Jack had everything going for him. He was highly intelligent, well educated (with a top school MBA and a master's degree in biological sciences from MIT), articulate, attractive, polished, and knowledgeable in the field of biotechnology. He was happily married with two young sons and a lovely home. At age thirty-three he was the head of a small but promising and growing biotech firm, was earning a high salary, and held stock that was likely to be worth several million dollars when the company went public. In short, Jack had -- or was on the way to getting -- it all.

Then he began to make a series of baffling management and political mistakes. They were the kinds of errors you might expect from someone in his first job out of college or in his first management position -- not from someone with the amount of training, experience, and business savvy that Jack had. He took control away from people on projects in which they had invested a great deal of time, energy, and emotion (nitpicking on which exact shade of red should be used on a sales brochure, for example). He made arbitrary decisions (such as assigning new office spaces to people without their input) that, while not bad choices per se, were tremendously annoying to other people in the firm just because of their arbitrariness. He made statements and decisions (such as declining to hire the niece of a board member for a summer internship) that needlessly offended important investors in the company. The result was that Jack went into a tailspin from which he couldn't recover, and ultimately he was forced to resign from his position.

Suzanne was an excellent salesperson, regularly exceeding her sales targets, winning awards, and outselling the competition even when they had arguably superior products. She loved her work, and to a great extent her work was her life -- possibly too much so. And she was a superstar when it came to selling ("someone who could talk a dog off a meat truck," as one of her Texas-based customers put it).

Some fourteen years into her career (all spent with the same employer) things started to go wrong for Suzanne. Certain bad habits -- expressing her annoyance at company policies too vocally and too often and being overly self-disclosing -- that she had had for many years began to show themselves to a much greater degree than ever before. When a new contact tracking system was installed, allowing both managers and other salespeople to easily view critical information via the Internet, Suzanne complained bitterly to her manager, to his manager, all the way up to the vice president for worldwide sales. She talked too openly, too loudly, and too often about her personal life (whom she was dating, how it was going, where she was considering moving, and how much it was going to cost her); and about her personal feelings about other people ("I love your tie," "I hate your tie," "That skirt and blouse don't go together," "The car you just bought has lots of problems," "You really should stop smoking," and so on). Warnings from management only made matters worse, further infuriating her. After a protracted and bitter struggle she left the company, ostensibly voluntarily but in fact having been "managed out."

Why do talented people fail? And why do talented people fail to be as good (as successful and effective) as they could be? These are questions we have grappled with for many years. As business psychologists and as directors of the Harvard Business School MBA Career Development Program, we've worked with thousands of professionals and students over the years in helping them to choose the right careers and to make their way down the paths they have chosen without falling along the way -- or at least with as few slips as possible. Moreover, as consultants and coaches, we are brought in by many Fortune 500 companies to work with highly valued employees who are failing -- employees and managers on the verge of being fired -- as well as with those who are high benefit but "high maintenance." These are the people who are sometimes described as "95 percent brilliant, a superstar -- but 5 percent disaster, someone I spend a huge amount of time taking care of." We are also called on to work with people who are succeeding in their positions but who clearly could be more effective in those positions -- and who may need to make that step in order to be promoted. And we work with people who are being groomed for positions at the very highest levels and need to go from grade "A minus" to "A plus."

Our charge in all of these cases is to help the people we are working with become more effective. We do not promise to make them more "right" (that is to say, smarter); if we could do that, we would have already received patents on the procedure (and our Nobel Prizes). As we say to the executives who hire us, "Let's hope Laura is smart and making good business decisions, because if we succeed in this coaching process and she makes bad decisions, they'll be even bigger and more effective bad decisions!"

In our role as management development coaches, our focus is purely on helping individuals work to their highest level of potential. Does the person need to be a better listener? To be more aggressive? To talk less? To be more direct? To own up to his or her mistakes? To share information more freely? To delegate more? To take more risks? To be more flexible? We are also concerned, regardless of the specific behavioral changes that are needed for the person to be more effective, with why the person exhibits these particular deficits, in order to try to help them achieve insight into themselves and learn effective techniques for behavior modification.

This book is the result of our many hours of thinking and talking together about the question "Why do good people fail or fall short of their potential?"

We came together through our work at the Harvard Business School. Since the early 1980s we have helped thousands of MBA students make their career decisions. Trained as Ph.D. psychologists, we look beneath the surface in trying to understand how and why people act the way they do. Both of us have had extensive training in psychoanalytic psychology, which we feel enriches the way we think about people and organizations as well as about people's relationships with their peers and managers. Our research and our consulting work led to an interactive Internet-based career self-assessment program, called CareerLeader, which has been adopted by over one-hundred business schools and corporations. CareerLeader acts to help users determine the best career direction for them, assessing their interests, values, and abilities. The program also helps the user to think about what kind of organizational culture (the tone, attitude, and atmosphere) would be the best match for them. For example, would they fit better in a high-change culture or one that is more stable? One that is very team oriented or more of a "star" culture?

