Own It: Why Your Wins Matter
How Women Rise
What got you here won't get you there. That can be a tough pill to swallow. Many of the things that helped you reach your current success may also be holding you back from your future goals. Why? Because as you progress in your career, the skillsets you need change and the habits you built no longer support your growth. This fall, I'm breaking down the 12 habits holding you back from your next raise, promotion, or job as laid out in the book How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith - diving into one for each newsletter. Because if we focus on letting go of the habits holding us back, we will not only reach our goals this year-end, we will set ourselves up to skyrocket at the start of the new year!
Habit 1: Reluctance to Claim Your Achievements
One of the biggest habits holding women back is their reluctance to claim their achievements. The reasons most often cited for this is because they 1) don't want to appear obnoxious, and 2) they believe the work should speak for itself.
Let's break this down a bit. Is claiming your achievements really obnoxious? Or just the truth? Talking about what you did is the truth. It isn't bragging, it isn't arrogant. But society tends to place a lot of weight on women being humble and team-oriented, so it can feel harder to claim your achievements.
So how can you talk about what you've accomplished and feel good about it? First, explore your relationship with your values. If humility and belonging are high, this may feel like stepping out of your values.
It will take some work to shift your mindset to recognize that you can both be humble AND talk about what you've done. You can value the team contribution AND be honest about the effort you specifically contributed.
Second, flip the script. Why should others have to guess what you did? Other people are busy and distracted too. Why is it their job to know or figure out what you've accomplished? It isn't. It is YOUR responsibility to let others know what you have achieved because no one else knows (even if you think they do) or quite frankly, really cares.
Now let's talk about the other belief holding you back - the idea that your work should speak for itself. Guess what? It doesn't! It doesn't have a mouth. It doesn't speak. YOU DO!
Again, people are busy and distracted. They are not going out of their way to look at what you've done. Your project is completed on time with great results - Awesome. But how will people know what YOU specifically contributed and your ownership in this accomplishment?
All of the decisions about your next role, promotion, or job will be made in rooms that you aren't in. You need others in that room speaking on your behalf, singing your praises, and talking overtly about what you accomplished.
The only way those people can fight for your next opportunity is if you are claiming your achievements, the skills you bring to the table, and how you help the organization move forward.
One of my clients was struggling with this. She had always insisted that if her work was done well, there was no need to "brag" about it. Clearly the organization would see what she did, as she was on a high-visibility project.
Promotion time came and went - no promotion. The feedback? While her direct boss valued her contributions and others were aware of the success of the high-visibility project, very few had heard her name associated with it as much as they heard other names on that project.
Others had socialized what they had contributed and their part. My client faded into the background compared to these other team members. Yet she led it and saved it from going off the rails multiple times!
When she came to me, we explored her values, her limiting beliefs, and ways that she could claim her achievements that still felt true to her.
The result: She was promoted the following promotion cycle! She practiced claiming her achievements in ongoing team meetings and 1:1 conversations with leaders that she intentionally set up over the year.
She wasn't obnoxious or "braggy". She matter-of-factly stated what she was working on and how it was helping the outcome. She asked leaders for input and advice. She claimed her achievements alongside her desire to continuously grow and develop relationships.
It took time, but she started to feel more comfortable as she realized it wasn't negatively impacting her. In fact, it was just the opposite. And that's the thing - it takes time and intentional practice to break our habits. It won't feel comfortable at first, but eventually new habits form that better support the future you want.
She aligned her integrity (the truth of what she accomplished) with her voice so that others knew who she was, what she did, and how it contributed to the organization/team. Most importantly, she let go of this habit of staying quiet to be more "likable", which was one of her limiting beliefs.
It's your turn - how do you claim your achievements? Is it hard for you to do? If so, what are some of the beliefs you hold around it? How can you break free of those habits and beliefs?
Commit to one action to start claiming your achievements and email it to me, I'd love to hear your plan. And if you want support, this is one of the ways I help clients get to where they want to be. Schedule a free strategy session HERE and we will find a way for you to move forward.
Stay tuned for future newsletters where we will continue to break down the 12 habits holding you back! Remember - what got you here won't get you there. And you don't have to try to get there alone.
Cheers to claiming your achievements,
Sharon
PS - Here are the 12 Habits we are walking through (from How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith):
1 - Reluctance to Claim Your Achievements
2 - Expecting Others to Spontaneously Notice and Reward Your Contributions
3 - Overvaluing Expertise
4 - Building Rather than Leveraging Relationships
5 - Failing to Enlist Allies from Day One
6 - Putting Your Job Before Your Career
7 - The Perfection Trap
8 - The Disease to Please
9 - Minimizing
10 - Too Much
11 - Ruminating
12 - Letting Your Radar Distract You
Find Your Sweet Spot and Thrive
On Friday, October 10, I’m hosting a free 60-minute workshop: “Between Hustle & Harmony: Finding Your Sweet Spot.” It’s a gentle reset before the end-of-year chaos kicks in so you can continue to rise AND enjoy this life you are working so hard for!
We’ll walk through:
What it means to move beyond the buzzword of boundaries
How to identify your real non-negotiables
Why your ambition and your well-being don’t have to compete
How to create space that actually supports your success (instead of adding another thing to your to-do list)
We’ll make time for you to think through it all and capture it in the included workbook.
🎯 If you’ve been craving clarity…
💡 If you’re tired of swinging between burnout and avoidance…
📅 If 10/10 feels like a good day to reclaim a little bit of you...
Click HERE to grab your (free) seat.
Life is too short to stay stressed and stuck. Don't let another season slip by. I've helped so many people reclaim their life. I can help you too.
