The Homa Files

Interesting recap article in Business Insider …

Basic premise: People fall for predictable psychological traps that can  sabotage their own career success.

 

Here are 7 of these potentially limiting psychological traps …

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1. Conforming to the majority opinion

In the 1950s, psychologist Solomon Asch conducted a brilliant study that found people tended to agree with the majority, even when it was obvious the majority was wrong.

Rx: Speak your mind … but pick your shots … and, have your ducks in a row.

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2. Believing negative stereotypes

English translation: Judging books by covers (when evaluating others) … and playing a victim’s card (when self-evaluating)

Rx: Focus on performance … take control of your own destiny.

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3. Needing to produce flawless work

According to Alice Boyes, perfectionists often use up all their willpower until they’re psychologically and emotionally exhausted. Then it’s hard for them to continue working on a task.

Rx: Echo the mantra: “Perfection is the enemy of progress” … Apply basic cost-benefit analysis“What’s the pay-off of an answer being a little bit better? How much time and effect is required?”

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4. Feeling like you’re an impostor

Researchers say 70% of people will experience “impostor syndrome” at least once in their lives.

Basically, it’s when you feel like your achievements are undeserved and you’ll one day be revealed as a fraud.

Rx: Build your track record and dust it off when you have self-doubts.  Imposters get revealed pretty quickly.

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5. Fearing success

Maybe you fear the sense of responsibility that will accompany a new role; or maybe you simply can’t imagine yourself as someone powerful.

Rx: Allow yourself to bask in some glory … and, relish the opportunity to meet new challenges.

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6. Burying your head in the sand

The “ostrich effect” occurs when you avoid seeking information about progress toward your goals, largely out of fear that you’ll be disappointed.

Rx: Set your own objective performance metrics and track to them … Routinely tap trusted advisors for candid feedback.

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7. Procrastination

Procrastination isn’t just an extreme case of laziness.

In fact, it often stems from feelings of uncertainty, hostility, anger, frustration.

Rx: Mantra the phrase: “Do it NOW!” … Envision how good you’ll feel when a task is completed.

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This entry was posted on September 18, 2015 at 6:59 am and is filed under Careers & Interviewing, Psychological Traps, Work, Workplace. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.