Do you find it difficult to talk about yourself at work ?

If yes, then read on….

I recollect an interesting coaching session on this topic with a client sometime back

My client is the business head in a large manufacturing company

He feels that his hard work is not getting appreciated

“I feel that I am not good in marketing myself”?he said?“I am reluctant to speak about my work and achievements”

He felt that this was impacting his growth prospects, as he lacked the visibility in front of his leadership team

Now this is not uncommon…

Many leaders believe that they should not talk about themselves and their work should speak for itself

You feel that if you do it, it will be seen as?“bragging”

And it’s not in your nature to brag, right ?

You feel hesitant. You feel odd

IT'S JUST NOT YOU

You would rather put your head down and do the work, right ?

Look….

This approach of letting your work speak for itself is fine, but only up to a certain point your career

It might have worked for you in the past, but if you really want to step up, it might not work in the future

Why ??

For one, organizational matrices and dynamics have become much more complex than ever before

You have regional, functional and global stakeholders

And not everyone is physically around you

It is quite possible that?not every stakeholder is fully plugged into what you're doing

They have their priorities to look into, right ?

Secondly,?having the right executive presence and visibility is an important aspect of leadership

You could have a lot of great ideas, but if you are not able to speak about them in the right leadership forums,?then it does not really help you or your business

Third – It’s not just about you.?It’s about your teams as well

You need to make sure that you create the right visibility for your team members in front of the global leadership

Finally, I think it’s about active career management

It’s very easy to push the responsibility outwards?“It’s my manager’s job”

But the truth is…

YOU have to take charge of your career

YOU have to actively manage it

YOU have to actively manage your stakeholders

The key word is?actively

It is your job to keep your stakeholders posted on what you are involved in

Don’t assume that they know everything

All this means that you need to be visible

..You need to be out there

..You need to connect

..And you need to speak up

Think about it…

When you tell people what you have done or what initiatives you are driving, you are simply telling them the truth, right ?

You should be proud of what you have achieved

And you should be able to communicate with confidence

Where you might struggle is the “how” part – how do you communicate so that it DOES NOT appear as if you are?blowing your own trumpet

So it all boils down to your narrative....

“I did this” v/s “We did this”

Tasks and process v/s outcomes and results

What is important to you v/s what is important to your stakeholders

Your priorities v/s organizational priorities

Bottom line….

..Be aware of the importance of being more visible and vocal

..Get your story and narrative right

..Actively manage your stakeholders and your career

So here’s something for you to reflect upon this week :

1) Do you feel hesitant to speak about yourself ? If yes, what is really stopping you ?

2) How is lack of visibility impacting you ?

3) What action can you take to start being more visible in your organization ?

I would be interested to know what came up for you as you read and reflected on this article

Till then

Stay safe and stay healthy

Harsh

www.harshjohari.com

P.S. -?Here are some ways how I can help you in your transformation journey

1)?How to create an extraordinary?life?- If you really want to create a big?impact and create an extraordinary life, drop me a message.?

2)?Leadership?Resources?– Here are some free resources which I have developed for my clients. You can use them for your personal reflection or for your teams. If you need a copy of any of these, drop me an email :

a)?21?Powerful Questions Every Leader Should Reflect On

b) 7 Questions To Push You Out Of Your Comfort Zone

c) 5 Powerful Questions to Transform Yourself In 2022

d) 7 Reasons Why Leaders Resist Change

3) PLUS, whenever you are ready to step into your real power and go after what you truly want, you can book a short exploratory call here (Book Your Call)