Your #Career : The 7 Most Common Mistakes We Make Promoting Ourselves…Self-Promotion is a Struggle for Many of Us (Women Particularly). We Know we Should Do It & Do It More Often if we are to Gain the Visibility/Credibility we Need to Advance our Careers. But it’s Not a Simple Task.

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Although women seem to agonize more about self-promotion, the challenges transcend gender and status.

portrait of Young pretty business woman work on notebook computer in the bright modern office indoors

In general, people fall into three different categories relative to promoting themselves. Those who promote often in a flamboyant, ego-driven manner. (This may or may not be well-received.)  Those who attempt it with ambivalence and are challenged to do it effectively. And lastly, those who don’t even try.

Regardless, of the category you may identify with, there are some common mistakes we make promoting ourselves.

Here are the top 7 mistakes:

We allow our limiting beliefs about self-promotion to hold us back.

Many of us have heard and absorbed the message that self-promotion is bragging, and if you brag no one will like you. This is especially true for women who were taught to be humble and wait to be recognized. When you permit these beliefs to control your behavior, you feel ambivalent about promoting yourself even though you know it’s important. The result is that you avoid it or don’t take the time to learn how to do it effectively.

 

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We rely on an elevator pitch.

I’ve sat in on countless workshops about self-promotion that teach how to create an elevator pitch. We are instructed to memorize the pitch and look for opportunities to tell others what we do. This very stylized pitch is challenging and stressful to deliver because it never seems authentic. It doesn’t resonate with your audience and consequently, it either flops or backfires. The danger is that key stakeholders don’t get it, aren’t interested, and won’t remember your pitch.

We don’t understand our value.

If you don’t get how you contribute to positive business outcomes, how can you possibly promote yourself effectively? Any attempt will seem inauthentic. You need to know your value proposition and believe in the strength of your contribution. That allows you to position yourself as someone who can help others in the organization reach their goals; help the business reach its objectives. Understanding your value proposition helps you to build visibility and credibility as well as trust and influence.

We talk about past accomplishments.

It’s important to keep track of your achievements but reciting a list of your successes is not always effective. You want to position yourself as part of theongoing future business solutions; as someone who can help the company move forward to reach its objectives. Your value proposition helps you see opportunities to do this with key stakeholders and decision makers. It’s the foundation of savvy self-promotion.

We don’t understand our audience.

Communicating your value proposition is essential but you need to understand what others want and need or your message won’t resonate. It’s a three step process. Understand your value. Understand what others want and need, and then identify how you can help them based on your value proposition. How can you add value? It’s a powerful way to create visibility and credibility.

We don’t have allies and champions across the organization.

A supportive network is willing and able to advocate for you. These people understand your contribution and speak up for you when appropriate and/or when you’re not present. Your network will also alert you to possible opportunities for additional exposure with key stakeholders.

We still believe that our work speaks for itself.

This is the most dangerous mistake of all. Great performance is a given for career advancement, but you need to communicate and demonstrate to others the value it brings to the organization. The belief that your work alone will help you get ahead results in your hesitancy to take the time to advocate for yourself. You remain under the radar and potentially invisible.

Want to learn more about how to promote yourself effectively? Check out my book, The Politics of Promotion: How High Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead (Wiley 2015) and my website for additional resources including an online course based on the book.

 

Forbes.com | April 21, 2016 | Bonnie Marcus