Our expertise in formal psychological assessment has been vital in coming to understand "what makes people tick" at work -- as well as why some people's clocks run fast and others' run slow -- while still others' stop entirely. In The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back we're going to share with you what we've learned through our research and work as executive coaches about the practical psychology of being effective at work. In our work with clients we gather enormous amounts of information: lengthy life history interviews; comprehensive assessments of their personality traits, abilities, and values (more than a dozen tests in all); colleagues' comments on their strengths, weaknesses, passions, and blind spots; interviews with eight to ten co-workers (including managers, peers, and subordinates). One client half-jokingly asked if we wanted a blood sample to do DNA testing! (We declined.) We then put that information to use in recommending career directions and developing personal development plans for coaching. That experience provides us with a context, a background, that makes our psychological insights more useful to people in their actual working lives.

In our work as executive coaches there often is a great deal of urgency involved. There is also a great deal on the line: whether the client keeps his or her job or is terminated; or whether the client keeps his or her job or is promoted to a level of much greater responsibility. In all cases, though, the emphasis is on immediate action and early results. As you read about the twelve behavior patterns that hinder people's success, then, you will find that our focus is on changing what the person does, on a very concrete level. Our training and experience as psychologists informs our work, but our goal is to help people change now. We provide the same sort of pragmatic advice in those chapters that we give to our clients.

We first discussed what we called people's "career Achilles' heels" in a piece we wrote for CareerLeader in the summer of 1998 and later published in Fortune. What do we mean by this term? Sometimes we use an analogy to driving down the highway in a car. To get to where you are going, it's important to be on the right road, in the right lane, and to have your car in good running order. It doesn't do you much good to have charted the right path and pulled into the correct lane if your car then proceeds to break down over and over. And that is what happens to some people's careers. Their "car" breaks down. The desire to help fix such career breakdowns was what motivated us to write a fuller book about people's career Achilles' heels. There are dozens of career success books on the market, some good, some not. Most of them follow a tried-and-true formula, presenting rules by which to live, communicate, work, and manage. Such books, however, suffer from one of two flaws (and sometimes both): they present either advice that applies only to the "lowest common denominator" -- that is to say, advice that is so general as to be of limited help -- or very specific advice that contradicts other advice presented in the very same book.

There is a reason for these problems. The fact is, the "formula for success" in a Wall Street law firm is not the same "formula" that works in a paper mill in Georgia or at a software company in Redmond, Washington. In fact, the elements of success at one Wall Street law firm may not even hold true at another Wall Street firm! Many of the really important "rules" that make for success in one setting are not transferable to other organizations. People succeed for many different reasons, depending on the job, company, or industry they work in. As a result, authors are forced in such books to give very general, generic advice ("make sure that you build and maintain good relationships with people and customers") in order for it to apply across the broad spectrum of industries and functions, from paper mills, software companies, and music studios to banks, hospitals, auto factories, and government agencies. It's difficult to say anything very fresh or insightful that will apply to all situations.

Alternately, when those kinds of books do try to get specific, they often contradict themselves. On page 37 you may read that you should be subtle in your use of power, only to read on page 92 that you should come out with guns blazing, to show people that you are a person to be respected and feared. Of course, you should employ subtlety and finesse in using power (sometimes), and you should come in with guns and an iron fist (sometimes). The trick, of course, is knowing where and when to use each, and these books are usually of little help in making those distinctions. Because success is situation-specific, the overwhelming majority of those books that try to offer a formula for success are either too general or too contradictory to be genuinely useful.

Moreover, each person's experiences of work, and effectiveness at the work they do, are affected to a large extent by core beliefs about the world and other people. These beliefs are created by an individual's genetic disposition (being an introvert, or psychologically resilient, or prone to depression, for example); by relationships with family members, friends, and teachers (being the firstborn or the last of twelve; being extraordinarily bright, attractive, or athletic; having a dysfunctional parent; being independently wealthy; having a wonderful teacher at a critical developmental moment; and so on); and by larger, impersonal, psychological and social forces (being a member of a racial minority, being raised in a large cosmopolitan city or a small town in Montana, or growing up during an economic depression). As a result, each person's experience of work is unique. No formula or list of "rules to live by" or "desired behaviors" can possibly apply to everyone in the same way.

