How To Get Credit For Your Ideas
By Paula Lyons
You’re doing great things at work. But no one seems to know about them, except those few on your own team. Somehow, you just haven’t found the right way to “tell your story” and get credit for your accomplishments, without feeling like an obnoxious braggart.
We grow up hearing “bragging isn’t nice,” but watch others earn a place in the spotlight.
What we often don’t learn, until much too late, is that being in the spotlight is a smart business strategy.
You gain nothing by being quiet when you have a good idea. You must learn to articulate what you’re doing and why. Look around! Those who are “top of mind” when it comes to choice assignments, promotions and raises are almost always those who have “cracked the code” and learned how to promote and market themselves, by talking about what they and their teams are doing, and by coming to the table with something important to say.
The higher you go in any organization the more important these skills become. The most
common complaint we hear from bosses is they want promising new executives “to be bigger.” They need to speak up and to “tell the story” of what they do and how they do it. They need to be contributors of big ideas. When they do this, they become stars. This isn’t bragging; it’s contributing.
Tooting your own horn is a fine and delicate art. Toot too loudly and you run the risk of alienating rather than impressing others. Toot too softly and you may never be heard. With preparation and a little common sense, you can become known for your successes and be perceived as that “can-do” problem-solver everyone wants on their team.
• First, create an intention; decide to master the tactful art of self-promotion.
• Then begin to record your successes in writing. Create a computer file or write them in a notebook. Why write them down? So you remember them, so that you can refer to them when you’re preparing for a performance review, interviewing for another job, or just looking for something to say when people ask you how work is going. In this hectic world we all live in, it is easy to forget, from month to month, all the things we do that have a positive impact on our department, on our company’s reputation or on its bottom line. Writing also boosts your confidence – on dark days, it empowers you by helping you remember what has worked in the past.
• Once you’re recorded what you’ve done, it is also important to write and re-write your
accomplishments until you find the most powerful way to speak to others about them.
Be specific. Add numbers, details, facts or percentages where appropriate. Use powerful
words. Keep your sentences short but packed with information.
• Then be sure to deliver your spoken messages with warmth, enthusiasm, and a natural conversational style. Your audience should feel you’re just chatting with them, whether you have an audience of 5 or 500.
• When you have great news, say so! “Great news, I’ve just landed my first $100,000 client!” or “Great news, I’ve just had an article published in the Boston Business Journal.”
• If you or your team receives written kudos or compliments, share them with your boss and others in your network. Forward complimentary e-mails or personal notes, selectively, with a short message of your own, such as: “I’d just like to share this with you” or “I thought you’d like this good news”. Better yet, when you know an internal or external client or customer is happy, ask them to write to your boss directly. Many are happy to do so.
• Take credit subtly by sharing your knowledge. At meetings, when it is relevant, let others know how you solved a particular problem or overcame an obstacle. And don’t forget to be liberal in your praise of others who contributed also. It’s gracious and shows you’re willing to develop and support all the members of your team.