Self Promotion is NOT Self Aggrandising. Build the former and avoid the latter.
Over lunch with a senior-level executive who had been with a US MNC for a nearly 3 years, working Southeast Asia. He mentioned that in another year or two he’d like to return to the United States on the coattails of the company, better for the kids, quality of life, and so forth.
“Sounds good,” I said. “How’s your network at headquarters?”
“Oh, I’ve never been to corporate. No one’s ever invited me. Not yet, anyhow.”
‘Huh?’ I thought to myself, but didn’t say anything other than a polite “Well, you better start your visibility plan today. If you’ve never been there, how does anyone there know your value–and who are the ones who must know?”
He agreed, and I suggested he start acting on it now, get on a plane and fly back twice before the end of the year. But I shouldn’t be telling a senior exec such basics.
Coda: He did move back to the United States two years later. Not quite as planned. He was laid off from his company while still in Asia, had to scramble to find a manager level role with a smaller company in the Midwest, where he and his family now reside.
Two more examples:
The first is a friend of mine who has a pretty good life. No longer in the corporate world (a CEO in his last role), he has a couple of retainers from his previous company, steady income from rental property, some non-exec board roles, mentoring for a few start ups, picking and choosing what he wants. And he knows how to promote himself—has for years. Adept at getting on the speaking circuit, and now has better visibility with some of the power brokers. He gets it. His website has pictures of him and the grandees, lists of major events attended, speeches given. It’s perception as promotion. He doesn’t really know the moneyed crowd; it just appears that way. But it also appears as someone who has a network, and that is exactly what he wants people to think, as it works for him.
The second example is another friend who has not figured out how to promote herself. In a new sales job for four months, she called me last month to say she did not think she would make it past the probationary period and would find out when she spoke to the boss.
I asked what she thought people said about her in the office. She paused and then said, “I think they’ll say they don’t know what I do.”
“Better start to promote yourself,” I warned, “and start spending more one-on-one time with those in positions of power.”
Sure enough, when she had the meeting the following week, her boss told her that he would extend her probation by one month, but that she was the biggest overhead he had (as a westerner), so she’d better bring in more business soon. Last I heard, she’d had it with the company, not interested in making any further effort, and was outmanoeuvred by another peer who had been there the same amount of time, but spent much more time with the boss.
Build your brand, every day. Build it publicly, build it within the organisation. Talk about what you’ve done. Say what you’re going to do, even if you’re not sure, but put it on the table.
Do so in a way that does not rankle, but with a light, steady and engaging touch. Self-promotion done badly is lethal, make no mistake. Don’t misconstrue self promotion with self aggrandising. One is pleasantly skilled interaction and the other is grindingly harsh arrogance.
But don’t wait for your brand building to come together through a supernatural hand. You get out what you put in. Get out there, take the first step and be comfortable politely engaging others about what they do and what you do. It will be a far more interesting and balanced conversation than not. And that is your starting point.
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Except from Chapter 8, The Art of The Smart, How to Steer Your Career
You can buy it online here.
