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

by James Waldroop, Timothy Butler

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to rise effortlessly to the top, while others are stuck in the same job year after year? Have you ever felt you are falling short of your career potential? Have you wondered if some of the things you do–or don’t do–at work might be hamstringing your ambitions? In The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back , James Waldroop and Timothy Butler identify the twelve habits that–whether you are a retail clerk or a law firm partner, work in technology or in a factory–are almost guaranteed to hold you back.

The fact is, most people learn their greatest lessons not from their successes but from their mistakes. The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back offers the flip side to Stephen Covey’s approach in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , zeroing in on the most common behavior that can impede a career. Based on over twenty years of research as business psychologists, the authors claim that the reasons people fail in their jobs are the same everywhere. Only after these detrimental behaviors have been identified can the patterns that limit career advancement be broken.

Using real-life accounts of clients they have worked with at Harvard and as executive coaches at such companies as GTE, Sony, GE, and McKinsey & Co., Waldroop and Butler offer invaluable–and in some cases, job-saving–step-by-step advice on how readers can change their behavior to get back on track.

For anyone seeking to achieve his or her career ambitions , The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back is a powerful tool for unleashing true potential.

Genres: Self Help, Business, Personal Development, Psychology, Leadership, Nonfiction, Productivity

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2001

Reviews

[Huda Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

الكاتب يحدد اثنتي عشرة عادة تعرقلنا عن المضي قدماً:
العادة الأولى: الشعور بالنقص وأننا لا نستحق الأفضل.
العادة الثانية: الإفراط في العمل.
العادة الثالثة: الرغبة في تحقيق النجاح بشكل فوري وفي هذة اللحظة، بينما النجاح يأتي بتراكم مجموعة من النجاحات الصغيرة شيئاً فشيئاً.
العادة الرابعة: رؤية الحياة بالأبيض أو الأسود.
العادة الخامسة: تجنب الصراعات سواءً بدنية أو فكرية بعض المواقف تحتم علينا الدفاع أحياناً.
العادة السادسة: التصرف بهمجية مع المعارضين.
العادة السابعة: القيام بثورة دون سبب لأن بسبب تلك الثورة قد ندمر أنفسنا ومن حولنا.
العادة الثامنة: الخضوع لسيطرة مشاعر الخوف.
العادة التاسعة: عدم قراءة وإظهار العواطف للأخرين.
العادة العاشرة: عدم الصير على التدرج في تعلم المهارات اللازمة للترقي في سلم الوصول للأهداف.
العادة الحادية عشرة: عدم معرفة ما يجب أن يقال وما لا يقال.
العادة الثانية عشرة: فقدان خط السير والهدف، يجب التوقف للتأمل والتساؤل في الهدف المراد وطريق الوصول إليه.

[CAC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors are career placement directors at Harvard Business School, have done a lot of counseling and offer some sage advice for the career-minded. However, I found the book to be quite long and it had an over reliance on behavioral career issues that stemmed from childhood. Very psychotherapy-oriented (and Jungian) which I thought they took too far, tracing nearly every "bad habit" back to childhood. Their 12 habits would have been more credible too if they would have cited (or conducted) primary research (academic studies etc.) to support their points.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been around for a while; I first read it under its original title, Maximum Success.
The updated title is much more clear with regard to the content, though to me, it does not describe "habits" so much as "traits."

Most people suspect that something within their personality or mindset holds them back from career or interpersonal advancement, and several of the most common are described in this book. There are bulldozers, who believe that intimidation will help them win; meritocrats who refuse to "play politics" under any circumstances and then wonder why their idealism is not rewarded; perfectionists of various types; people who fear success; people who fear failure, and many others. The book is full of case histories, and they are all based on real individuals who have consulted with the authors. To a slight extent, there is a degree of "pitching," in which the authors seem to imply that their company holds the key to solving or correcting these traits. However, they also provide ample tips on how individuals can address their own shortcomings, and managers can guide their associates in a better direction.

One indication that this book is slightly out of date is Chapter Nine, in which "emotionally tone-deaf" people (also called "Spocks") are discussed. It appears that the authors are describing people who are on the autism spectrum. There's now a fair amount of controversy about the ethics of trying to change or "retrain" neurodivergent folks to behave more like non-autistic (neurotypical) people. The general consensus now is that such characteristics are inborn, and very complex. "If you've seen one person with autism, you've seen one person with autism," as the saying goes. However, if a person on the neurodivergent spectrum wishes to bridge the gap that hinders communication and gives rise to misunderstandings, this book may offer some assistance.

