3 'Workplace Paradoxes' That Can Fast-Track Your Career

Want to know the key to career success? These three 'workplace paradoxes' can change your career journey in ways you'd never imagine.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | December 09, 2024

Success is supposed to be straightforward. After all, most of us grew up with our parents telling us that if we put in the effort in the workplace, we will reap the rewards. However, if you have tried to start your own business or advance in your career, you know it has more plot twists than a Netflix documentary series.

Between managing egos, choosing between opportunities or even trying to get others to believe in your dreams, success is more complex than we were led to believe. Your journey to prosperity can be a complicated maze full of puzzling contradictions.

Knowing about the following three paradoxes can help you navigate your career tactfully.

1. The Opportunity Paradox—Taking Every Opportunity Will Leave You With None

Everyone wants choices, especially in their career path. The funny thing is that, according to "the opportunity paradox," having too many career opportunities leads to failure, not success.

It turns out the popular adage, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," applies to your career too. When we have an abundance of opportunities, we can be tempted to try them all. This is especially true if the opportunities you are presented offer more money and seemingly higher positions. However, the more we take on new and "exciting" opportunities, the less likely we are to dig our heels in and fully explore our career prospects.

A 2021 study in Organizational Psychology found that while highly employable people often excel at their current jobs, they are also more likely to have one foot out the door. In other words, they are always looking for a new opportunity.

Too many opportunities stops you from reaping the benefits of the good thing you might already have going. Think of it like being good at dating but never settling down because you are worried someone better might come along. Eventually, you will let all the best opportunities pass you by because you constantly look to the horizon.

2. The Persuasion Paradox—Why Being Subtle Can Be Louder Than Shouting

We live in a world where influence equates to profit. Hundreds of people online are trying their best to be labeled experts in fashion, makeup and numerous other fields. People think being the loudest, most "visible" person is the way to gain people's approval, but this is not always true.

In his book, Influence: Science and Practice, Dr. Robert Cialdini writes that persuasion is more of a slow burn than microwave heating. It is about preparing the ground before you plant the seeds.

Let us paint a picture—imagine you encounter two people arguing on a topic that interests you. You listen to hear both points. While both people seem to be making valid arguments, one person is calm and calculated, while the other seems to be becoming aggressive and loud. Who are you more likely to side with? No matter how valid the aggressive person's argument is, they automatically become less persuasive by trying to "out-shout" the other person.

You do not have to be the loudest person in any room to be the most persuasive. The best way to prove you are a person of real influence is often to do the groundwork and gain people's trust quietly—the principle of "show, don't tell." Just because you loudly proclaim you are the best at what you do does not automatically make it true. Instead, stay silent and let your work speak for itself.

So, whether you are looking for investors or business opportunities, don't try to be the show-off who "proves they know what they are doing." Get to know your market first and put in the work to show them you are the best person for the job.

3. The Effort Paradox—Doing Harder Things Makes Your Life Easier

Research published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences in 2018 discovered that sometimes people choose tasks specifically because they require more effort. This might sound like choosing to take the stairs when there is a perfectly good elevator, but there is a method to this madness. Effort has inherent value, and the more effort you exert when doing a task, the more intrinsic value it has to you.

This value could come in the form of becoming better at doing something hard or the fact that a task that most people find hard becomes easy for you. Just think of the online finance gurus who tell you how easy making and saving money can be. For them, it is because they took the time and effort to learn how to do something many of us find hard.

The more effort you put into doing the complex challenges in your career, the more confidence you feel, and the easier it will be to be successful. It is like how homemade cookies taste better than store-bought ones, even if they are a bit crispy around the edges. The secret ingredient? Effort.

Success in your career is often messy, complicated and full of contradictions—but that's not necessarily bad. The contradictions are not the issue; the real challenge lies in finding ways to resolve them. By embracing and adapting to these paradoxes, you can navigate your path more effectively and enjoy the journey toward greater success.

Are you motivated to gain success in your career and finances? Take this science-backed quiz to see how you stack up: Financial Management Behavior Scale

A similar version of this article can also be found on Forbes.com, here.