21,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
Selected as a Next Big Idea Club Must Read
Are you an ambitious hard worker and high-achiever—but feeling stuck, unseen, and struggling to move up in your career?
Being great at your job isn't enough anymore. In today's competitive workplace, ambitious professionals need to master both how and where they show up if they want to stand out and be recognized.
Lorraine K. Lee knows this journey firsthand. As a shy, overlooked introvert who became a sought-after keynote speaker, she discovered that success comes not from working harder, but from being intentional about your professional presence. Through her role as a founding editor at LinkedIn and work with Fortune 500 companies, she's helped millions of professionals develop an intentional, powerful presence that takes them from invisible to unforgettable.
Drawing from research-backed principles, personal anecdotes, and insights from interviews with dozens of industry leaders, including bestselling author Daniel Pink and Radical Candor's Kim Scott, Unforgettable Presence teaches you how to:
- Master virtual presence using proven frameworks for standing out in today’s workplace
- Deliver impactful presentations with confidence and authority
- Develop executive presence at any career stage
- Leverage LinkedIn to stay top-of-mind and be recognized for your expertise
- Transform your team’s presence and impact as a leader
- Give and receive feedback that inspires change
- Lead meetings that your teammates don’t dread
This guide introduces practical frameworks to help you build influence and be seen as a leader, and gives you concrete tools to increase your impact immediately. You'll learn to communicate with confidence, build strategic relationships, and advocate for yourself and your team effectively.
Whether you're an introvert seeking greater visibility or a leader looking to amplify your team's impact, Unforgettable Presence provides the proven frameworks and practices to ensure you're remembered for all the right reasons. It's time to take control of your career trajectory by mastering both how and where you show up so that you can create a presence that makes you truly unforgettable.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 323
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
Ähnliche
Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Praise for
Unforgettable Presence
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction
Part I: Building Your Foundation
Chapter 1: Crafting Your Career Brand
The Mindset Shift: How to Become the CEO of Your Own Career
The EPIC Career Brand
Apply Your Career Brand in Four Steps
Notes
Chapter 2: Turning Video Into Your Superpower
Tech: The Right Tools for the Job
Energy: Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude
Aesthetics: Putting Yourself in the Best Light
Making A Strong Impression In Person
Notes
Chapter 3: Using LinkedIn the Right Way
Optimizing Your Profile
Recommendations
How to Get Started Creating LinkedIn Content
Authentic Ways to Expand Your Network
A LinkedIn Challenge
Notes
Part II: Today’s Key Skills
Chapter 4: Becoming A Confident Communicator
How to Improve any Kind of Communication
How to Become a Better Public Speaker
Notes
Chapter 5: Supercharging Your Virtual Presentations
The Presentation Attention Toolbox
Notes
Chapter 6: Leading Meetings That Are Actually Good
Planning and Preparation
The Passive to Active Meeting Framework
After the Meeting
Notes
Part III: Career Advancement
Chapter 7: Making Yourself Unforgettable to Executives
Five Ways You Can Make a Strong Impression on Executives
Notes
Chapter 8: Building Influence at Any Level
Grow Your Influence with the RAVE Model
Finding Your Advocates: Sponsors and Mentors
How to Expand Your Network
Notes
Chapter 9: Managing Your Manager
Building Your Relationship
Going for Promotion
Notes
Part IV: Leadership and Management
Chapter 10: Thinking Like a Manager
Adopting a Manager's Mindset
How to Manage Your People
How to Manage Your Team
Notes
Chapter 11: Increasing Your Team’s Presence
Advocate for Your Team
Get to Know Your Peers
Delegate to Make Your Team More Effective
Make Feedback Your Superpower
Notes
Chapter 12: Expert Advice on Executive Presence
Redefining Executive Presence
Part I: Your Career Brand
Part II: Communication
Part III: Credibility
Note
Conclusion
Notes
Acronyms and Frameworks
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Praise for Unforgettable Presence
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction
Begin Reading
Conclusion
Acronyms and Frameworks
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
End User License Agreement
Pages
i
ii
iii
v
vi
vii
xi
xii
xiii
xiv
xv
xvi
xvii
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
65
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
119
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
175
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
241
242
243
245
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
Praise for Unforgettable Presence
Unforgettable Presence is more than a career guide—it’s a call to action for professionals to show up for others and themselves. Lorraine's thoughtful advice and stories will leave you feeling inspired to show up with purpose and presence every day.
