Women, Here’s Why You Need to Talk About Your Own Accomplishments
When is the last time you shared openly at work about your own accomplishments?
If you can’t recall when you may have recently done this, you’re not alone—and it’s time to get started.
Research shows the gender gap in self-promotion persists even when women are confident in their own abilities. Though the study could only speculate about this finding, it is likely that women have internalized the bias against women who self-promote “too much.” (I’ve used the quotes here, because what “too much” means for women is, in and of itself, a gendered norm.)
Your ability to speak about your own accomplishments at work directly affects your career growth and financial outcomes. I know this personally. At different points in my career, I expected my work to speak for itself. After all, my team had been thriving and exceeding its metrics. Without specifically talking about this, though, as well as my future growth plans, this work was taken for granted.
Worse, in my absence of speaking about my strengths, others didn’t hesitate to speak about theirs. It’s up to you to make your work known. In the remote/hybrid work environment, in particular, sharing about your accomplishments and remaining visible is especially important.
Here are three ways to help you get started:
1. Reframe Your Mindset
The first challenge in self-promotion is that the words available to describe accomplishment may feel uncomfortable. However, this isn’t about bragging, boasting, or prattling on—this is factually sharing about your great work.
There is an art to sharing graciously, which comes from being authentic in your pride and motivations.
One perspective I recommend is to consider how you’re being of service. Really—talking about your own work means you can better serve others. You have big ideas for how the company can innovate and improve, and you’ll be better positioned to implement them when people understand what you bring to the table.
2. Find Opportunities to Share
Bold moves don’t always look like shouting from the rooftops. Sharing about your projects and accomplishments with a small group of colleagues is a great way to take that first step.
You can use this script in your next elevator conversation with a senior colleague or in the few minutes before a meeting officially starts when someone asks, “What’s new with you?” Instead of a general reply, you could say, “I’ve just wrapped up [PROJECT] and we learned/discovered/changed [BRIEF OUTCOME].”
Work your way up to sharing about your work with bigger audiences. If your organization has a Lunch and Learn series, raise your hand to present on your latest project. Offer to give an overview of your work at a town hall or team meeting. If you’ve been waiting for permission (even unintentionally) to put yourself out there, this is your sign.
3. Determine What You Want to Do More Of
One motivation for talking about your achievements is to leverage your past successes to get to where you want to go in the future. Understanding your leadership and career goals can give you clarity on which accomplishments you want to highlight, and to whom. Here are some questions to guide your reflection:
A. What are your superpowers? (Try my Lead from Where You Are Assessment to get insights into what your innate strengths are, and how to leverage them at work.)
B. What brings you energy at work?
C. What do you want to learn?
Being confident in what makes you uniquely who you are will help you feel more prepared to share this information with others.
Keep in mind, as a woman at work, you may be criticized even when you do everything “right”, especially if you’re amazing at what you do. you risk losing more by not speaking up at all. Learning how to confidently speak about your successes allows you to create the career you want on your own terms. By sharing your accomplishments, you show other women what is possible for them, too.