Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career

Chapter Eighteen

THE SUCCESS TRAP

You’ve been highly successful, but suddenly, everything seems to be going wrong.

 

 

 

 

Careers can be made out of consistent high performance. As we achieve great results, our reputation grows. This builds our self-esteem and convinces us that we are excellent at what we do. Perfecting our approach adds more success. Over time, we settle on our way of doing things and develop our own unique methods and styles.

None of us work in complete isolation. We work with other people and have to perform in an environment of constant change. What happens when things start to go wrong or what used to be simple fails to deliver? Just because something worked before does not mean it will work next time. When we realize our great performance is suddenly faltering, we have to accept that we may have been complacent and slipped into the success trap.

The Success Trap Dilemma

You know what, this is bizarre. Let me tell you, I certainly know my way around this business. I joined straight from college and worked my butt off. I climbed the ladder and know this business inside out. I work quickly, and my results have been excellent! That is why I head up the commercial unit, and until recently, I was sure that the next promotion was just around the corner.

But over the last few months, things seem to be slipping. A recent deal looked like an easy thing to pull off. Been there, done it. So it came as a big shock when Leo, head of IT Solutions, told me ...