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 levels to the highest. We have found that whether you work in a law firm or a paper mill or a software firm or a music studio, the patterns of behavior that will get you fired (or stalled) in one are precisely the patterns that will get you fired in another. As a result, we can be far more specific in our advice on how to break those patterns. Moreover, we find that many -- if not most -- people are amazingly unaware of the patterns of behavior they exhibit that are resulting in their failure.

For example, one client we worked with, whom we will refer to simply as Paula, was perceived by almost everyone she worked with as condescending and a busybody. Paula was eager to rise within her company (a medical device manufacturer), and these reactions from her co-workers were acting as an anchor. What's important to note, however, is that this "Achilles' heel" of Paula's would be a problem whether she was working in a law firm, a paper mill, a software company, or virtually anywhere. Nobody likes to work with a busybody; nobody enjoys being condescended to. Yet her pattern of behavior was not in the least obvious to Paula -- in fact, she was shocked and dismayed to get this feedback.

A few years ago we were talking with the highly successful director of a large, complex organization in a well-known corporation. Martha was not only a star at her organization, but a leader in her profession. She is known as a superb planner and organizer who knows how to get things done, even when they involve large numbers of people and complicated logistics. Our conversation turned to her style as a manager and how it was related to her own personality type. We remarked that we were sure our testing would reveal that she was naturally inclined to focus on details. Martha laughed. She assured us that the testing would indicate precisely the opposite. Martha went on to tell us how she is a highly intuitive, "fly by the seat of your pants" person who found herself, as her career progressed, in a high-level job that demanded exquisite attention to detail and follow-through. Where others with similar traits would have failed, Martha came armed with psychological insight and a will to act on her self-knowledge.

"I knew from previous testing that I was definitely not the detail-oriented type," she told us. "I knew that if I was going to succeed, I would have to focus squarely on this issue. I was so afraid of slipping up that I deliberately checked and rechecked all plans, lists, and schedules. I became so afraid of letting the details slip that I developed an unusual vigilance for planning and checking. Today, I have 'compensated' and almost automatically ask the questions and do the extra checks that spell the difference between success and failure in planning big events. By knowing my devil, I was able to overcome it."

Martha's story is not surprising. Psychological development typically proceeds, not from a building on known strengths, but from an honest recognition and response to what psychologist Carl Jung calls our "shadow," all that is underdeveloped, rejected, suppressed, or experienced as shameful in our individual personalities. We all have traits, tendencies, and weaknesses that we have long ago labeled "not me," because they were unacceptable, or because we were afraid they would be unacceptable, to parents or other important people in our lives. By extension they became unacceptable to ourselves. By cutting off these parts of ourselves, however, we cut off important sources of psychological energy and avenues for growth. By recognizing her weakness -- rather than denying it -- Martha could then confront and correct it.

Many of the martial arts employ the principle of using your opponent's attack and strength to your advantage. It is the same with our inner battles to be more aware and effective, where the "attack" on "us" comes not from outside, but from another part of ourselves. Change begins with insight into an aspect of our personality that is affecting us in a negative way, that may have been denied and suppressed. It is our hope that by recognizing which of the patterns of behavior described in Part I best describe those that might be limiting your career, you too will be able to change and break those patterns. Of course, behaviors associated with deep-set personality patterns do not change easily. But recognizing those behaviors can serve as a "warning bell" that alerts us that we need to change. For Martha, whenever she experiences her instinct to "wing it," she understands that instinct as a message saying, "It's time to sit down and work this out carefully."

While our primary goal in writing this book was to help people recognize the behavior patterns that hold them back, we believe the twelve patterns of failure described in Part I can also be a useful tool in understanding those under or above you as well. And understanding the Achilles' heels of the people you work with can make you even more effective and more successful in your work.

For example, recently the success of one of our clients, a software company, was being impaired by the bullying behavior of one of its senior managers -- a fact not being addressed by the president. By helping the president see this as the manager's Achilles' heel, and working with the manager to correct his behavior, the organization was able to hire and keep more talented people in the manager's department. Or take the case of an employee who works under someone who is threatened by more talented employees and applicants. Recognizing this as the manager's Achilles' heel could help that individual better to "manage his boss," to hire better people and hold on to the talented people already there.

Or suppose one of your colleagues works wonderfully with some people but collapses when a manager, customer, or colleague pushes on them hard. Again, by seeing this as the individual's Achilles' heel, you might be able to help that person in his or her dealings with people who are more aggressive.

