Aspire - Leadership for thr future

The 3 Things You Must Stop To Raise Your Profile

Too many women focus only on what they need to start doing in order to raise their professional profile.

Making scintillating contributions in meetings, getting an audience with your boss’s boss, writing articles or books, speaking at a key event, getting featured in your company’s in-house publication, chairing committees, volunteering for extra-curricular organizational activities, building strong internal and external networks, crafting a magic CV, using social media platforms wisely… the list of possible profile-raising ‘to-dos’ is long and varied.

But before you embark on a flurry of activity, what about the things you must stop doing? Without ditching three key things first, all the magnificent steps you take to raise your profile will feel like pushing water uphill with a fork.

1. Stop “Me Me Me”

Most women we’ve worked with run a mile from the idea of shameless, ego-stroking self-promotion. In fact, the horror of becoming like one of those (often very alpha male) colleagues who constantly hype up how great they are is often what completely turns women off taking active steps to raise their profile.

And absolutely – if it’s only about building “Me Me Me” as a mini-celebrity, the lack of depth will be found out soon enough.

So actually, it’s about “We We We”: what’s in it for others? Be clear what you’ve got to offer; what you’re bringing to others and to your organization as your profile increases. Why do you want to raise your profile? It needs a purpose or reason beyond yourself if it is to achieve the greatest long-term professional impact and personal fulfillment.

As the media authority Richard Laermer put it in his recent Huffington Post article on the death of the ‘Cult of Personality’, “Smart execs and entrepreneurs aren't promoting themselves as big shots anymore; they're [creating] a profile and thus a market for their services. Demand is no longer centered principally on name recognition. Instead, it's steeped in new types of services and insight. Building awareness about your business, rather than yourself, is the newest way to drive deals.”

Dr Samantha Collins, CEO of Aspire, has found the key to raising her own and her company’s profile with integrity and authenticity is “promotion with a purpose”. “I personally spend a lot of time raising my own profile and that of Aspire – why?”, Dr Collins asks herself. “Because it helps me to make more of a difference to women and do good work, and it’s nice to be recognized. The thing I’m always asking myself is ‘for the sake of…what?’ What do I want the bigger impact of my action to be?”

Whatever sector you work in, if you too want your work to make a difference (and 79% of you say this is your top career motivator – Aspire 2009 research), if your profile isn’t particularly high, the amount of difference you can make probably won’t be as high as you would like either. An enhanced profile will give you an enhanced opportunity to make a difference – and achieving that profile starts with being very clear on your purpose beyond “Me Me Me”.

2. Stop Automatic Modesty

“That’s an excellent set of results for the last quarter,” says your boss.  “Oh. Um. Yes. I mean, it wasn’t just me of course; the team’s been on fire recently, it was hardly me at all in fact, and…”

It’s so easy to automatically play yourself down (and then kick yourself two seconds later) – and it’s something that women are particularly good (bad) at.

If stopping “Me Me Me” is making it about more than just you, stopping automatic modesty is about nevertheless speaking up and making sure that your own contribution and achievement is known and recognized.

Absolutely you need to give others credit – lavishly, where appropriate. And, to raise your profile, it needs to be balanced with giving yourself credit too. Highlight your achievements and opinions with integrity and authority. Don’t expect others to “just notice” – they probably won’t. Carnegie Mellon University Professor of Economics, Linda Babcock, notes in her October 2003 Harvard Business Review Article, “Nice Girls Don’t Ask”, that “women tend to assume that they will be recognized and rewarded for working hard and doing a good job. Unlike men, they haven’t been taught that they can ask for more.”

Aisling Burnand, a Board Director at Cancer Research UK, is a team-player who has nevertheless become adept at using “I” as well as “We” in describing the achievements of her team. “Focus on communicating what you do personally know rather than all the things you don’t!” she suggests. “When I first joined Cancer Research UK I found that even if I didn’t know everything about a topic or the ways of the organization, I could always say, ‘My opinion is…’, or ‘I’ve observed this…’. You can’t hide your light under a bushel – you’ve got to contribute.”

Work out what you want to be famous for amongst your colleagues, bosses and friends. And this isn’t about Jordan-style fake-fame. It’s about what you most want yourself, your team or your organization to be known or remembered for; what you want people to come to you for.

3. Stop Playing Safe

For many women, this is the big one. Our natural relationship-building strength means we tend to want to please and to be liked, which results in playing safe. But if you’re too hooked on always needing the pat on the back from someone else (usually a superior), or always taking the safest course of action, it will mean you won’t risk doing anything that would raise your own, your department’s or your organization’s profile unless you’re sure how others will respond. Instantly, you’re at stalemate: of course you can never fully predict what they’ll think, and you end up taking no action, or the same old safe action.

So, deciding to raise your profile further means having the courage to stick your neck out and lead the charge. It means letting go of the safe, cosy corner. As Goethe famously said, "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

The land of raised profile is the land of the tall poppy – bright red flowers stand out from the rest. That can be scary – but ultimately, rewarding.

As you take steps to build up your profile, you realize swiftly that you’re leaving bland behind and entering the divisive world of Marmite – they’ll love you or hate you. People will know you, people will judge you. Some of those judgements will be fantastic, making your heart buzz and your energy tingle. Others will be damning – personal, critical, stinging, making you want to crawl back under the duvet and hide.

But allowing your passion and belief in what you’re doing to shine out unfettered is absolutely key to raising your own profile or your company’s.

The secret to letting go of playing it safe lies in asking yourself a simple question. I’m doing it right now, in fact, as I write this article. As I type, it’s so easy to get sucked into wondering what my readers will make of me; of what I’ve written; it’s so easy to be held back by wanting to be liked and saying the safe thing. And I catch myself quickly by asking myself, “Can I live without their approval?” And actually, when I really think about it, the answer is nearly always “Yes”. It frees me up to be more experimental. Of course I want whatever I do to go down well. And at the same time, reflecting on this question refocuses me on the fact that I can never control how other people react – all I can control is to do what I believe in, in what I believe to be the best possible way.

So try making “Can I live without their approval?” (just for now, just for this,) your question to yourself whenever you embark on something to raise your profile. Nine times out of ten, you too will find yourself answering “Yes”.

But what if breaking out of the safe-zone and wanting approval from others is a hard one for you to let go of? Jane Swift, a Program Director at BT, suggests building up an ‘approval bank’. “A while ago I started a computer document into which I copy and paste any positive comments I get from others. Then, if (or should that be ‘when’, because it inevitably happens – unfortunately not everyone likes me all the time!) I do something that doesn’t go down well with others, I’ve got a record of all the times people have supported and praised me to re-boot my confidence. I do try as much as I can to keep my focus on my successes, not on when it’s gone wrong.”

So What’s It Time For You To Stop?

Don’t get overwhelmed by the thought of having to swing into instant action with some kind of major profile-raising campaign. Take bite-size chunks (but do take at least a bite!) Focus on increasing your profile with just a few key individuals within or outside of your organization. If you gain their respect, your profile will grow, your reputation will spread and you’ll find you’re making even more of a difference.

Posted by Rebecca Hourston, Director of Programs on Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tags: leadership, authenticity, profile, making a difference, purpose