A couple of weeks ago I heard a speaker detail several of the ways where men and women differ in business. In her book, Stop Whining and Start Winning: 8 surefire ways for women to succeed in business, Molly Dickinson Shepard lists lack of self-promotion as one of the critical reasons why men get promoted faster and more often.

Women tend to believe in fairness…that if they work hard, they will get promoted or recognized. They see self promotion as bragging and look unfavorably on it. Men on the other hand, are more comfortable with self promotion and speaking to their supervisors about their accomplishments and achievements. This practice of self promotion directly correlates to higher pay, more raises and better jobs.

There are many ways to call attention to your hard work and achievements without being perceived as a braggart. Below I have listed some ways that I have used over the years to gain credit for my hard work:

   1. Create a status report of some sort that is circulated to your supervisor(s) on a regular basis. This keeps your boss updated on what you are doing and what you have achieved at her or his convenience. It will be viewed as a great tool for her/him (since (s)he is ultimately responsible for your work), will highlight your accomplishments and you will appear well organized and on top of your game.
   2. Create anecdotal stories that illustrate your successes. For example, “last week while I was speaking at a national meeting in LA, I happened to meet a key prospect who would be a great contact for you as well”. This highlights your expertise as a speaker, creates an air of importance because you were working outside of your geographical area, and shows your understanding of your colleague’s or contact’s business as well.

   3. Be sure to be well prepared for reviews and other performance appraisal situations. Always go into these meetings with a list of accomplishments and responsibilities along with specific and quantifiable results where possible.
   4. Get excited. Call your boss and leave a voicemail when you get a new client, a hot lead (use this one with caution because it can highlight a weak closing rate), a new account or a huge order. Certainly most supervisors want to hear about your successes. Use this one sparingly with colleagues. Some can be very excited for you…others can less so.
   5. If you happen to find yourself in an elevator or other “informal” environment with a very senior person, at least take the opportunity to introduce yourself. Let them know who you work for and don’t hesitate to throw in a little self promotion. This particular scenario works well if you credit the whole team, including your boss if this is your boss’s (boss’s) boss.
   6. While crediting the team is important, don’t forget to throw yourself in there. Saying something like, “my team and I just closed a huge sale” is a wonderful way to illustrate that you led the team without taking all of the credit.
   7. When considering a new position, try taking a bit of a risk. Women tend to wait until they have 100% of the required skills to put their name in the ring for a promotion or apply for a new job. Men tend to assume that they will be able to handle the new challenges that come at them. Let the correct people know you are interested. Then, when specific experience is questioned in the interview, bring up scenarios where the same skill set was needed and understand that this will enable you to effectively handle the new responsibilities. A perfect example of this type of situation happened to my husband. A “recovering attorney”, he was anxious to get out of civil law which he found less than satisfying. He interviewed, at a job fair, for a pharmaceutical sales position. On the surface, he was lacking several of the key experience they sought…specifically sales experience and some type of healthcare background. When questioned, my husband brought up his 10+ years as an Assistant District Attorney where he “sold” hundreds of juries in cases that often involved complicated medical issues and testimony. He brought up his excellent presentation and communication skills. He got the job.
   8. Get testimonials. Whether they are from current clients, past clients or colleagues testimonials allow others to do your promotion for you. Ask clients who love your work to put it in writing and ask them to be as specific as possible about what results you help them to achieve. Don’t forget to include “internal” clients as well. Ask them to act as advocates for you. Be sure to reciprocate.

Be sure you are prepared to promote yourself. Start by determining what the key tactics are that will help you reach your goals. Do you need to meet more influential people, get more clients, speak in front of groups, develop more products? Then, start to actively seek out opportunities where you can accomplish these tactics. Finally, keep a record of these accomplishments as you achieve them and strategically get the word out by using the methods listed above or any other means that have worked for you in the past. By promoting yourself, you just may end up with a promotion!

For 18 years Karyn Pless built her career in marketing, working her way up the corporate ladder to Vice President of Marketing of Zany Brainy while also juggling two children and a husband. After turning to a personal coach herself to reduce the chaos in her life, Karyn decided to become trained and certified as a professional coach and started a company called Shine Personal Coaching in 2004 to help business leaders who are also mothers balance those competing roles.

In January of 2006, Shine Personal Coaching officially transitioned to Beyond Balance, Work Life Integration Strategies for Professionals in response to client requests for expanded offerings including corporate training, seminars and keynotes in addition to the executive coaching she was already providing.

For more information, please visit http://www.WorkLifeExpert.com.

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