Be Your Own Advocate: A Short Guide to Self-Promotion
Rabbi Hillel the Elder is credited with saying, “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?” I mention this to students who are about to enter the workforce, and it applies as well to readers of our newsletter. The Harvard Business Review tells us as much in “How to Self-Promote (When You Don’t Lik to Self-Promote)” by executive and team coach Jenny Fernandez.
Toss Your Illusions
Illusion number one: Your work will speak for itself.
No, it will not.
As you move up in a company, you are judged by your ability and willingness to speak up about what you did well and how it benefited the organization. Fernandez advises those reticent to speak up to reframe self-promotion from a “me, me, me” mindset to a mindset of self-promotion as a means of owning and communicating your achievements.
Determine Your Value Proposition
As I tell students, a listing of your achievements—without a theme—is just a bunch of disjointed facts. You want to use your achievements to convince others that you are a valuable commodity and should move up.
In conducting an inventory of your achievements, divide them into strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities:
Strengths. What experiences, skills, and expertise can you learn from others? I would add that you determine how you can improve—even if incrementally—on your strengths.
Weaknesses. What are the areas of improvement that may hinder your career progression? What feedback have you received in performance reviews? How do you address these shortcomings?
Opportunities. Are you taking advantage of opportunities in the organization to improve yourself? Are there emerging trends you can hitch your wagon to? Should you find a mentor or a coach to help you?
Learn From Others
When I was a practicing lawyer, I watched counsel opposite and what they did right and wrong. It was inexpensive tuition. So too in the business world. Fernandez advises that you watch what others have done that made them successful and positively affected their career trajectory:
If one of your peers has an excellent LinkedIn profile with professional recommendations and regularly publishes leadership posts, perhaps mirroring their efforts will better position you for success. . . . Have they gained competencies, knowledge, or expertise relevant for progression?
Build a Strong Reputation
Fernandez gives great advice. Here’s my favorite: “A strong reputation is built by repeatedly proving that you’re punching above your weight and delivering at the level you want to move to.” That is so true—brick by brick builds a reputation. Lots more actionable counsel in her article. Get a copy!
Bottom Line
The best advice I give students is this: “You need to be in the water to catch the wave.” Yes, there are sharks and undercurrents, but there is no other way. Don’t deny the world what you have to offer.
Michael P. Maslanka is a professor at the UNT-Dallas College of Law. You can reach him at michael.maslanka@untdallas.edu.
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