Seven Ways to Self-Promote Yourself Without Bragging
In corporate America, you can't be too humble. You have to learn how to take credit in order to be rewarded and promoted. You need to be able to display your talents and share your accomplishments to get noticed. According to Forbes magazine, 80 percent of what we learn is gone in 24 hours, which is why you need to be focused on building a personal brand and self-promotion. And this is especially important for women. Studies have shown that women have a general tendency to shy away from self-promotion and to use words like we and team. Whereas men regularly use I, I, and I. Remember, bosses are not psychic. Bosses have hundreds if not thousands of people reporting to them and they generally don't know what you're working on a day-to-day basis. So you have to play the role of self-promoter in order to get noticed.
Let's examine the Seven Ways to Self-Promote Yourself Without Bragging. Listen to "Ep 4 - Seven
1. Learn To Speak Up In Meetings, And If You're That Shy Type, Learn To Contribute In Non-Verbal Ways.
I've talked about this in earlier episodes. I used to come to every meeting with my bosses, with a plan, a plan built around work that I excelled at in a way that I would contribute in that meeting so that they would start to recognize me for that expertise.
But if you're that shy type and can't talk in the meeting, you can always turn that work into an article that can be contributed to an industry magazine or even on Linkedin and tag your bosses so they can come in and see all the people on Linkedin who appreciate expertise.
2. Find A Wing Man Or A Wing Woman At Work And Make A Pack To Amplify Each Other's Success.
If you're in that meeting and you're too shy to talk about the contribution you made to last quarter success, your wing man or wing woman will stand up and amplify that success by saying it to the entire group. It certainly gets you noticed. It magnifies your success and it does it in a way where you don't look like the one bragging.
3. Carpi Diem. Seize The Moment.
You're going to have that water cooler time when your boss walks up and asks the question, what are your working on? Most employees don't prepare for this moment, but you should develop your elevator pitch. That 32nd response that lets your boss. No, you're working on something critical. Also, this is a great time doing performance reviews to be thoroughly prepared to outline all the accomplishments that you have achieved throughout the past 12 months. Make sure, like I said in a previous episode that you use that performance review time to benchmark yourself against others in the industry to justify your requests for more money or promotion.
4. Use Your Skill That You Excel At To Help Others.
If you're good at PowerPoint or Excel or pulling together speeches, help others with PowerPoint, Excel or their speeches, and you will become the "go-to-guy." Your name will be known around the office and you will be on the fast track to getting promoted.
5. Match Your Boss' Leadership Style And Personal Charisma.
If you're a boss is charismatic, your self-promotion efforts should match his or her energy. If your boss is a great dresser, you should also match that as well. During one of the classes that I taught for a school in Alabama, I noticed that the young men started wearing blue blazers, khaki slacks, and a handkerchief in the blazer pocket. Pretty soon I was calling on them and recommending that they do extra projects that I would supervise within a short period of time. I realized I was giving them that extra attention because they were starting to look and act just like me. I tried to rectify my actions before the end of the semester by opening up more projects for more students, but what it taught me is that those individuals who matched the charisma of the business leader or the boss have the fast track to getting insights and attention from that leader.
6. When Self-Promoting, Always Be Grateful For Your Success.
I want you to always use phrases like, “I can't believe my luck” or “Thank God for that.” In the podcast, “How They Built This” by Guy Raz of NPR, he asks a great question to each of his guests at the end of each episode. He asks, “What do you account more for your success, your own talent or luck?” The best answers have been, “I can't believe that I live in such a great country where the resources were available for me to combine my hard work and effort to achieve this outcome.” The business leaders who claimed success while also opening up the door to other factors displayed a more human touch.
7. Get Involved In Work Or Professional Organizations Outside Of Your Job And Invite Your Boss To Attend.
This is a great opportunity for your boss to see you in a leadership position managing dozens of volunteers and accomplishing goals. My mentor recommended that I join my boss’ church. He believed it would offer me the fast track for promotion. Joining the church was not going to get me promoted. Demonstrating my leadership skills in front of my boss was going to get me promoted. Before you start bragging about yourself in the office, I recommend you read Russ Elderman’s “Nice Guys. Get the corner office,” Peggy Kloss’ “Brag how to toot your own horn without blowing it,” and Dorie Clark’s “Reinventing You.”
