The Fallacy of Self-Promotion

I once heard someone say, and I believe it was on television, “It’s okay to be the smartest person in the room.  You just can’t go around telling everyone.”  How these words ring true!  But, while I write this piece, there are thousands of employees in businesses around this country telling everyone within ear-shot how great they are.  Believe me, after thirty-five years in the business world, there is really no upside to self-promotion.

I tried it, many years ago.  And for nearly a week, no one on my team would speak to me.  Okay, I was young, and just getting the hang of this managerial thing.  I didn’t know what the characteristics of a solid leader were, and just played it all by ear.  Big mistake.  You see, by me telling everyone how great I was, I failed to acknowledge the contribution of my team.  And in the end, I lost sight of what was important and I lost the respect of my team.

That was an epiphany  for me.  After talking with my team, I worked hard every day to gain their respect and to re-establish myself as the team leader.  So, how did I do it?  Here were a few of the ways.

I Worked Hard

I let hard word speak for me and didn’t have to point out to anyone that I was working hard.  Those around me saw the hours that I put in.  But more importantly, my contributions were productive and led to the overall success of the team.  I didn’t brag about the hours that I put in or anything like that.  I just worked.  Hard.

I Had Good People Around Me

I continued to surround myself with good people and a great team of people who were eager to learn and contribute and trained them as best as I could, making sure that outside sources and other forms of training was available to them.  More importantly, I got to know each of my team members on a personal level and I let them know that  respected them and valued their input.

I Helped Others

Before my epiphany, I was always a hard changing, full steam  ahead kind of person.  I didn’t take the time to look up and consider what challenges and difficulties others in the organization were facing.  So, I stopped and took inventory of how interacted with those around me.  I found out that I found more satisfaction in helping others than from any pat on the back I had ever received.

I Remained Humble

I’ll be honest.  The new me, didn’t fit the old me, very well.  It was a difficult challenge to fall into this new person, that kept his head down, treated others with respect and admiration, and valued the input of all those around him.  But I did it through humility.  Once I threw aside any lingering self-importance I felt for myself, and remained humble around my teammates, colleagues, customers, family and friends, both my work life and personal life benefited.  I became a better person.

I Eschewed Credit and Self-Promotion

There was a time when the thought of someone taking credit for the hard work that I had done would set me off into a rage.  I set that aside.  I became more concerned about giving my team the credit and not worry about the self-absorbed self-promoters around me.  After a while, when I did my thing, I didn’t care about who got credit for it.  I just wanted to find solutions to our problems and get things done.  My team and teammates were more important to me than worrying about individual honors.  For me, every accomplishment became a team effort and a team win.

I Became a Great Follower and Teammate

Leaders don’t just appear.  They come from the team and early on, establish themselves as great followers and servants.  That was important to me.  A title didn’t make me the team leader.  I had to earn my leadership, which ultimately I did.  But to do so, I had to throw myself back into the team and do the heavy lifting required to become a great teammate, and ultimately, a team leader.

Self-promotion seems to work out for some folk.  They’re okay with it.  But, I never used any techniques of self-promotion again in my career.  Following some of the guidelines above, I was able be a member of some of the best teams in my life.  In some instances, I was the team leader.  In others, I wasn’t.  I was more concerned about getting along with my teammates, making a great contribution,  and being a great follower.

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