May Busch* lists some of the missed opportunities that could further people’s careers and which may be passing right under their noses.
One of the easiest ways to miss an opportunity is to not see it in the first place.
Some are obvious and signposted, like your boss asking you to take on a stretch assignment or getting invited to speak at a big event.
You’re not likely to miss those.
I’m talking about the opportunities that are right under your nose but they’re so much a part of the norm that you no longer notice them.
Like the way you approach regular meetings, handle interruptions, talk to your colleagues, or even your morning routine.
They blend into the background of your busy day and it’s natural to take them for granted.
The problem is those missed opportunities can come back to bite you.
Once you stop taking them for granted and start seeing them as opportunities, your career can really take off.
So how do you figure out what those potential opportunities are so you don’t miss them?
It starts with doing an audit. In other words, step back and look at your daily experiences with fresh eyes.
As you search for your hidden opportunities, here are three areas to consider: Your relationships, work situations, and your self.
Let’s start with the first area.
The relationships you take for granted can land you in trouble.
That’s because your colleagues, clients and team members have the very human need to be seen, heard and valued.
When people feel overlooked or if their needs aren’t met, you might well be the last to know.
That’s what happened to me six months after transferring to London to lead a new client effort.
I could tell it was bad news when my boss called me into his office.
Our sales and trading stakeholders were grumbling about my lack of progress and wondering whether I was right for the job.
Once the shock wore off, I realised what had happened. In the sales and trading world you were in trouble if you hadn’t done a transaction by lunchtime.
In my world, it took months, if not years, to build a relationship.
I’d been so focused on working with the relationship bankers to bring in deals that I neglected to spend time with sales and trading, who would sell the deals we brought in.
By missing the opportunity to explain how my business worked and bring these important stakeholders along, my reputation suffered which created problems for my boss.
Neither were good for my career.
This brings us to the next area.
The business settings you take for granted can be golden opportunities.
The thing about work is it’s there every day, and when something happens regularly, it’s easy for it to become rote.
For example, the daily team meeting. When I was promoted to head the group, I got to run the morning meeting which the entire team joined.
My team members’ behaviour in the regular morning meeting became my proxy for how they handled themselves in meetings with clients, colleagues and competitors.
In Joan’s case, this was a positive. She always strode into the conference room with confidence, carrying just a small notebook and her phone.
She made strategic points and commanded the room.
On the other hand, Ben tended to shuffle in with a stack of papers and sat hunched in the back corner. He spoke softly and mumbled.
I couldn’t imagine him representing our interests in an external meeting.
At the end of the year, Joan got promoted and Ben didn’t.
Now for the third area.
Selflessly focusing on your work and ignoring your own career needs is a mistake.
I know this because it’s a trap I’ve fallen into. Alongside this trap comes taking for granted that your work will speak for itself.
I took for granted that my boss knew what I was doing. I thought it was his job as my manager to know.
No need to take up his time and clutter his inbox with updates.
It turned out that far from wasting his time and mine, those regular updates would have gone a long way to helping my boss build a stronger case for my promotion.
I didn’t get promoted that year but my colleague who was regularly in contact with our boss did.
That was a painful lesson, but it motivated me to change my ways.
Doing your audit might turn up some realisations of mistakes you’ve made in the past, but be kind to yourself. This isn’t about judging and blaming yourself.
It’s about illuminating your path forward from here and focusing on what comes next.
In fact, the more blind spots you can uncover, the more you can learn and grow and reach your full potential.
So go ahead and reflect on what you’re taking for granted and how that might lead to missed opportunities.
*May Busch works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared at maybusch.com.
