The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back: Overcoming the Behavior Patterns That Keep You From Getting Ahead

Some books are Godsent for those who are perplexed and truly want to know the answers to their problems. This is one of them. If you have been recently fired or are in a career rut, and don't completely understand why, then buy this book and read it cover to cover. The odds are VERY high you have more than one of the 12 bad habits which is killing your career.As always, it takes some humility to admit your own flaws and correct them. This book provides solid basis for starting the path to your own career enlightenment.

I use the words complexity and perspicacity to discuss this book because the nature of the material the authors write about--the human mind and its behavior--is necessarily complex, while the authors display a very acute sense of those complexities.If you are a well-read, emotionally literate, self-aware person, this book contains many ideas and tools you can use to "get ahead" in business. Its scope, however, is not limited to the business world. One would think that Bridget Jones et al would do well to use the ideas presented in this book. At heart the book is not so much about the behaviors that hold you back in the business world, but, rather it is about the behaviors that hold you back, period. The business world just contextualizes the nature of the consulting practice the authors have and the audience to whom they write (typically business students and executives).

At one time,managers (and the lawyers who represent management,like myself)could be content with one way to handle poor performers---write them up and then fire them.No more,with employees as a company's greatest asset.This book deals with the ones that always drive you nuts---90% of the time they are great employees,but the other 10% of the time they are terrible and harm the organization.The book looks at 12 types,ranging from the emotionally tone deaf(who always seem to end up as key people in information services) to the tank,who gets the hard jobs done but causes intolerable collateral damage.The authors give you practical,implement tomorrow advice on how to turn these employees around,making them more valuable to the company and---just as importantly---helping then realize their full potential.I gave these books to clients as a New Years gift,and the response from almost all was,"where has this been all my professional life."

Many of us, including myself, spend a huge amount of time and energy trying to "get the job done" not realizing that some of the behavior patterns are making our work lives more stressful, less effective and in some cases making you---or your employee---a difficult person to work with.I picked this up after searching online for a career transition book. The authors, two guys from Harvard, have written a really fantastic guide to managing your career. If you know anyone who has had negative performance review, has problems being a "team player" or if you are a manager that has an employee that everyone in the office perceives as "difficult", do yourself a favor and pick-up a copy of this book. These guys have practical exercises and explanations for some of the bad behaviors we have at work---procrastinating, falling behind, constant feelings of stress or anxiety. Far from the "touchy feely" approach of many of the self-help schmaltz out there, these guys are from the business world and offer real steps and real solutions to modify the negative behaviors. (eg. you may be a natural worrier and never be worry-free, but you can cultivate new ways to process the worry so that it doesn't interfere with your "getting the job done.")In my opinion, a must read!

Think of this book as a psychologically-based opposite to Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The authors are both business psychologists, executive coaches for those with career problems, and directors of MBA career development at Harvard Business School. The book is well illustrated with examples of their concepts, drawn from actual cases they have worked on. I suspect you will recognize people you have met, as well as yourself, in these cases.As the authors are well aware, a major flaw can sink someone who is otherwise a top performer. Improving an area where the person is strong will do less good than getting the substandard area up to normal or better. Based on their years of experience they note, 'The ways people fail in their careers, however, are quite limited. People fail in the same ways, for the same reasons, over and over again, from one industry to another, from the lowest level to the highest . . . Moreover . . . many . . . people are amazingly unaware of the patterns of behavior they exhibit that are resulting in failure.' Talk about unconscious incompetence!Part I of the book identifies 12 behaviors that can hold you back.1. Never Feeling Good Enough (acrophobia or fear of career progress)2. Seeing the World in Black and White (meritocrat or not seeing the relevance of loyalty, self-interest, or personality)3. Doing Too Much, Pushing Too Hard (a hero, with an Achilles heel from overdoing it)4. Avoiding Conflict at Any Cost (peacekeeper, who avoids even healthy conflict such as that required to overcome misconceptions)5. Running Roughshod over the Opposition (bulldozer, a male role similar to an offensive lineman in football)6. Rebel Looking for a Cause (rebels, who want attention more than results)7. Always Swinging for the Fences (a home run style swinger who strikes out most of the time)8. When Fear Is in the Driver's Seat (a pessimistic worrier, a naysayer out of fear)9. Emotionally Tone Deaf (Mr. Spock from Star Trek, low emotional intelligence)10. When No Job Is Good Enough (Coulda-been, who moves on because they feel inadequate, but don't want to face up to that)11. Lacking a Sense of Boundaries (People who talk out of school)12. Losing the Path (Alienated people who have lost their career vision of what they want from a career)Each chapter in Part I contains a description of the dynamics of each pattern, how that role plays out in an organization, what the origins of the pattern are, and how to break the pattern. In the last case, the advice is sometimes different if the pattern is your own versus when you are trying to help someone else (such as a subordinate or peer) to do so. These are at least two examples in each section, evenly balanced between women and men. In Part II, the authors look at the four psychological causes of these 12 behavioral problems:1. Having a negatively-distorted self-image.2. Not seeing the perspectives of others.3. Not