keep everyone in the loop. And quote, two, clustering in clicks. Joining a click at work

[00:02:37] can provide a sense of belonging and security. However, workplace clicks can be career killers when you

[00:02:43] become branded for your peers and not for yourself. This is particularly dangerous for your career

[00:02:49] when your click has fallen out of favor or is not being targeted for positions of leadership.

[00:02:54] Becky Sultzman, author of Living Curiously, How to Use Curiosity to Be Remarkable and Do Good Stuff,

[00:03:01] advises quote, instead cross-pollinate and expand your work networks to be broader rather than deeper.

[00:03:09] Knowing more people and having more people know you will provide more opportunities to step into

[00:03:14] unforeseen leadership positions. This can also help you navigate group layoffs.

[00:03:19] And quote, three, failing to keep up with technology. There's an entire generation of employees

[00:03:26] who are being phased out of their jobs because they're behind the curve on technology.

[00:03:31] The harsh reality is that we live in a tech-driven world and if you can't keep up with the times,

[00:03:36] you'll be replaced. HR consultant Justin Miller warns quote,

[00:03:41] if your workplace implements new systems and you do not embrace the new direction and soak up

[00:03:47] the training, you risk putting yourself out of a job. People remain in the workplace for a lot longer

[00:03:52] now so older employees need to be as enthusiastic about new technologies as their millennial colleagues.

[00:03:59] End quote, four, trying to be too interesting. When you're new to an organization or feel marginalized at work,

[00:04:07] making an effort to have your co-workers, customers and superiors get to know you better seems

[00:04:12] like a good thing. However, the danger is in the perceived effort. Trying too hard to be seen,

[00:04:19] heard and interesting can backfire and make you appear self-centered and desperate. Instead,

[00:04:25] focus on being interested in others. By doing that they'll become more curious about you.

[00:04:30] Saltsman suggests quote, look for sincere and specific reasons to like people. Ask curious questions

[00:04:37] like what would surprise people most about your job? And if you can implement one new policy at work,

[00:04:44] what would it be? Or perhaps interview a co-worker about an unusual work-related project that

[00:04:49] you both find intriguing. End quote, five being underappreciated by the boss. Trying to be too

[00:04:57] interesting can hurt your career, but so can being a wallflower, especially if it means the boss

[00:05:02] never notices you. It's important to stand out, but even more important to provide value to the

[00:05:07] company. Career expert Barry Marr says quote, one of the biggest killers people make in their

[00:05:13] careers in today's layoff-prone world is not becoming truly indispensable. Find a task that your

[00:05:19] boss hates to do and offer to take it over. If losing you means the boss will have to go back

[00:05:25] doing something he hates, then he'll fight for you as if you were the company's most valuable

[00:05:29] employee. End quote, Marr also says another smart strategy is simply to write the boss a very

[00:05:35] short note at the end of each week that explains what you did during the week. Quote, not only will the

[00:05:41] boss be reminded of just how valuable you are, but many bosses will save those notes and use

[00:05:45] them to write your review from them. End quote, and six letting your true colors come through a

[00:05:52] little too much. You shouldn't act like a completely different person that work than you do in

[00:05:57] your personal life, but you also shouldn't fly off the handle like a raving lunatic every time

[00:06:02] something goes wrong if that's something your app to do when nobody important is watching.

[00:06:07] Sultzman explains quote, triggers and biases can activate our personal behavior bombs that might

[00:06:14] cause you to erupt when confronted by others selfish behavior, false accusations, a lack of

[00:06:19] recognition or exclusion from decision making. So be aware of those triggers before they activate

[00:06:25] and destroy your career. Create a trigger tool that will help you elevate curiosity ahead of

[00:06:31] criticism, judgment, fear and complacency. Doing so will allow you to assess your triggers before

[00:06:37] reacting thereby reducing their power over you. End quote,

[00:06:42] you just listen to the post titled six career killers and how to avoid them by Mikey rocks with

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[00:09:05] today and thanks so much to Mikey for this post he of course wrote that for Len Penzzo's site

[00:09:11] and a bit more about Len he writes about personal finance and macro economics on his personal

[00:09:16] finance blog which has now been twice honored as a Kiplinger best money blog and honored with two

[00:09:22] Pluto awards for best personal finance blog. Len's personal finance articles have been featured in

[00:09:27] the New York Times MSN business insider money time Forbes the Huffington Post Yahoo Finance CBS

[00:09:36] Money Watch and Clark Howard just to name a few. Len's focus is on the importance of personal

[00:09:41] responsibility not only for our personal finances but also for everything else we do in life

[00:09:46] so to learn more from Len simply come by Len Penzo.com but that's going to do it for today I

[00:09:52] appreciate you being here as always and be sure to tune in tomorrow for another article

[00:09:56] that is where your optimal life awaits