How to toot your own horn?
Successful managers lift, enable, and release others for peak performance and maximum results. But when others succeed, who gets the credit?
Don’t think it doesn’t matter who gets the credit, it does.
Mid-level managers give and get the credit
If those over you don’t realize how you lifted and enabled a peak performer, the success of a person you “secretly” lifted may make you seem incompetent. To make matters worse, credit-stealing backstabbers below you, along with ignorant, disengaged, or self-promoting leaders above you, may result in a career-disaster. If others consistently get the credit for work you’ve done, you’re done.
Written reports
Written reports to disengaged or distant managers must include samplings of how you lifted, enabled, and released peak performers. Briefly explain how you coached someone into a supervisory role. You can write something like, “I’m excited about Mary’s potential as a supervisor. She immediately implemented my suggestions on giving positive feedback to others.”
Conversations
In conversations, occasionally explain your lifting and enabling activities. Avoid seeming braggadocios by asking your boss to suggest other strategies and techniques for enabling peak performance. You might say to your boss, “I’m working with Bob to mitigate his abrasive behavior by encouraging him to more frequently express gratitude. Do you have other suggestions?”
Braggadocios
The danger of letting others know about your success is coming off like a braggart. Temper this by always expressing sincere gratitude for others and thankfulness for opportunities to make contributions. In addition, frequently honor those who enabled you.
Dangerous reluctance
You may be reluctant to let the spotlight shine on you. However, opportunities for advancement and increased influence are rooted in others understanding and appreciating your competencies. You may be thinking, “I’ll let the work speak for itself.” However, from an organizational perspective, if the right people don’t know about your work, your work won’t matter.
What are the worst ways to shine the light on your own work?
How can a person highlight their own success or competency without seeming arrogant or degrading others?
This is a great post Dan. Made me realise that, yes, I need to toot my own horn at times because I’ve been realising that the good work I’ve been putting in at the company I work for is going unrecognised and unappreciated. But this is partly due to the bad work culture that exists at this company.
Pete, if the culture you are in is not so healthy, tooting your own horn may not yield the recognition you hope for, may even have a reverse effect. Here’s hoping you can find ways in your little part of the company you can generate some positivity. Definitely a challenge there.
So here’s a question:
How does a good person rise in a work place that has a negative or poor culture? One that consistently fails to recognize the hard working, conscientious talented staff and promotes people based purely on office politics? I guess it comes down to knowing when to quit?
Good question Mimi. Yes, leaving for a better work culture would be the best option but not always possible.
It does. I have left two organizations for that reason. Once you realize that you are working in that type of organization and it is not going to change, it’s time to plan the next career move and exit.
Yep, life is too short. Spiff up that resume and start looking far outside of the box you are trapped in.
Get an exit plan.
Hi Dan
Good point. I think Seth Godin said ‘half the road to a new job is turning up at the interview!’
Don’t expect the promotion if you don’t say you at least have a notion on how to do it, and the hunger to put your name on the line. Toot, toot.
Dear Dan,
The worst way to shine the light on own works is to repeat, expect appreciation, pull others down by your achievements, and showing your capabilities that you are most intelligent than others.
A person can show his success by becoming more connected and humble to the people. He or she should interact more, help more, encourage others more to achieve their dreams. One should explain others how it is simple to achieve that goal. Do not show that it is impossible or very difficult to achieve it. When you talk that this is impossible and difficult to achieve, you are showing your competency and it also reflects arrogance. People have capabilities, they need direction and awareness to achieve their goals.
I agree that credit stealing back-stabbers and braggadocios are the most dangerous elements in the organizations that can spoil the careers of honest and hardworking people. They flourish because they get support from the top. An effective culture and leader can root out back stabbers and braggadocios.
Hi Dan,
Good topic selection. This is difficult for people like me who were reared to be humble. The main thing that comes to mind for me is the phrase, “I was just doing my job.” I like some of the techniques you described and have used some of these in the past.
Two things that I believe are strongly correlated are the communication skills / ability of the manager and the culture. I once had a boss early in my corporate career that basically provided positive reinforcement once a year at the time of the annual review. Tough conditions to work under, and an experience that taught me a lot about being pro-active in soliciting feedback from my boss to get a read on how he perceived I was doing.
I also agree with Pete & Mimi about the implications of culture. I’ve chosen to leave organizations because the culture wasn’t as advertised or changed during my tenure there. These were some of the most liberating and healthy decisions I’ve made in my professional life.
Thanks for the post, Dan!
