Tooting Your Own Horn (Without Being Obnoxious)

There’s a fine line between patting yourself on the back and getting on a bullhorn to announce your accomplishment, but there’s nothing wrong with tooting your own horn without being obnoxious.

Misty Copeland famously said, You have to be the one promoting yourself. If you don’t think that you’re worthy, you’re never going to make it.

In the world of business, we all know a brand’s livelihood depends on business promotion, but showcasing our talents can be just as important for individuals. The trick is talking oneself up without being, “that guy.”

Compare Apples to Apples

Whenever you’re giving yourself kudos or sharing an accomplishment with others, make sure you’re comparing previous achievements of yourself with the one you are touting. It’s important to gain recognition based on your own successes. Comparing your accomplishment as something better than someone else’s will only make people annoyed with you and takes your likability rating down to a zero.

Save the Big Entrance

If you’re walking into a new job, don’t come in flexing how great your accomplishments were in your previous position and how you are the beacon of light coming into a new company, department, or promotion. Quiet confidence is key in a situation like this. If you want people to see how great you are at X, put the work in, and showcase your talents. Your boss and others around you will see the value you bring in a much better… light.

Try on Another Pair of Shoes

Think about the position of the manager or a leader you look up to. It would be great to gain praise from them over each achievement you earn, but it’s not realistic. If you put yourself in their shoes, think of how hard it might be for them to acknowledge every achievement each individual on their team makes on a daily or even weekly basis. In order to bring more attention to your accomplishments without directly calling them out, let your manager know your appreciation for something you learned from them. When managers realize the guidance they are providing, they will tend to keep their ears perked towards certain team members.

Be Humble but Confident

When someone congratulates you for an accomplishment or goal-setting mark, a simple thank you can suffice as a response. You don’t need to respond with a soliloquy about the greatness of the task. This doesn’t mean you should be timid when it comes to taking credit for the work you did, graciously accept the praise, and feel free to share how the accomplishment makes you feel, keeping in mind how the achievement impacts the team as a whole.

Only Take Credit for Your Accomplishments

Have you ever done a group project in school? There are two types of people when it comes to school-aged group projects, those who take the credit for everyone else’s work and those who do all the work for fear that it won’t be done “properly” in their eyes. As a professional, don’t become the team member who takes credit for someone else’s work or even worse, tries to sell off someone else’s idea or work as your own. We all have encountered a colleague like that and we all know how we feel about working with that person.

Share Credit for Team Success Generously

If you are a leader of a team, department, or project, provide praise to those under you whenever it’s applicable. This doesn’t mean allowing people to take credit for your work (see above), but if someone contributed to a success your team had when completing a project, spread the love. The key contributors aren’t the only ones who deserve acclaim.

How else can you toot your own horn without being “that guy?” Share your thoughts by commenting below.