4 Ways To Gain Recognition At Work
One of the most important aspects for determining career success is how to strategically gain recognition at work. This means having the right people notice you and acknowledge your accomplishments. It’s one of the reasons why those who are more vocal and visible get more and faster promotions. The foundation for getting recognition comes down to: communications.
Our CEO and Founder, Jessica Chen, recently hosted a Soulcast Media | LIVE event on LinkedIn where she interviewed entrepreneur, Forbes 30 under 30 recipient, and educator, Kim Kaupe.
They shared key tips and personal experiences about how to gain recognition at work through communications. This Soulcast Media Live event is brought to you by our amazing sponsors at Lo & Sons
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Below are four ways they recommend you try to gain recognition at work
1. Overcome Your Fear
So many people say, “I just want my work to speak for itself”. They hope that other people will notice what they are doing and cross their fingers that things will just simply work out in their favor.
Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. During the Soulcast Media | LIVE event, Kim talked about the picture she often paints for her clients. She often tells them to imagine they are in school and there is a math problem on the board. You, being the student, know the answer to the problem. However, you don’t raise your hand to answer it. She then asks, “how in the world can the teacher possibly know that you know the answer if you don’t raise your hand”? In other words, when there are awards, opportunities, a promotion, or whatever it may be – if you aren’t saying that you should be considered, how will anyone know?
When you have that fear, you have to say to yourself, “I know the answer”.
And the answer is you, your uniqueness, and your concrete accomplishments.
Jessica’s tip on overcoming your fears is to shift your thinking from “me to we.” Talk about how what you know benefits other people.
- Talk about how what you know benefits the team.
- Talk about how what you know can benefit your boss.
- Talk about how what you know can benefit the organization.
If you struggle to talk about yourself, this can be a great strategy to start with and help you feel more comfortable showcasing your value because you are promoting others in the process.
2. Communicating Your Worth
For many people, communicating their worth can be a very difficult task. You may feel that you are bragging. You may think that the other person is judging your abilities. It can be uncomfortable to talk about yourself. But part of gaining the recognition you deserve is being able to communicate your value.
During the event, Kim talks about how she was perfectly happy to talk about her friends and how great they were. However, when it came to herself she froze. She said the key to talking about yourself is to stick to the facts. Try not to talk about anything that isn’t concrete. What you want to do is stick to names and numbers.
For example – instead of saying I’m good at writing. You can say I have been published in The Wall Street Journal. Instead of saying I’m great at sales, you can say I sold over 1 million dollars in six months last year.
That way you are taking away assumptions from whomever you are talking to. They may assume that being good at writing means you are simply able to write. Good is a relative term.
Staying away from relative terms helps showcase your value without feeling braggy. It also puts your accomplishments into something that can be measured and can’t be disputed.
3. Build Your Credibility
If you want to gain recognition at work, you will have to build your credibility. Part of building your credibility is talking about yourself. You can do this by self-authenticating. This means bringing in context, stories, examples, second opinions, etc to back yourself up.
Sure, you may have co-workers who think you are great, but they are also trying to gain recognition for themselves. You can’t sit around and hope that someone reaches out. You have to take action steps. You have to be your own cheerleader. No one is going to advocate for you as much as you can and should for yourself.
Don’t assume that people know what you do or know what you’ve been working on.
It’s almost unfair to expect other people to build your credibility. They often don’t know all of what you are doing or what you’re working on.
As you build your credibility, remember that everyone has their own value add. Everyone has a uniqueness about themselves that no one else has. Being able to authenticate yourself and communicate your uniqueness will help you build your credibility fast.
4. Ask For Help
It’s okay to ask for help! Part of learning how to gain recognition at work is understanding that you don’t know everything. And that’s okay.
Asking for advice when you are a young professional can be nerve-wracking. You don’t want to seem like you aren’t sure of yourself. But you also may need guidance.
During the LinkedIn Live interview, a question from a viewer was asked about how to ask for help or express yourself to co-workers when you are a young professional.
Kim and Jessica discussed a few strategies to use if you are a young professional.
- Something to remember is that even if you are young, you can bring a fresh perspective.
- Get a mentor. Being young in the workplace, your ability to access mentors and learn from them is so important. People are generally openminded to helping others as long as the more junior person establishes a genuine connection first.
- Try not to be hyper-focused on the fact that you are young and less experienced. This type of mental barrier is preventing you from getting into a more action-driven mindset.
During the interview, Kim also talked about how it is always a little bit scary to talk about yourself. Whether you are pitching your services or going for that big promotion. You are inevitably going to feel a little scared. But that’s okay! Remember to keep communicating your value, and building your credibility. The more you practice is the less scary it will become and the more you will authentically be able to showcase yourself.
If you would like to see the full LIVE version of Jessica and Kim’s conversation, check out Jessica’s Youtube Channel.
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