It's a worthwhile read. We're slowly going back to our offices, but for those who have the opportunity to ponder the possibility of improving their personality and dealing more adroitly with business culture, this might be a good use of that at-home time.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this, I also listened to the audiobook of Gary Vee's similarly numbered Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success, and that was so much more engaging, relevant, and inspiring to the point where I really found this lacking. The information here is good, but I've logged so many of these types of books that it's hard to rank this very high. Ranking it 3 stars instead of 2 to acknowledge that I might have enjoyed it more had I read it before some other great books on this topic.

[J Crossley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heal Negative Behaviors Holding You Back

This book offers a wealth of information about behaviors that can hold you back at work and how you can correct those negative traits. After the initial twelve hindrances ate reviewed, the authors discuss four traits to help you improve.

[Dory Leviashvili · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad professional development and career growth book. The chapters were a bit redundant and wordy.

[Babis Mantelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite detailed and profound analysis of tyical negatibe behavioral patterns that influence counter productively people's careers, very useful for employees, managers and career coaches!

[Awaita Atebor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to this book, I found out I had some traits of a peacekeeper, a hero, and a bit of a bulldozer.

Excitingly, the work on me is progressive.

[Hasmik Grigoryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chapters are a bit long, with a lot of descriptions, but overall it is a useful book to find out a lot about people's behaviors and the origin of them.

[Hafiz Mohammed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading the book. The case studies approach is fantastic. I found it insightful. Definitely worth a Re-Read every now and then.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good points and I think there are a few items that I found useful in analyzing my own habits in the workplace at some points I felt the book got "preachy" in some of its views. There practical advice and counseling is probably top notch, but I could tell from the text that their inherent world view is different from mind, and it makes me wonder if I might have the "13th Habit". Some of the items on power left me cold, they may be right, but sometimes felt they were condemning power and taking shots at society simultaneously.

I think I will take some new ammunition for the workplace, but didn't fundamentally change my life as it where.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone working with people in a managerial capacity will get a lot of insight out of this book.

The 12 behavior patterns identified in this book will cover most of the people that you will work with/encounter and have relationships with outside of work.

Being self-aware is critical for making this book "work for you", and being able to accurately observe the traits pointed out is necessary for you to make constructive suggestions to colleagues suffering from these habits.

The psychological insight is quite engaging, intriguing and entertaining.

[Fran Babij · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely deep and insightful tool to helping a person understand the inner workings of the thought/behavior connection and how to correct the things that are adversely affecting our daily lives. Also a very helpful tool to understanding why the people around us do the things they do and how we can help them. Great resource!

[Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astute and practical, the best part of this book is how concrete it is -- in its examples, its generalizations, and its remedies. Unlike the "10 quick fixes" articles frequently published in periodicals, this book drives home the reality that all change--even good change--is hard... but gives you the tools to envision even yourself making those changes.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books on not only finding out how to overcome my own bad habits but how to deal with them in other people. The book goes through the 12 habits describing the origin and how to overcome it but it also has sections on how to manage someone with each behavior pattern. I took it as, not necessarily managing but how to deal with them in any relationship.

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book as I do everything by Timothy Butler. However, reading every chapter made me think that I face EVERY challenge this book discusses. I found it more useful, as Mr. Butler advises, to read only a couple of chapters that seem most relevant to me and use it as a reference.

Five stars. Definitely a keeper.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and am rereading it for the second time (with a very long break in between). Their case study approach is insightful, and I definitely appreciate business advice from a psychological perspective.

[Jerome Baladad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This can be an easy read of a book if you're familiar with Carl Jung's psychology. But then again, you can acquire a lot of helpful tips from this book especially if you're still doing a full time job. I realized I've moved on from that path. And that's great and OK.

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Specific for middle career, but good for early/young professionals

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is heavily targeted toward people working in a 'traditional office setting', for lack of a better phrase, and so it didn't entirely apply to self-employed me. Interesting reading, though!

[Sumanta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some bad habits which find a place here ?

Avoiding conflict at any cost.... Doing too much, pushing too hard... Rebel looking for a cause...

Just the read for today's confused times..

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a powerful book. Took me longer than usual to read,as I could identify with all aspects of the book......

[Abbas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scientifically explained about behaviour of people who fail despite having all right materials.

[Mills College Library]

650.14 W167 2001