Have you ever found yourself in a situation where someone similar to you in experience and background has progressed more rapidly than you think they deserve? Although there can be a myriad of issues, including systemic, one thing tends to be constant – how they utilize personal PR.
Two people can give 100%. The first works to the full 100% and plods away moderately successful in their career – nothing awful, nothing spectacular.
The second works to 90% and spends the remaining 10% telling everyone what they’ve achieved. Guess who gets the notice and the promotion?
The assumption that if you keep your head down and do a great job that it will be automatically recognized is a fallacy. Although work translating into rewards might have been true in school via exam results, once you move into the workplace you go from objective to subjective.
Colleagues and managers don’t have time to dig through the data or figure out your exact contribution. People need to be told. Unfortunately, due to gender roles and expectations it can be more challenging for women or someone in a minority to promote themselves in the workplace.
So if you are currently 100% work you need to find ways to focus on the 10% and make sure your brilliance is recognized. A few simple tips might include:
- Creating a weekly or monthly achievement email for yourself or team
- Sharing your work successes on social media
- Ensuring you have sponsors or evangelists that will tell your story
If this is too big a step change try asking your manager for feedback on what they think you did particularly well this week or month. Conversations like these encourage people to be more observant of your work and contributions.
The most important thing is to be patient as it takes time to change perceptions. You need to work hard and smart.