We believe The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back will also be a useful tool for managers to better understand and work with those under them. As you read through the twelve patterns of career failure, you may find yourself saying, "That sounds a lot like [Tom, Dick, or Mary], who reports to me." Understanding a subordinate's disabling behavior pattern may help you to adapt your management style to get the best from those under you. This requires you to be a bit of a psychologist, but that's part of what being a manager requires. It certainly will help you to think about the people who report to you in a different way.

One of the most perplexing and frustrating things many people face is that sometimes the very behaviors that helped them achieve the level of success they enjoy are now the very habits that either are preventing them from becoming even more successful or are causing them to fail. It feels as if the rules have changed. And they have!

One of our clients, whom we'll refer to as Ted, was sent to us because he was failing spectacularly. And he was furious. "I'm only doing my job!" he said. "And that's why they hired me. That's what they've paid me to do for the last ten years. Now they tell me that I'm too aggressive. They want me to use more finesse. Well, forget about finesse! I am who I am. I work hard to get results for this business, and I get them. If they want finesse, let them hire a nursery school teacher."

Think of the company as a pyramid, and Ted as one point in it, well on the inside of the outer "skin" of the pyramid. As long as he remains where he is, he's fine. But if he moves up in the organization, he becomes less and less insulated and closer and closer to upper management and outside scrutiny. His flaws become more visible. In Ted's case, he was promoted several levels and thus became more visible to top management and to the outside world; and then the company he worked for was bought, with the result that its culture changed to one in which Ted's kind of aggressive behavior was neither rewarded nor accepted.

Not surprisingly, the behaviors that may make someone a terrific supervisor on an auto assembly line (or a midlevel manager in a sales organization) may not make for a successful upper-echelon manager or CEO, even within the same company. But to the person whose career is stymied, this change in attitude can be baffling and infuriating. What was yesterday's asset has become today's liability.

Sometimes a person like Ted, having been told repeatedly how terrific his gung ho, aggressive, results-oriented approach is, becomes even more gung ho and aggressive and results oriented. Ted, figuring that if a little of something is good, a lot must be even better, turns it up another notch or two. This kind of transformation can take on a life of its own. At some point, somebody decides that Ted has gone too far -- but only after Ted's behavior is so far beyond the pale that he may be fatally marked.

If you're like most people, you may want to go straight to the twelve Achilles' heels in Part 1 and read through them, looking for those patterns that best reflect aspects of yourself, your friends, and your co-workers. But we also urge you to read Part II, in which we discuss the four essential developmental issues people need to resolve or come to terms with in order to be successful. In both sections we use real-life case examples to help bring to life the concepts we are talking about.

Because many of the stories deal with clients or associates who have suffered career missteps, we have gone to great pains to disguise the identities of the people whose situations we use to illustrate various points we are making. What remain unaltered are those elements of their work situations that are essential to understanding the "teaching point."

Each of the patterns includes the story of one individual, a sort of "pure case" of that particular behavior. We chose each of these people to use as examples because they provide very clear illustrations of each of the patterns. They show what this sort of person looks like, sounds like, and feels like. But it's important that you not make the mistake of comparing yourself to those case examples -- which are anchor points of 100 on a scale of 1-100 -- and saying, "Well, I'm not like that, I'm only an 85! I don't have to worry about that one." Remember that even the occasional display of these behaviors (or somewhat milder levels of them operating over a long period of time) can do substantial damage to your progression and success. Also, take time to consider what impact any of these behaviors may be having on your nonwork life -- social relationships, marriage, and family. Most of them continue "working" even when you're not, so it's useful to think about how they're affecting you in your private life.

In essence, the twelve Achilles' heels we discuss are the result of not having come to terms with one or more of the four developmental issues described in Part II. To go back to our "right highway/correct lane/well-serviced car" analogy, the outcomes are the overheated engine, frozen piston, blown-out tire; the causes are lack of coolant, an oil leak, and overinflation. You can let the car cool down, but unless you address the coolant issue, you still aren't going to travel very far. And while you can add oil, unless you fix the leak, you'll run low again very soon. Because of this, when we describe the twelve Achilles' heels -- the outcomes -- and what you can do about them, we'll refer from time to time to the four developmental issues -- their psychological ingredients.

In the cases of Jack and Suzanne, whom we read about at the beginning of the introduction, their Achilles' heels were their undoing. But having potentially fatal flaws, as they did, does not necessarily result in career stagnation or termination. In fact, we could argue that we all have Achilles' heels of one sort or another. It's just that some of us have learned to manage them successfully while others of us allow them to hold us down. In writing this book, we wanted to provide readers with the tools Jack and Suzanne didn't have. We believe that learning to recognize the ways you -- and all of us -- engage in behaviors that create your own "glass ceilings" will enable you to break through them and achieve the success you deserve.