—Sherrie Westin CEO of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street
Unforgettable Presence is a career game changer, packed with Lorraine K. Lee's expert insights on crafting a standout brand that gets you seen and recognized.
—Dorie Clark Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Long Game and executive education faculty, Columbia Business School
Unforgettable Presence is a must‐read for any team aiming to build confidence, presence, and leadership skills. I’d recommend this to any leader who wants to invest in their team’s growth and success, and develop a high‐impact team.
—Stanley TangDoorDash cofounder and chief product officer
In Unforgettable Presence, Lorraine K. Lee shares practical steps for building a successful career in today’s corporate world and shows us that leadership is a skill anyone can develop. This book is a meaningful guide for anyone ready to unlock their full potential.
—Christina Hall chief people officer at Instacart
Lorraine K. Lee has nailed the formula for professional presence. Unforgettable Presence is a powerful resource for those who want to be seen, heard, and respected in any room they walk (or dial) into.
—Ross Pomerantz (aka “Corporate Bro”) entrepreneur and content creator
In a world where attention is our most precious commodity, having a strong, authentic presence is critical. Lorraine Lee provides specific, actionable advice to help all of us break through the noise and have the impact we want.
—Matt Abrahamsstrategic communication lecturer at Stanford GSB, host of Think Fast Talk Smart the Podcast, and author of Think Faster, Talk Smarter
Working with Lorraine has always been a highlight for our teams at Cisco – her insights are practical, refreshing, and easy to put into action. Unforgettable Presence brings that same energy, offering leaders a toolkit for building genuine influence and impact. It's the kind of book you'll keep coming back to.
—Carlo Dela Fuente chief of staff and director of business operations at Cisco (Webex)
Lorraine K. Lee's Unforgettable Presence delivers what every ambitious professional and entrepreneur needs to thrive: a roadmap for building credibility, making an impact, and leaving a lasting impression in every interaction.
—Jason Feifereditor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine
Setting yourself apart from everyone else is easier said than done. But Lorraine's insights, lessons, and the information she's gathered in this instructive manual will help anyone thrive in corporate America, entrepreneurship, and beyond.
—Angel Au‐Yeungreporter at the Wall Street Journal and co‐author of Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley
Lorraine Lee's Unforgettable Presence is the confidence boost every professional needs. A must‐read for anyone ready to make their mark in the professional world.
—Vanessa Van Edwardsfounder of ScienceofPeople.com and best‐selling author
In today's fast‐evolving workplace, individuals and teams alike can benefit from the confidence and communication strategies in Unforgettable Presence. Lorraine Lee's tactical advice empowers leaders to help their teams stand out and succeed.
—Robert GlazerWall Street Journal and USA Today best‐selling author of Elevate Your Team & Friday Forward
I struggled to find and own my presence in my career. Lorraine provides a valuable roadmap on how to be simply unforgettable.
—Mita MallickWall Street Journal and USA Today best‐selling author of Reimagine Inclusion
So much about the world of work comes down to how you show up and the impression you leave on others. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, Lorraine Lee has filled this book with the tools you need to stand out, make a difference and get ahead.
—Andrew SeamanLinkedIn's editor for jobs and career development
Profound. Resonant. Transformational. A gift every mentor should offer those in their professional care.
—H Walkervice president and human centered strategies officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of America
LORRAINE K. LEE
Unforgettable Presence
Get Seen, Gain Influence, and Catapult Your Career
Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762‐2974, outside the United States at (317) 572‐3993 or fax (317) 572‐4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data is Available:
ISBN: 9781394281725 (cloth)
ISBN: 9781394281732 (ePub)
ISBN: 9781394281749 (ePDF)
Cover design: Wiley
Cover image(s): © Chandan/Adobe Stock
Author Photo: © Sonia Holstein
For all of my family, mentors, and collaborators.
Introduction
What Does It Mean to Be Unforgettable?
I still remember how ecstatic I was when I got my first promotion, moving from “associate editor” to “news editor” at LinkedIn after only a year. It came as a surprise, but I wasn't complaining!
Of course, being the ambitious professional that I am, it wasn't long before I started thinking about how I could reach the next level.
