Elise wasn’t good at talking about the things that she had accomplished. She would change the subject if someone would bring up something she did so she didn’t sound like she was bragging. She grew up with the belief that hard work was important, but you didn’t need to talk about your accomplishments.
She set up a time to meet with me after we talked about her situation at a networking event. I asked her if she felt like she was valuable to the team and her company. She said, “Yes, I deliver a lot of great programs and projects. I have saved the company money and improved processes.” I respond that’s great. What prevents you from telling people what you just told me? She said, “They are really busy. They have big jobs and don’t have time to listen to me talk about what I do. I am sure they can see my accomplishments.”
I said you told me that they are so busy, do they have time to see what you do? She thought about it and said, “Maybe they don’t have time to focus on me and everyone else that works for them.” I said, do you think that you have information that they need to make good decisions? She answered, “Yes.” I asked her if she had a responsibility to speak up and share that information? She answered, “Yes, I guess I never thought about it that way. I respect them and their time. I didn’t want to bother them, but I can see that I have to speak up.”
Elise put a plan together of how she would start to talk about what she does. It looked something like this:
- Come up with a story that helps to show my work and who I am as a leader
- It doesn’t have to be any longer than a couple of minutes, but doing this consistently is how I can start sharing my accomplishments with someone
- I will have a few stories that are ready to go, so no matter who I talk to, I will be ready
Elise had a belief in her head that was no longer true, but she didn’t know it. She had diminished her own value and raised the value of her senior leaders instead. View everyone at the same level instead and eliminate the pedestal, it can help you have different conversations. Everyone has value to add in an organization and talking about what you do helps to raise your visibility. Sharing through the use of stories can make it easier and people will remember it!