Having problems establishing yourself as a leader in the company? For many women out there, being recognized as an up-and-coming executive for a large establishment can be quite a challenge. Amid all the training and skills set amass throughout your career, many career-oriented women share the same common missteps which can hinder their greatness.

When thinking of breaking out from your shell this year, the following missteps must be avoided:

The Waiting Game. It is high time for you to take good care of your own career path–and by that, not waiting for a boss to do things for you.  You must be your own advocate.  Some rely on career projections from their higher-ups thereby, missing opportunities. Patience, though a virtue, must be taken with a grain of salt especially when trying to earn a promotion. Instead, identify what bigger role you want and pursue such with commitment, habitual hard work and convictions. Let your actions define your ambition.

The Cloak. Do not let others define your own credibility. Without a doubt, co-workers and even your boss may have already prejudged you or may have form opinion about you as a colleague, a team member, and as a person. But before you are defined by their ideas of who you are and what you can achieve, learn to demonstrate your strengths and show them who you are.  Create your own personal brand and succinctly make this known to everyone. You could be the “go-to person for differential analysis” or “the social media guru”. The idea is to own it and let others follow your lead instead of the other way around.

The Sacrificial Lamb. Operating below the radar is one of the safest routes to take, but if you are aiming for the big guns, you must learn to embrace career-defining projects. These assignments may be more challenging and can feel like trudging the eye of a needle. However, this is also a way for you to showcase your leadership skills and personal brand. So, do not limit yourself to so-so jobs. Sometimes, you need to sacrifice a fraction of your sanity, demolish the comfort zone and achieve new greatness.

The Machine Gun. You cannot get a promotion just by working your bones to the ground.  To be recognized, you need to work hard THE RIGHT and EFFICIENT way. Creating a “hard worker “reputation is a good thing but doing so in undervalued or less visible projects will get you nowhere.  Why be a camel when you can be a lioness? A lioness is a strong, powerful creature who uses her failures as stepping stones, assisting those who falter.  She lives in the light, protects her tribe and gathers with other lionesses.   A lioness holds a huge position, displays powerful strength and manages many things at one time in an efficient way. Delegating tasks, by the way, is a talent, too. Learn it.

The Saint. Do not ever try to downplay your achievements, but rather find a way to promote them. Humble bragging as self-promotion is not a sin particularly when you have worked day and night, demonstrating grace in all you do.  You demonstrate an active habit of cooperation and often choose the group choice that will result in the smallest amount of havoc.  This is also something to be celebrated.  Once people recognize these traits in you, they will seek you out for your strength rather than position you for your weakness.  However, you’ve got a voice.  You just use it in the privacy of your own space and comfort of your collect few.  Every now and then, share your voice with all.  It’s a self-motivator like you wouldn’t believe and others need to hear the wealth of your inner thinking every now and then.   If the thought of this pauses you, start small and update your social media profile with …. your voice.

There’s many ways to move forward in your career even if you don’t feel comfortable promoting yourself of your work.   Get hold of your career as you carve your path to greatness. Take these common pitfalls in career advancement into mind and make each day in the office count.  Consider professional journaling, documenting PowerPoints and other ways to remedy your career pitfall.