Self-promotion: Tips and tricks on how to get it right
Align your story with the context and the audience. Share
it with a belief that it’s relevant to the audience. ATUL SRIVASTAVA, CEO of
Effective People, an HR consulting firm
A
diligent and hard-working project manager at a global bank was known for
meeting deadlines. A functional expert and a team player, she never hesitated
to work beyond designated hours. Self-evasive and reticent, she strongly
believed that her work would speak for itself to get her the recognition she
deserved.
Much
to her dismay, however, she was passed over for a promotion that year.
Inherent
excellence is not always enough to fetch recognition. Potential sponsors need
to know about your skills, competencies and accomplishments to be encouraged to
make a positive difference to your career. You can share information on this to
get career-enhancing opportunities.
Self-promotion
is a delicate art because if you overdo it, you come across as a braggart, and
if you underplay, you don’t get the accolades. Here are a few strategies to
generate more visibility: PREPARE YOUR STORY A senior stakeholder you meet in
the elevator enquires, “What’s up?”, and you respond with, “All well. Thanks!”
Instead, you could have seized this opportunity to promote yourself by
highlighting an accomplishment or two.
For
instance, “We successfully closed a record number of 248 transactions this
month—25% above average.”
The
trick lies in being prepared with your story, and arming yourself with data
points that you can reel off at the drop of a hat. CLOTHE IT IN ANECDOTES
Instead of saying that you did an awesome job negotiating a successful deal
with a tough customer, share your strategy and challenges in cracking the deal,
enabling your team to learn from your experience.
Engage
with humility, focus on facts, and ensure that those stories are relevant, says
Dorie Clark, in a Harvard Business Review article, How To Promote Yourself
Without Looking Like A Jerk.
“Align
your story with the context and the audience. Share it with a genuine belief
that it is relevant to the audience, rather than with a mindset of promoting
yourself. Authenticity matters,” says Atul Srivastava, chief executive officer,
Effective People, a Mumbai-based human resources consulting and training
company. HAVE AN IMPACTFUL INTRODUCTION When called upon to introduce yourself
at an external conference or an internal training programme, go beyond
introducing your role, designation and experience. Make your introduction
audience-centric . ENGAGE BEYOND YOUR CORE WORK As the organisation expands, it
is not easy to get noticed outside your immediate circle.
“Participating
in forums outside my core work, such as knowledge-sharing forums,
organisational committees, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. has
gone a long way in helping me garner visibility and connect with people beyond
my operational network,” says Ogale. COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR MANAGER Tracking
your accomplishments and feeding your manager with regular updates would be
mutually beneficial—it would not only help you promote yourself, but also offer
your manager data points to identify areas where you could contribute.
Managing
others’ perceptions about your accomplishments separates workplace winners from
those who don’t move up the ladder. UTILISE SOCIAL MEDIA Start with posting an
impactful profile, portraying your expertise by engaging in discussion forums,
posting articles and commenting on posts, thus creating visibility for
yourself. “I have found that leveraging the organisation’s intranet is a great
way of getting your story to your audience,” says Ogale. MAKE USE OF
REVERSE-PROMOTION When you promote others, guided by the principle of
reciprocity, they will promote you in return. Therefore, be open to connecting
with people and promoting their talents and achievements.
Source | Hindustan Times | 2nd January
2018
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior Manager @
Knowledge Repository
Khaitan &
Co
Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978
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