Gerri King, Ph.D, CSP
Director of Organizational Consulting at Human Dynamics Associates, Inc.

People who refuse a promotion, hesitate to accept more responsibility, quit just short of their goals, refuse to accept a compliment, resist change, or fail to meet performance goals may all have something in common. They may fear success and be engaging in success avoidance or success sabotage.

Based, in part, on their level of self-esteem and self-knowledge, individuals define for themselves a comfortable identity which expresses to the rest of the world who they think they are.

This identity becomes their self-image. It's an image they act out every day in a performance they give to their families, friends, peers and professional colleagues -- and to themselves. Though it might not be their ideal image, it's a safe one they wear comfortably and without doubt.

Organizations also have specific identities. Sometimes referred to as institutional or corporate cultures, an organization's identity pro-jects a certain image to employees and to the public at large.

Individual and organizational identities and self-images can become relatively fixed and difficult to change.

Success is Demanding

In our society being successful means continually striving for greater achievements and rewards. It means constantly reaching new plateaus, dealing with new places. It means new challenges, new expectations, new bosses, new environments. It may mean more pay, higher status, bigger contracts, more employees. It could mean new neighborhoods, new offices, new friends.

In short, being successful means leaving a predictable way of life and vaulting into a realm of unknown and unanticipated changes. This can be risky, not only because people are usually afraid of the unknown, but also because this kind of change affects everyone with whom the individual comes in contact. To complicate the issue even further, society in general does not like us to maintain the status quo or ignore the quest for success

With all this pressure, it's no wonder we sometimes sabotage opportunities for advancement and success.

Recognizing Success Trade-offs

Let's look at just some of the possible trade-offs of success:

• Having to maintain a higher level of achievement. This may be a personal expectation or one shared by others. The fear of going backwards in the future has a tendency to stop us from moving forward in the present.

• Not having the freedom to make mistakes.

• Increased opportunities for competition and stress.

• Being viewed as better than average or becoming more visible which causes envy and creates distance between colleagues and friends.

• Having increased power (which I'm defining as the ability to influence) that feels unfamiliar and undeserved.

• Leaving people behind - individuals that we like or love, admire and respect, or with whom we have shared an office, neighborhood or lifestyle.

Understanding Success-Avoidance

Avoiding success, then, may be less about the fear of failure than it is about changing a familiar identity, a comfortable self-image, and a safe environment.

Success need not be feared, and success-avoidance should not be negatively judged. Merely understanding the phenomenon can serve to increase self-esteem and make it easier to take risks, or it can provide the opportunity to work on the difficult issues surrounding change. Respect for our own pace and that of others, lowers anxiety, reduces pressure and opens up new avenues for dialogue that are helpful rather than forceful.

Article content is Copyright HDA 1997

Gerri King, Ph.D., CSL, facilitator and organizational consultant, works with over 125 corporations nationwide, and speaks over 150 times a year at conferences, seminars, and workshops on human relations issues including Transitioning to Teams, Conflict Resolution, Effective Communication, Customer Service, Leadership, Managing Change, and Success-Avoidance. She is also a facilitator and an executive coach. Gerri is a founding partner of the 22 year old consulting and counseling firm Human Dynamics Associates, Inc. in Concord, NH. 1-800-789-5104. E-mail hda@tiac.net. URL http://www.tiac.net/users/hda.

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