I would work very hard for the next five years—I even moved to Hong Kong for a year to help launch one of the company's most important products to date. Despite working on big initiatives like these and always getting positive feedback from my peers, reaching that next level didn't happen for me.
I loved my job at LinkedIn and learned a ton while I was there, but something wasn't working for me, and I couldn't figure out what it was.
I did what I was told, I did it quickly, and I did it well. My peers liked me, and I worked on key projects. What was missing?
After much reflection, I had realized that my heads‐down, say‐yes‐to‐anything and deferential approach was the problem.
After six years at LinkedIn, I was presented with a new and exciting challenge at the presentation platform Prezi that would allow me to fulfill my dream of becoming a manager and build an editorial team from the ground up.
This time, I knew I wanted to approach my career differently.
It would take a new set of skills—and a major mindset shift—to start moving toward the goals I wanted for myself: more visibility, more strategic projects, and to be seen as a leader.
At Prezi, I got to work with extraordinary speakers and business leaders, learning from people whose whole career was based on their presence. I consulted widely and started to seek out sponsors and mentors. I studied “executive presence” and thought about what distinguished leaders from overlooked hard workers.
Just like at LinkedIn, I got promoted after one year. Except this time, it wasn't a surprise. I had intentionally worked my way up to becoming a director, and just as importantly, I felt like I belonged in the role.
I continued to make it my mission to be more intentional about my career growth: to ask the specific questions that would tell me exactly what decision‐makers were looking for at the next level, to ask for the promotion (you may think your managers know you want it—they don't), and to work smarter after learning where I missed the mark in my previous role.
I called this new mindset “becoming the CEO of my own career.” I knew that I couldn't just sit back and let my hard work do the talking. I had to be intentional, and I had to have a plan.
▪ ▪ ▪
If you think someone has “presence,” what qualities come to mind?
You might think they seem confident and self‐assured; perhaps their poise drew you in or they had a warmth they exuded when they spoke.
While all these things can certainly define presence—and we'll discuss these qualities in the book—when it comes to a professional context, presence has come to mean so much more.
It's about how someone communicates, how they build relationships, and how they share feedback. It's about their reputation and how they advocate for themselves. And now, it's also about how we show up virtually on video calls (and whatever future technology becomes the next big thing), on platforms like LinkedIn, and what people say about us when we're not in the room. With so many different working environments (in‐person, hybrid, and remote) and people more distracted than they've ever been, learning how to be seen and gain influence has never been more important for one's career.
Along the way I've discovered something about presence that I think others have missed—that it's about both how and where you're seen.
The majority of my career had been focused on the “how”—it was the traditional definition of presence, which included traits like how confident I appeared presenting in a room full of people and my overall reputation as a hard worker.
But as time went on and the world underwent a huge shift to virtual, there was something beyond the “how” that I realized was equally as important: the “where.” This got only more pronounced during and after the pandemic, where I couldn't rely on in‐person interactions to create an impression and build my reputation and brand. Instead, the most frequent and important touchpoints and interactions with my peers were moments when we weren't face‐to‐face.
That's continued to be the case for many of us. Without the metaphorical water cooler, how we show up in Slack or Teams channels (and even which channels we're in) has become how we create a presence among our peers. Without someone's desk to stop at, the way you show up in online meetings becomes extra important. LinkedIn has become our virtual water cooler and the ultimate virtual office. Even your email signature and profile photo on your video calls contribute to your professional presence.
I won't pretend that creating a strong presence will happen overnight, but it's certainly doable and something that can be learned. Some themes emerge: preparation, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail. Leveraging technology and connecting as humans. Each one on its own doesn't sound like a game‐changer, but when you combine them all and add in a few special ingredients (like intentionality and mindset), your professional presence becomes one of your most important assets to catapulting your career and standing out in today's workplace.
▪ ▪ ▪
The goal of this book is to be a “how to” for anyone who wants to create an unforgettable presence—whether you're in‐person, hybrid, or virtual. If you're reading this, you're someone who's ambitious and works hard but may be getting overlooked and struggling to get recognized for the smart and brilliant leader you are and know you can be. My hope is to share the career lessons that have built my presence across key areas like communication, public speaking, and self‐advocacy so you can build on what you're currently doing—and create an unforgettable presence that will help you reach the next level in your career faster, smarter, and with fewer roadblocks.
