Career Barrier 1 - Over-emphasizing Personal Goals Focusing on personal goals such as self-promotion and self-protection can cause you to lose focus of why you were initially hired by the company. Making others feel better in your presence and even in your absence reflects true leadership. You are as strong as your weakest link, so make your colleagues a priority as well. This can be difficult for emerging leaders, particularly women, who tend to believe they already have an uphill battle to the top in most corporations.
close to the boss, so you adopt a standoffish attitude, disliking everything about her – her voice, her ridiculous pearl collection and her obsession with platforms. Only to be sent on a retreat with Mary, where you lean that she is just one of those people who is always smiling. You also discover that Mary inherited her mom’s pearl collection (as well as her love for platforms), but most importantly, you learn that she is an innovator with great problem-solving skills. You run the risk of losing some of your greatest allies if you turn your colleagues into enemies.
Barrier 2 - Protecting Your Public Image Remember that ‘ideal self ’ you created in high school? Yes, it’s an obstacle to effective leadership. You would be surprised at the distraction this ‘ideal self ’ can create! It take a lot of energy and effort to ‘stick to the script’, causing you to ignore the real work required for leadership.
Barrier 4 - Going It Alone We often conform to the notion that it can be lonely at the top, but it doesn’t have to be. Someone helped you along the way, be it family members or friends. We call these people “the team”. The key is to realize that being a leader doesn’t mean that you have to go it alone. As a leader and as an individual, you need a strong team to keep you grounded and focused, be it a colleague, mentor, friends, spouse or family. Stay true to your core team and show your appreciation for their belief in you as a leader and take them for a drink every now and then.
Excerpt: “One woman we interviewed, Anita, was an executive vice president in charge of the regional performance of a large retail company. The public image she’d created – tough, decisive and analytical – had been a powerful instrument in advancing her career. But it left little room for her humanity – an essential part of the leadership equation. Anita thought that using intuition was intellectually last; she was known for the phrase “Show me the data.” – Harvard Business Review Barrier 3 - Turning Competitors into Enemies Refrain from turning others into caricatures, especially those you don’t understand and don’t know. This tends to happen with coworkers who are on the same management level. For example, you consider Mary a ‘suck-up’ because she appears to be ‘too’
Barrier 5 - Waiting for permission Though patience can be a virtue and it is indeed good to have, sometimes you just have to step out on your own initiative instead of waiting for someone to recognize your ability. Organizations usually love when an individual acts on their own initiative regardless of their position. Believe it or not, that’s how you make it to the corner office – effecting change from your current position.
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