Would it make sense to give away Nobel Prizes anonymously? Are Pulitzer winners kept under wraps? Do CEOs who navigate a successful merger hide the fact? No, of course not. And for good reason. The world likes winners
And self-promotion is a basic part of business life. Informing others of a success is just as much about keeping them in the loop as is informing them about a failure. Working smart time requires that you get the most bang for your professional buck, which means that when you score a win, you need to let the right people know. And remember—your boss wants to revel in your victory.
As with everything else in life, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do this. The wrong way is fairly obvious (gloating to your own staff, babbling incessantly about a win, giving yourself obnoxious shiny stars and smiley faces). The right way is not so obvious, but it’s extremely important. In our experience, women shy away from this kind of self-promotion. Don’t.
Just one example of what the real cost to women is when they don’t sell themselves: a 2002 study that looked at the starting salaries of men and women graduating from Carnegie Mellon with master’s degrees found that only 7 percent of the women negotiated for more money, compared to 57 percent of the men. On average, those men got an extra four thousand dollars.
The following tips will keep you within the lines of intelligently informing the command chain about your successes, without falling into useless, time-wasting, animosity-inspiring bragging.
1. Try for an informative, casual, but straightforward tone. You say: “Bob, did you hear? We nailed that Backstra account. It was a thrill to run that closing! Thanks for the opportunity.” They hear: You’re just so jazzed about the victory you couldn’t keep it in.
Robin Ehlers says she used to be shy about calling attention to her work, but over time she’s realized higher-ups actually appreciate it, and they view it as part of her loyalty to the company. “People that I work for know that I love this company, I love what I do, I’m always reliable,” she explains. “So the way I get my name out there, is that, when I do something well, I always copy my boss.”
2. Don’t simply rattle off a list of accomplishments. It’s much better to handle references to a recent success in a conversation. Often it can include you asking lots of questions, and even offering praise. You say: “How are things going on the Canada account?” . . . “Ah, yes, I had a sense when I finally got them to agree to that concession last week that they’d eventually sign on.
It was tough going though. They were really dug in. Oh, and thanks for that idea about throwing in the regional business. When I finally dangled that, they agreed. Congratulations, Bob. It’s just great news for the company.” They think: I clearly have a brilliant employee who is learning from me.
3. Be self-deprecating. You say: “I’ll never forget that moment last month when I got the All-America service award. . . and I tripped on my way up to the stage!” They hear: You’re clearly a star but have a great sense of humor about it.
4. See yourself as others may see you. This is crucial to managing your image. The way you are perceived inside the company may not be fair, but it is what it is, and if you are working there, you have to deal with it. That can be why, says Melissa James, self-promotion or powerful talk from women can make us seem like that B word we all hate so much. “Sometimes I know I intimidate men,” she concedes. Not fair, but since she’s self-aware, she can calibrate. You say: “Ted, we couldn’t have closed the deal without your advice on the product numbers.” They think: A well-mannered, perceptive employee—she’s a winner.
5. Tell a story. These can work really well and are easy and entertaining to pull out of your hat when you come face-to-face with higher-ups. If you think hard enough, you can find drama in any recent success.
You say: “Jim—what a wild trip to Minneapolis that was. The plane landed four hours late. . . and when we got off. . . our bags hadn’t made the flight, including our PowerPoint presentation! Well—you can imagine my team was demoralized. Luckily, I’d been rehearsing the presentation for a week—and our whole team knew it cold. I rallied them. . . told them wrinkled clothes and no gadgets didn’t matter, that we were selling ourselves. And the client was bowled over. I’ve never felt so proud of our people.”
They hear: You are clearly a stellar team leader who isn’t afraid to talk about bad moments, who motivates her people, can pull the company out of a jam, and most important, seems to thrive on the experience!
By the way, Melissa James, who thinks all women have a hard time with the promotion business, thinks praising the team is always the best way to go.
“Every time I have an opportunity to talk about my team I send an e-mail up the chain. That’s the whole point really, of being a leader. Motivating and supporting others.”