Self-promotion is an essential, vital, critical, absolutely necessary piece of your career success. I hope that’s landing loud and clear!
If the thought of self-promoting makes your skin crawl or feel more uncomfortable than the time when you delivered a presentation only to realize that your shirt was on backwards, please know that you are not alone. There are ways to get past this because you MUST learn to do this to advance and accelerate your career. Are you with me?? Great, here we go!
1. Dial in your mindset. What it is true, is not bragging. What is fact, is merely communication of information. When others could benefit from the information or would enjoy the opportunity to celebrate your success, then you’d be doing them a disservice by NOT telling them. Communicate what you’ve done either verbally (or better yet in an email that could get forwarded) and think of it in the same way as you’d relay other information.
2. Use this 2-part format – Action, then benefit. In other words, “I did (action), so that (benefit) resulted.”
For example, “I was recognized in an article for my work on complex data sets. (Action) We can share this with clients to increase credibility.” (Benefit) Well done, sister!
Or, let’s say you receive credit, positive feedback or a glowing review from a customer, colleague or partner in an email. Forward that to your manager, including a simple sentence such as, “Check out what Phil at Smith and Co. had to say. (Action) He’s very pleased!” (Benefit)
3. Use a confident voice to share your success. In other words, maintain volume, use an authoritative tone and stave off that uptick at the end of the sentence. A key to this…Practice saying it out loud several times until you feel as comfortable as you would while sharing it with a fellow Shero. One of my clients recently shared that since she was planning to self-promote via phone call with her manager, she typed what she wanted to say, rehearsed it several times, and read it word for word. Because she had practiced, it did not sound scripted. Her delivery was impeccable, she received the recognition she wanted, and experienced Brave-ah-na in forcing herself out of her comfort zone. Go, Shero, go!
How about you? What are ways you’ve found success in self-promoting? Or when do you struggle? Send an email to [email protected]. We’re here to help and support you every step of the way!
Originally published Feb 4, 2021
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