The Real Career Killers

We all hear talk about things that can kill your career. A missed opportunity? Bad presentation in an important meeting? Lost customer? While these things won't help your career, they certainly don't define your overall career path. So, what are the things that can deal a devastating blow to your career?



Here are the real career killers:

Mixed Results - A track record of hits and misses when delivering on goals will hurt your career. Companies are looking for consistent performers - individuals who they can count on to repeatedly meet expectations. Some people make the mistake of thinking once they've met a few goals they're not under the gun to continue contributing at that level. In order to advance your career you have to constantly prove yourself. Consistent performers get promoted; others are perceived as a risk. This applies to positions throughout the organization, entry level to CEO.

Not Developing Your Team - If you really want to be selfish about your career take care of the people who work for you. The only way you can move up is by training and developing the people who report to you and, importantly, identifying and grooming your successor. Don't get so wrapped up in the day-to-day tactical issues that you fail to spend time training your team. By developing your team you are strengthening the organization and its competitive advantage.

Not Accepting Responsibility for Failures - The mark of a true leader is being able to stand up and hold yourself accountable when something doesn't go according to plan. The buck has to stop with the person in charge and if you're that person step up to the plate. No one gets to the top without their share of failures. Taking responsibility demonstrates integrity which is highly valued. You'll be viewed as someone the organization can trust because you're honest enough to own-up.

Taking Too Much Credit - Some people think that giving others credit reduces the impact of their contributions. The opposite is true. The more you credit others the more it positively reflects on you. Real leaders know how to motivate their teams. The best way to motivate someone on your team is to give them recognition for what they have done.

Failure to Learn from Mistakes - A CEO once told us that his management style was to create an environment that eliminated fear. He wanted people to feel free to take risks, but said, "You had better learn from your mistakes". We all make mistakes. The key questions to ask yourself are "What did I learn? What could I have done differently? How can I prevent it from happening again?" This learning will serve you in the future and give your boss confidence that you have the self-awareness and insight to grow from the experience.


It's critical, especially in these times, to avoid doing things can derail your career. Keep tracking how well you're measuring up in these important areas, otherwise your career will stall.

Fred & Gladys
Whelan Stone
Executive Search and Coaching
Authors of GOAL! Your 30 Day Career Plan for Business & Career Success

Don't Fall Asleep on the Job When You're Working from Home

Working from home has many benefits: you don't have to commute, you don't have to "suit up" and you don't have co-worker "Joe" chewing the fat about things you couldn't care less about.

There are many distractions at the office which is why people say they get more done working from home. At least that's what they tell their bosses. The truth is that working from home has its own set of distractions.




Here are things you can do to be more productive working from home:

Have Your Own Work Space - This should be separate from the main living area of the house and exclusively for your work use. If family are home have a "closed door policy", otherwise it may be tempting for them to want to talk with you - after all you're just on the other side of that door. Help them understand that you're on the clock. If at all possible, work from the quietest space in the house.

Get in a "Work Mindset" - Yes, physically you're at home, but mentally you're at work. Resist the temptation to step over the threshold from your work life to your home life. No watching your TiVo programs at lunchtime. TV during work hours can take you out of a work mindset. Also, steer clear of the 200 pound gorilla in the kitchen commonly known as the refrigerator. For some reason, being home causes people to snack throughout the day (you just finished a report and celebrate with leftover pizza). Mirror at home how you eat at work. And don't go through your personal mail until the end of the day. There could be a major distraction in the pile, especially if "O" Magazine has arrived.

Take Minimum Breaks - At work, you're more conscious of the passage of time because you get the visual cues of people going off to lunch and coming out of meetings. At home you don't get those, which can throw off your internal clock. There's less happening around you which may trick your brain into thinking that it's time for another break. So, keep the breaks to an absolute minimum.

Plan Your Day - This is especially important when you're working from home. It's key to plan your activities and assign specific times around them. That will keep you focused and on track. This goes for lunch too. Give yourself 30 minutes for lunch, after all, the food is close by and you shouldn't have to stand in line to get your sandwich.

No Housework, No Errands - Don't throw a load of laundry in thinking that you are multi-tasking. You're really not - you're doing laundry. When the buzzer goes off, it will pull you away from your project and the same thing will happen an hour later when the buzzer for the dryer goes off. As far as errands go, you may be very efficient doing errands when working from the office, but that doesn't usually apply when you're working from home. At the office, you have to be efficient because people notice if you're gone for an extended period of time - that's why you get so much done. Without that pressure at home, you're apt to take a 15 minute errand and turn it into a mini shopping spree.


Working from home is a great benefit. Leverage it for all the good it can bring you while avoiding those time killing pitfalls that can affect your productivity.

Fred & Gladys
Whelan Stone
Executive Search and Coaching
Authors of GOAL! Your 30 Day Career Plan for Business & Career Success

The Beauty of a Well Run Meeting

It’s a typical day and someone’s called another meeting you have to attend. That racks up 10 so far this week. How are you supposed to do your work if you’re constantly in meetings? The most common complaints about meetings are that they are too long, not always productive and often a complete waste of time.

While you can’t control how others run their meetings, you certainly can do something about yours!




Here are some ways to make your meetings run better:

Have An Agenda – Your meeting should have a clear goal. What’s the purpose of the meeting and what outcome do you want? Organize the meeting with the various topics to be discussed and what the desired outcome is. It should be clear when a decision is expected, as opposed to providing a status on the project. Each topic should have an allotted time (e.g., 10 minutes) and you should lead with the most important things, like what decisions need to be made. People are freshest at the start of the meeting and you’ll want to take advantage of this.

Invite The Right People – More things tend to get done at smaller meetings. Only have the people necessary to achieve your desired outcome. Make sure the people included have the knowledge to discuss the issues and the appropriate authority to make agreements. You might want to structure the meetings so that decision makers can leave when they’re done. There’s no need to invite an entire department when one person can represent the group.

Discuss Issues Beforehand – Share the agenda and the issues with the key people beforehand. The more they know about what will be discussed and what decisions need to be made, the more productive the meeting will be. Make sure everyone knows what information they need to bring. By having a brief conversation with them prior to the meeting you’ll know what issues might be raised. The more you know in advance, the better prepared you’ll be.

Decide How You’ll Manage – Will you make an opening statement that reiterates the purpose and objective of the meeting? Will you summarize along the way (recommended) or at the end? Who will take the notes? How will you keep people on track and draw the meeting to an end? All these should be decided beforehand so that you are managing the meeting and its not managing you.

Keep Them Engaged – We’ve all sat through seemingly endless meetings, where someone droned on and on. To the extent that you can, engage people so they are actively participating. After all this is not a lecture, it’s a meeting. If you notice someone is particularly quiet, ask for their input. Every voice should count or why else would they be in the room? In the spirit of being inclusive, you’ll want to create an atmosphere in which people feel free to express their views. Not only will this keep the energy level high, there will be more solutions offered.

Meetings are a necessary part of business and the most effective ones are those in which the best planning was done prior to the meeting. The planning that you do upfront is a compliment to the people in the meeting, because it shows you care about their time. Just like you, they have lots on their plate, so help them get back to their work soon.

Fred & Gladys
Whelan Stone
Executive Search and Coaching
Authors of GOAL! Your 30 Day Career Plan for Business & Career Success