Zone marketing executive Martha Green discovers the importance of self-promotion in the workplace…
After coming to the realisation that I was a closeted imposter syndrome sufferer at our last Women in Digital event, the #IamRemarkable workshop was the perfect follow-on for me. It’s a Google-founded initiative that empowers women and other underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond. One of its champions and workshop leaders is Kayleigh Ridd, senior front-end developer at Zone and newly crowned #TechWomen100 winner. Very remarkable indeed.
Back by popular demand, this was the second round of workshops led by Kayleigh. I found that my initial nerves calmed when I saw six familiar faces I hadn’t really seen since the Zone office days BC (before corona) — people I’d chat to in the kitchen, but our paths hadn’t crossed since working remotely.
The thing that surprised me the most was the range of ages. I was the youngest there and it was surprisingly reassuring to see a Zoner of 10 years taking part. The workshop was declared a safe and confidential space, and each of us began to open up about our natural reservations regarding self-promotion. It became clear that it was a wider theme among everyone at different stages of their life and career.
1. Understanding the importance of self-promotion
Kayleigh explained her own journey to realising the need to recognise and establish her achievements. When it came to her appraisal with her line manager, Kayleigh struggled to list her achievements. Not because she didn’t have any, but there was a natural assumption that her line manager (who sat next to her) could see all the work she was doing. Not only that, but it is easy to feel boastful when listing your achievements so this felt quite uncomfortable.
Despite what many of us think, accomplishments don’t speak for themselves — if we don’t tell people, how will they know what we’ve done? So we must fill in the gaps for our own benefit:
- You’re more than twice as likely to be promoted when you self-promote.
- Results suggest that when a situation helps women to escape the discomfort of defying the modesty norm, self-promotion motivation and performance improve. (Laurie A Rudman).
- If we don’t self-promote, we risk falling behind our self-promoting peers.
Self-promotion helps others too. Society expects women to be modest, so it’s often frowned upon for women to promote themselves. Counter stereotypical behaviour helps to break down those norms. Best of all, you never know who you’re going to inspire to self-promote when you do so.
2. It’s not bragging if it’s based on facts
Once we became comfortable with the idea of shouting about our own remarkableness, it was time to fight through the discomfort and actually give it a go. We were given the time to reflect on our accomplishments, big or small, and write them down using the following starter:
I am remarkable because…
It felt strange at first. Remarkable to me is, well, quite a remarkable word. Not one I’d use every day. I was now using it to describe small accomplishments such as ‘I am remarkable because… I made a lovely cup of tea’ or ‘I am remarkable because… I check up on my loved ones often’. But once you start small, it gets easier. The next thing you know you are really recognising you’re remarkable and all the achievements, big and small, mount up.
Next up, we were to share three. Any three. We’d each read out a statement and following that statement we were all to clap wildly. I liked the sound of this. Mostly because clapping wildly for making a cup of tea was probably the recognition I needed during this bizarre year but also because it was fun and silly, and it felt safe to do so.
These were some of the statements that followed:
I am remarkable because… I started running this year
I am remarkable because… I am a loving and devoted mother
I am remarkable because…I am making sustainable decisions
I am remarkable because… I’ve learned to write and publish a newsletter
I am remarkable because… I’ve learned to work from home successfully in a new role
I am remarkable because… I’ve got on smoothly with my other half during lockdown
3. Fighting through the discomfort: how to put it into practice
Now we’d broken in our self-promotion shoes, it was time to walk the walk and establish how we can instil this into our daily lives.
- Practise and perfect
Review and edit statements so they are as powerful as possible.
- Set a stretch goal
Setting yourself a target that will enable you to make progress. How do you want to use self-promotion to achieve a career goal? Listing your achievements realistically establishes where you’re at and where you have the potential to grow. If you can do X you can eventually do Y.
- Log your achievements
The most obvious and effective one. But there are many ways to do this. Kayleigh has a shared Google doc with her line manager where she lists her achievements as they occur.
In my case, I’ve added it as an extension of my ‘brag file’ — the initiative introduced at the aforementioned Women in Digital event. The very personal folder in which I keep screenshots of feedback and small or big achievements at work — a good confidence booster and reminder of your accomplishments.
- Act and review
This means sharing your achievements in a real-life situation, or somewhere out of your comfort zone. This could be with a manager, senior leader or even family members. Taking note of how it felt, what worked and what didn’t.
- #RemarkableWednesdays
The initiative to carry on the practice in a dedicated safe space. This could be a WhatsApp group with friends, or reminder in your diary to dedicate time to writing remarkable statements.
In our case, Kayleigh had created a slack channel dedicated to this initiative.
Practice makes perfect and, while you’re practicing, be the person who enables others to create that file or list of achievements. Helping others recognise their greatness will empower them and, when we all self-promote, we can create a culture in which it is natural to establish and be proud of your accomplishments.
