Research: Setbacks Can Actually Boost Your Career

How short-term disappointments can become long-term opportunities.

December 01, 2023

Lighthouse Films/Getty Images

Tweet

Post

Share

Annotate

Save

Print

If you’ve hit a big pothole on the road to success, take heart. Research shows that setbacks can galvanize your career in unexpected ways that make you more successful. Three practices are key to turning them to your advantage: exploring whether your goals still fit your aspirations, opening yourself to unorthodox opportunities, and adopting a growth mindset.

Many of us will face a setback at some point in our careers — perhaps we’ll be passed over for a promotion, fail to get the job we want, or even be asked to resign. Because such experiences can shake our confidence and make us doubt our worth, trying to shield ourselves from them is instinctive. But what if by focusing on the obvious negative aspects of setbacks, we miss their silver lining?

New!

HBR Learning

Career Management Course

Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Career Management. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.

What’s your next career move? Learn how to set yourself up for success.

Start Course

Learn More & See All Courses

Gloria Kutscher is a lecturer in organization studies at Southampton Business School, UK. She conducts research on how organizations and individuals make sense of and respond to hardship.

Wolfgang Mayrhofer is professor and head of the Interdisciplinary Institute of Management and Organisational Behaviour at WU Vienna, Austria. He has received national and international awards such as an Academy of Management Best Symposium Award, the Professor Dave Lepak Memorial Prize, and an Emerald Literati Network Award for outstanding research and service to the academic community.

Tweet

Post

Share

Annotate

Save

Print

New!

HBR Learning

Career Management Course

Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Career Management. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.

What’s your next career move? Learn how to set yourself up for success.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Harvard Business – https://hbr.org/2023/12/research-setbacks-can-actually-boost-your-career