Climbing the corporate ladder is a career priority for many modern professionals. Higher status within an organization means greater influence, greater responsibilities, a greater sense of impact, and of course, a higher pay grade. To the unambitious, promotions are something doled out in time, once a superior realizes how long you've been around and how much you've learned. To feistier candidates, promotions are a prize to be fought for, the result of tenacious hard work and constant attempts at self-improvement.
Regardless of your approach and your degree of commitment to earning your next promotion, there are several habits that can interfere with your chances of success--and you may not even realize you have them. Be wary of these seven common ways employees sabotage their chances of moving up:
1. Taking Credit for Things You Didn't Do. This professional sin is easy to avoid in the obvious context--for example, most workers wouldn't try to steal credit for a co-worker's report. However, there's a more subtle way this action can manifest itself. For example, if you're a part of a team responsible for directing and executing a new marketing campaign and the campaign is a success, it might look bad if you try to make it seem like the result of your effort and work more than that of your team. Be sure to give credit to everyone involved, and never take credit for work you weren't involved with.
