ABSTRACT
The blind spot, strong criticism activates defence mechanisms in one's personality that weaken the feedback, relativise or refuse it altogether. David Dotlich and Peter Cairo were interested in the question of why around two-thirds of all managers in Western industrialised nations experience a critical career situation in the course of their careers, be it that they are fired, disempowered or receive a sideways promotion. They found out that many managers are not able to set up and develop an efficient team. The reason for managers failing rarely has anything to do with a lack of intelligence, experience or ability. In their work with managers, Dotlich and Cairo identified 11 traits that could jeopardise careers, including arrogance, a tendency to over-dramatise or an inclination towards passive-aggressive behaviour. However, these career derailers, as Dotlich and Cairo call them, only typically become real career traps if they occur too frequently.
