Reaching Your Career Potential

Each of us who accepts a position within a company expects to reach a certain level of advancement within both the position and with the company in general. Unfortunately for some people, they do not reach that career potential either because of restrictions by their management or because they do not exhibit the drive and ambition that is necessary in order for an individual to reach his or her career potential.

For many people, the problem lies not in their ambition but in the politics of the company, especially when it relates to a large corporation. It seems to hold true that favoritism is paramount in determination of promotions, and unless you work for a company that has a union, there is little you can do. Even under a union, there is often little you can do because management positions are not usually part of the union. Besides, if they follow procedure and can prove someone else is more qualified, even if they have less seniority, it’s out of their hands.

That brings up the question of how someone can reach his or her career potential if the supervision is holding someone back. If you are putting your best effort forward and still aren’t going anywhere, you need to evaluate why. Perhaps it isn’t that you aren’t doing your job well but that the attitude you project doesn’t meet with the company’s standards for promotion. For example, you may come to work every day, never miss days, never be late, but you don’t work any overtime or make the effort to help other employees who need assistance. Perhaps you are always the first one out the door when it’s time to leave and seldom come in early.

For a person to reach their career potential in the light of conflict is often difficult, but with some compromise, it can be accomplished. If your supervision is holding you back, learn to overcome that. Strive harder to be the best worker and go out of your way to make things easier for your co-workers. Take the initiative to work overtime as needed, come in early, stay a little later, and take on extra work as needed. Even with supervision who tries to hold you back, effort on your part will allow you to overcome that obstacle so that you can move forward in the department or seek a position in another department where you will be allowed to reach your potential.