This may be the message that you need to hear today, and it came courtesy of a client who has been struggling with promoting himself and his offerings. He told me that he somehow feels reluctant to market and promote his work. At some point in his life, it was impressed upon him that being immodest and boastful was wrong. Promoting what you do, being proud of what you’ve done, and telling others about it is exactly that immodesty and boastfulness writ large. There is a Japanese expression that translates as, “the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” In other words, he was socialized to believe that self-promotion and pride are wrong.
Consequently, he closes off a large door into the realm of possibility. Visiting that realm of possibility—literally what is possible for you in your profession, for your livelihood, and for your life—is the definition of opportunity. So, when you are shut down by the internalized judgment that promoting the great things you do and taking pride for the amazing things you have accomplished, you are shutting the door on opportunities throughout your life.
Here’s an idea that I shared with my client that enabled his own reinvention. What he does for his clients and customers provides benefit for them. By promoting what he does for his customers, he communicates the possibility of achieving those benefits for themselves. In other words, through taking pride in his contributions, he creates positive opportunities for others to benefit. And that is a good thing.
In your workplace, when you take pride in what you’ve accomplished, focusing on communicating the benefits to customers and clients, colleagues and peers, your team and the organization as a whole, what you are really doing is opening a door into the realm of possibility for those customers, colleagues, and team. In other words, you create opportunity for others to benefit, and that is indeed a good thing.
@dr.mark.reinvention Promoting yourself & the Invitation to Others #career #performance #performancereview #achievement #resume #opportunity ♬ original sound – Mark “Reinvention Project” PhD