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Dear friends,
I hope you are as well as you can be as 2020 marches on, and on, and on. One of you inspired this post, by reflecting on a wonderful boss “who recognizes contributions from people who are understated.” I know that I recently encouraged you to share your accomplishments, and some of you have even shared them with me- thank you! I hope this post will help those of you who continue to struggle to share your accomplishments.
This advice comes from the useful, readable book Brag Better by Meredith Fineman. I’ll share a few concepts that I found particularly relevant for academia.
Quantify yourself! Fineman talks about “self-stats,” being able to enumerate your accomplishments. We naturally do this with publications, but you can think of quantifying other aspects of work, too, such as total grant dollars or time spent mentoring. I like this because it feels more like sharing facts than bragging.
There is no try. When you are describing yourself, don’t say you are “trying,” “attempting,” or “working towards,” anything. These words convey self-doubt. Similarly, don’t share your accomplishment with a disclaimer like, “shameless self-promotion ahead!” Phrases like this can alienate your audience at the moment you want to include them.
Use a template. According to the author, each brag has 4 elements: gratitude, pride, presentation, and showmanship. Gratitude is means to invite others into your accomplishment. “I feel so fortunate to able to share my perspective on this panel.” Expressing pride can also lift up your peers, e.g., “I’m proud to share perspectives of a front-line primary care provider.” It is also important to tailor your message to the medium- you want to present your message differently in an email vs. in person vs. on social media. She gives the example of making sure that if you brag on Instagram, you have a great photo, the right hashtags, and a link in your bio. Context matters! Finally, it’s OK to have fun with it.
If all else fails, talk about your work. You like what you do, so don’t deflect when people ask you about it. (You know who you are!) Get used to explaining what you do and why you do it, and soon it will feel more natural to share when things go well. Your friends are your best ambassadors- if you feel under-recognized, ask a friend to share your accomplishments. Or ask me! I love bragging about others.
Thank you to all of you who shared last month’s email and encouraged others to sign up! It’s working! Please continue to help me get the word out- it really feels like part of my mission to keep diverse voices in science. Do forward to peers, mentors, or leaders who can share widely. As a reminder you can sign up to receive the monthly email here, at the bottom of the page, and the index gives a sense of the many topics we’ve covered so far. Please be kind to yourself and stay in touch!
Warmly,
Urmimala