I was talking the other day to one of my clients, a highly accomplished professional woman. She tells me how much she loves developing people and how she takes a lot of time out of her very busy schedule to train and coach others. And yet, in her 360 feedback, her seniors and peers offered the suggestion that she needs to do more training and coaching! The fact that her efforts were invisible to the decision-makers in the organization makes me mad, quite frankly (I told her that!). All I see is wasted potential.
This example encapsulates an issue I hear again and again, especially from my women clients (some men, too, to be fair): they shy away from “self-promotion.” Because they don’t self-promote, people are not aware of their accomplishments. And because people don’t know how good they are, they are less likely to get that promotion, raise, or other kind of recognition they deserve.
Even “self-promotion” is a loaded word. It’s advertising. It’s “dirty.” Needing to “campaign” for my advancement: ugh. “If I work hard, they should see how good I am” – I often hear. I think the issue lies with being afraid that you become one of “those people” who are all talk and no action, the self-aggrandizing individuals all good performers resent. Fair enough. But what if you are all action and no talk?? Let me tell you right now, it’s not enough.
I’ve started to stop referring to it as self-promotion or “playing the organizational politics” altogether, because it is not helpful. It plays right into the fears of the people who are not doing it. Instead, it might be helpful to think about it as an “awareness campaign:” raising awareness about your work, to move people into action. And frankly, it’s not just about you. When you don’t communicate about the great work you’re doing, your team will not get their due. Clients miss out on the value you bring to the table. You will not receive the resources you need to make the impact you want.
So next time you worry about promoting your own work, or if getting visibility for your work is not even on your radar, here are some thoughts:
- Connect back to why you are doing your job. For most of us, it’s truly not about the money, or the title (although the money and the title are nice, too!). It’s about helping people, or creating something in this world, or having an impact. Well, know that you have fewer chances to do that unless people know about you.
- Think about it as communication. It’s simply that: moving information and data. Make it objective. In fact, using objective facts and figures might help get over your skittishness.
- Find an authentic way to talk about it, a way that works for you. Talking about it in terms of a story arc sometimes helps: “This was challenging because of X and Y, but here is why we succeeded and what I learned from it” Sometimes, bringing in your feelings makes it more authentic (it does to me): “I am proud of my work in Z” “I am excited to share with you this piece of news”
- Find an authentic channel of doing it. In talking to great business developers, I have realized that each of them has their own style. In other words, they are successful because they do what is natural to them. Does networking at professional events not come naturally to you? Then how about speaking at conferences or brown bags? Writing a blog? Writing white papers? Creating awareness in a way that is natural to you is a great place to start. It’d definitely better than putting it off indefinitely!
And then maybe, just maybe you’ll be more likely to get that recognition you deserve.
