Why you should self-promote at work
Surely showing up and giving it your all every day should be enough to progress in your career. Do you really need to brag about what you’re doing? Actually, yes you do.
Your achievements aren’t going to speak for themselves.
Self-promotion is seen as such a negative thing. Women in particular are often taught that “tooting their own horn” is a negative thing — and this can prevent them from moving forward in their careers.
You don’t want to come across as boastful or full of yourself; but equally, if you’re anything like me, you might be left waiting forever for someone to notice something you’ve done and congratulate you on it — and then when it doesn’t happen, you’re left feeling annoyed and undervalued.
Worse still — someone else might take the credit. Whether deliberate or not, this could lead to you being overlooked at work, simply because people are not aware of the good work you are doing.
There’s a difference between self-promotion and boasting.
But it’s a fine line.
Muhammad Ali said, “It’s not bragging if you can back it up”. Self-promotion is about taking pride in a job well done. By being truthful through self-promotion, you are making a positive statement about yourself.
Women and people from other under-represented groups are more likely to be overlooked for promotions.
I attended an event last week on the topic of self-promotion at work. We heard the stories of women from all stages of their careers in tech, from those who were starting out to those who were now leading departments and managing teams. It was so empowering and there were so many nodding heads in the audience! I believe the challenges faced by these women will resonate with people across all industries so wanted to share some of their stories with you.
A Junior Developer was told she needed to develop more confidence in order to progress — then she saw the work of some of her colleagues and found that though they were better at talking-the-talk than her, her code was actually far superior.
There was the Project Manager who would arm herself with every single fact and figure before a client meeting because she faced so many more questions about her actions and reasoning than her male colleagues ever did.
Another woman said she would tell a friend at work about the points she was going to make in a meeting so she would be able to back her up on them.
Finally, a senior manager had progressed through her career thinking her only USP was that she was the female in the team. She found it hard when more women joined, and wasn’t as encouraging as she wishes she had been. The team she leads is now 50% female.
Celebrate your successes and the successes of others.
Of course it’s important to do a good job — but what if no one knows you’re doing it?
Your achievements don’t always speak for themselves. Keep a note of your achievements and be proud of what you have done — tell your team, cc your boss, get yourself a cheerleader to sing your praises when you can’t, and return the favour.
I’m lucky to work in a company where we are open and transparent, and celebrate individual and team successes constantly. If you don’t, try to build a culture at your company where it is normal to celebrate the achievements of others — and remember that someone else’s success is not your failure.
In some cases our work speaks for itself, but we need to learn to promote ourselves if we want to move forward. There should be room for all of us at the top!
And if there isn’t, let’s make the room.
Special thanks to Women Who Code Edinburgh and Google Digital Skills Garage for putting on a great event for such an important topic. #IAmRemarkable is a Google initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond.What’s your #IAmRemarkable?
