Many people have a problem with self-promotion – i.e. promoting their own skills, capability and experience. They believe their results should speak for themselves.
The harsh reality is that while results do speak for themselves, that is only useful if people are listening.
One of my clients has been a change manager for over 20 years. Huge capability, great track-record, and as soon as you engage with him, it is clear he knows his business. What he lacks, by his own admission, is impact.
Gently spoken, good listener and reflective thinker – not someone to shout about things, especially his own capability. Yet we need to increase his impact so he can achieve his career goals.
One simple idea that has chimed with his values is building his own toolkit, the way he goes about his work.
He is adept at applying change methodologies, and over the years has crafted his own approach that sits on top of these. So my suggestion to his, is to quite simply draw up his own set of models and processes, one at a time, each time he has a specific (and common) problem or challenge that needs his skills.
Once he has this, he can then use the model visually to illustrate his thinking, and his process, to new stakeholders with that same challenge. This will make a stronger impact, will further improve his effectiveness and will also boost his confidence – and that’s just to start with. More will follow as he learns how to use these frameworks and models to demonstrate his expertise.
This approach is central to the work we do on the Building a Powerful Reputation course, but you can get started here with these resources:
- How Credible is Your Expertise: Looking at the dilemma and practical suggestions about how to build your own campaign (read now).
- Tools of the Trade: How to reflect on your models and processes (read now).
- The Stakeholder Mapping Guide: Some of my own models and processes by way of example (download here).