The Right Way to Talk About Yourself at Work

If you're going to ask for more money at work, you're going to need to make the case for why you deserve it. That conversation can go a little smoother if you've been keeping your manager in the loop about what you've accomplished.

But talking about yourself — especially your achievements — can be uncomfortable, especially for women. Nancy Joyce, a business executive, entrepreneur and expert in teaching women the art of self-promotion, is on a mission to pioneer the corporate landscape, and it all starts with getting women to talk more about their achievements so they're considered for higher-level positions.

Organizations, apps and hashtags are popping up more frequently to champion working women — encouraging them to determine their worth, communicate their value and ask for more money. And the release of Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In: For Graduates last week on Equal Pay Day contributed to another spike in the conversation about closing the wage gap between men and women.

Regardless of where you are in your career — whether you're climbing the corporate ladder or running a business — or whether you're a man or a woman (but especially if you're a woman), it's crucial that you're able to convey your value to the people you're working with.

If you have questions about the art of self-promotion, join us
TODAY (4/16) in Connect: Professional Women's Network
when Nancy Joyce, CEO of Joyce Advisors, will be answering your questions!

In the meantime, here's our Q&A with Nancy:

LINKEDIN: What are the most important things to keep in mind before you self- promote?

NANCY: Before you launch into your self-promotion strategy, there are a few critical things that you should think about:

1. Self-promotion is not bragging — it is educating relevant people about your skills and the value that you bring to your organization.
   
   
2. Self-promotion is not optional. If you want to keep your compensation and promotion rate in line with your male peers. Catalyst's 2011 study, The Myth of the Ideal Worker, demonstrates this really well.
   
   
3. Many women are uncomfortable with self-promotion because women who self-promote too aggressively are often victims of a reputational backlash in a way that men are not. If you are uncomfortable with self-promotion, it is important to develop options that allow you to self-promote without generating the backlash. An option that has been proven successful is to position your accomplishments as successes that have benefited the company, client or team as well.
   
   It might go something like this: "I am really excited about the results of the market test. My hypotheses around which features would drive client upgrade were correct, so we are moving forward with a plan to roll those features out across the next set of markets. I was particularly excited when I went to see Big Huge Client and they told me that these new features were exactly what they needed in order to take their business to the next level." Here I share my success, but I also refer to the client feedback, which serves to neutralize the possibility for backlash.
   
   
4. Build a script and practice!

LINKEDIN: How can companies benefit from employees who know how to promote themselves?

NANCY: It is actually critically important for companies that all employees self-promote effectively. Again, self-promotion is educating relevant people about your skills and the value that you are delivering to the organization. We are operating in a world where everyone is time-starved and desperate for the best talent and the most innovative ideas. When only a select group of employees self-promote well, then management is operating with imperfect information. The result may be that they put the wrong person in a critical role or fail to promote the most capable person to a management position because one employee is simply better at discussing his or her (OK, more likely his) successes than the other. That is likely one part of the reason why we see more men in management positions.

Research at Stanford University and Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University, among other places, has shown that less diversity at all levels of the organization means less innovation. It could also mean higher turnover, sub-optimal understanding of markets where women drive purchasing decisions, etc. There is no way that any manager or organization can keep track of everyone's skills and contributions efficiently even though they try. We have to do our part.

LINKEDIN: What tips do you have for women who are used to keeping their heads down and working hard so they’re comfortable touting their own accomplishments?

NANCY: If you are used to keeping your head down and working hard, I have a few tips for you. First, remember that self-promotion is critical to your long-term success, regardless of your ambitions. Whether or not you want to be CEO, you want to get paid what you deserve in your role and you want to be offered opportunities as they come, so you still need to self-promote.

Second, the best place to start is with aspects of your work that you feel most confident and passionate about. Think about what you share with your friends and family when asked about work -- what naturally excites you? Then compare those successes to the list of priorities that management has set for you. Where the two intersect is where you will find the set of topics that should be your starting point.

Once you have your starting point, identify a few successes and build some sentences with which to test the waters.

Start with your personal brand of enthusiasm:

• "I am so excited that..."
• "You may want to know that..."
• "I thought you would be interested to hear that..."
• "I am having a great day because..."

Add in your success:

• "the analysis we did identified some efficiencies"
• "the sales call went really well and the client shared their budget number"
• "the candidate I recruited accepted today"
• "the vendor I have been working with agreed to a reduction in fees"
• "the employee I have been coaching did a great job on his presentation today"

Close it out with some reason why your success benefits the company, team or client, something like: "Business head X was so excited about the vendor fee reduction, he said it would really positively impact his P&L going forward because their are growing their business with that vendor." OR "The best part was my employee felt so good about the presentation and he got complements from the entire team. It was a really rewarding experience all around."

Finally, practice, try it out, practice some more until it practically rolls off your tongue. Self-promotion is not something you do when review season nears; it has to be a constant practice if we want to see results.

Readers: How do you communicate your achievements at work? How do your co-workers and managers respond?

Photo: Apatsara/Shutterstock