Blog Topics, Business - Monday, November 26, 2012 14:29 - 80778 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fblog.success.com%2Fself-promoters-are-the-devil-so-how-do-i-get-attention%2FSelf-Promoters+Are+the+Devil.+So+How+Do+I+Get+Attention%3F2012-11-26+20%3A29%3A05Alison+Lesterhttp%3A%2F%2Fblog.success.com%2F%3Fp%3D8077

Self-Promoters Are the Devil. So How Do I Get Attention?

“Can I ask you about how to become more visible?” my coaching client asked me, when we were supposed to be talking about her presentation skills. There weren’t a lot of opportunities for her to present, in fact, so we switched to this topic of greater concern. Because she was very concerned. She really needed to raise her profile.

But there was a catch.

“I hate self-promoters,” she said, wrinkling her nose and curling her top lip in the universal signs of disgust.

I asked her if this distaste for self-promotion had cost her some opportunities for career advancement. “Absolutely,” she said. But she still wouldn’t play the game.

What was interesting was that she wasn’t an introvert, and she didn’t lack confidence in her achievements. Her problem with asserting herself grew out of her cultural and personal values. Nothing would convince her to be more like the people she avoided in the office. It was just plain wrong to behave that way.

I know a lot of people who feel that their work should speak for itself, and that workplace politics will give their hands a smell they won’t be able to wash off when they get home. But if you’re like my client, and have a team of people working with you, your own career-limiting ideas have the potential to limit theirs as well. When a team leader doesn’t seek recognition, the team lives in obscurity.

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