It’s a tough balance. On the one hand, we are brought up to be humble with the mindset that if you work hard it will be recognized and rewarded. Like you say Dan, “if the right people don’t know about your work, you’re work won’t matter.”! That should be motivation enough to speak about what you have accomplished. After all, if you’ve accomplished nothing, you will be quiet. If you are incorrect in stating who is responsible for the accomplishment (as in taking the bragging rights), you will be corrected. If you are right about what you have claimed to achieve, does it really matter if people are jealous of you (as that is what it would be as opposed to seeing you as bragging).
Another important reminder Dan. Thank you. Now to your questions:
Q: What are the worst ways to shine the light on your own work?
A: By doing it too frequently – then people tune out and don’t hear you when there is something truly significant to share. Also – by taking credit for team efforts without sharing credit with the team.
Q: How can a person highlight their own success or competency without seeming arrogant or degrading others?
Focus your comment or report onthe benefit to the company or the team FIRST and then follow it with how you contributed. Example: The XYZ project has created many new opportunities in the coming year for us. It was an honor to work with Mary and Joe and help them close the deal by ….
Have a great weekend! —-Joan
What are the worst ways to shine the light on your own work?
How can a person highlight their own success or competency without seeming arrogant or degrading others?
One of the worst ways to “shine the light on your own work” is to do it “after the fact,” when your feelings are hurt that your contributions may have been overlooked and/or you are envious of the credit someone else is getting. This post does an effective job of suggesting ways that a leader can point out their role, in ways somewhat nuanced and spread out over time, so there is no doubt about the contribution but also no strident “why didn’t I get credit?” messages floating around.
In answer to the second question, just because you have not been asked for an update doesn’t mean you can’t give one. Schedule a time with your supervisor when they will be able to give you attention, and give them an “update” on your progress and your role in things around the office; they may have so many competing priorities they just haven’t noticed.
Lastly, I am sure this is obvious but if you are consistently “shining the light on your own work,” some of that work will result in goals not met and/or failed projects. It is beyond helpful to have a workplace that supports the fact that there are going to be plenty of failures among the successes – and that you are recognized/reinforced for trying to be inventive/proactive.
The door swings both ways. Be responsible enough to appropriately shoulder blame as well as credit. Admitting mistakes when they come up or asking for advice appropriately, not just only claiming credit where it’s due, is a good way to communicate your genuine heart and not come across as a braggart or a better-than. And it doesn’t take a lot of details either.
Expressing gratitude and also recognizing the contributions of others, that have been instrumental to the improvement, are great ways to keep ego out of the driver’s seat and convey a sense of service to the good of the entire organization. This approach, when sincere, conveys a style that encourages greater teamwork when others know they’ll be recognized. In itself, it is instrumental to establishing a work environment of positive regard.
What are the worst ways to shine the light on your own work?
Would one of the worst be stealing the spotlight when it wasn’t your work?
How can a person highlight their own success or competency without seeming arrogant or degrading others?
It takes at least two to tango…I have yet to see an initiative where it was an isolated, solo effort, so as a manager/leader, there can be true recognition to the team effort. What an excellent way to focus a culture.
Even if it was a solo project that you labored over independently (by your perspective) or it was a one-time, proposal, write up, or finite product, your boss assigned it to you…so, you could acknowledge your leader’s faith in you in the first place.
This is fabulous. I have always struggled with how to let my manager, and others, know what I am doing, without seeming to be bragging, etc.
A few minutes ago I sent my manager some info on something I did to help another manager be successful. I included a link to this blog posting!
Thanks again for your great insights.
Great post and important. And timely. I just covered the topic of being willing to accept praise and admitting that you do great things on my own blog today. http://www.seibways.com/2011/01/humble-is-for-suckers/
I see we have similar perspectives that if you can’t express your value, you put the expectation on others to do it for you. While they may, it’s nice to help prime the pump a little.
Great post! Really enjoyed reading it and I love the humble pie analogy…
Nelson
http://www.nelsonsthoughts.com
Good post. Been there, not done that, got trampled.
OUch!! Keep going… 🙂
Hi Dan,
One thought I had is that when someone promotes his best practice he can highlight the fact that he’s doing it for the best interest of the company or his peers.
This way, your co-workers/management leaders understand that you are sharing your intellectual property with them to help them achieve THEIR goals.
The focal point then shifts to them and not on you. Thus, you are no longer seen as “self promoting” or “bragging” but rather someone who is enabling others to succeed.
Just thought I’d share my thoughts!
Best,
Nelson Wang
http://www.nelsonsthoughts.com
Nice post Dan. Thanks for the nugget of wisdom.
Wow, Dan, you sure threw poor abrasive Bob under the bus with the example under the conversations heading. Couldn’t a statement like that have repercussions?