We'll cover four key sections that will help you strategically build your presence: setting a strong foundation, key skills for the modern workplace, how to approach career advancement, and what's needed to be an unforgettable leader and manager.
If you follow my work or have seen me speak, you know I'm all about tangible, actionable tips, and this book is no different. It focuses on hands‐on tactics that I've tested myself and shared with millions of professionals.
While this book will have valuable insights and advice for professionals at any level, developing leaders will likely find the most value (after all, I've been in your shoes). Many of you are figuring out how to reach that next level while also training the next generation on how to succeed.
I hope this serves as an important resource for experienced leaders as well. You're tasked with training and retaining your top talent; to do that, you need to provide support and growth opportunities for your teams. A LinkedIn Learning report1 shared that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development. My hope is for you to share this as a resource for your teams to inspire, motivate, and coach them on these essential workplace skills that many of us don't get taught (and I'm confident you'll pick up a new skill or best practice you can use, too!).
I'll also spend time speaking to the unique challenges that people from marginalized groups face in developing their presence. For a long time, the characteristics of success closely mirrored the competencies of a certain persona—Eurocentric, male, loud, and brimming with unbridled confidence (even if it was not always warranted).
Thankfully this is changing (you'll find some fascinating data on how in these pages), but the playbook for how women, introverts, and other underrepresented groups thrive is still being written. I know that sometimes people like us are stepping into a world that was not built for our experiences or that feels unfamiliar (and even unwelcoming). While this can be unintentional, the impacts are real and significant. Being part of an underrepresented group brings its own challenges and those have to be addressed—whether you're part of one of those groups or not—if people are going to feel comfortable stepping up and speaking freely. That's why you'll find advice from a broad range of voices in this book, in addition to my own experiences as an Asian American woman.
And while I've shared my insights on presence with millions of professionals through my work with Fortune 500 companies, my one‐on‐one executive coaching, my LinkedIn Learning courses, and my LinkedIn audience—I believe my voice isn't the only one you should hear.
That's why I've interviewed dozens of business leaders, content creators, and experts in their craft for this book: people like bestselling authors Daniel Pink (who has five New York Times bestsellers to his name, including Drive) and Kim Scott (author of Radical Candor, Radical Respect, and cofounder of Radical Candor LLC). These experts come from a broad range of industries and backgrounds: from comedians and content creators to C‐suite executives at some of the world's largest companies. Each one is a master of the different skills I'll discuss, and each shares their valuable experiences. What they all have in common is a presence and expertise that have made them stand out in their field.
You'll find more than 140 of their insights and tips sprinkled throughout the book to help you on your journey to creating your own unforgettable presence.
▪ ▪ ▪
Stepping into the spotlight—deciding to be intentional and thoughtful about your presence and opening yourself up to the judgment of others—can be intimidating, so I commend you for taking that leap! I'll be here with you every step of the way.
I'd love to know how you apply what you read here and any thoughts you want to share on the book. Please drop me a message ([email protected]) or follow me on LinkedIn. Your feedback is invaluable, and I can't wait to hear about the progress I know you'll see when you incorporate what you learn in this book.
Note
1.
“Benefits of online employee training.” LinkedIn Learning.
https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/career-development/online-employee-training-benefits#:~:text=The%20number%20one%20reason%20employees,in%20their%20learning%20and%20development
.
Part IBuilding Your Foundation
Chapter 1Crafting Your Career Brand
Before we dive into the tactical career advice and frameworks, it's important that we're first thinking smartly about our careers.
To do that, we need to talk about a phrase that makes many people cringe: “personal brand.”
I understand why people don't like it. It can feel self‐promotional, and like you're putting on a fake persona. It might seem like it’s only something for social media influencers or someone trying to sell something. Clients have told me that they believe a personal brand is something reserved for people who are shameless about marketing themselves.
Here's the thing: what if I told you that you already have a personal brand?
In fact, we all do. Your brand is your reputation and what others say about you when your name comes up in conversation. It's the adjectives and accomplishments they associate with you when deciding whether to put you up for promotion. It's whether they even know you exist.
Your brand is your story, the quick summary of what you offer other people. It tells people how you can help them and why they should want to work with you. It tells your colleagues what they can depend on you for and what makes you unique.
Being thoughtful about your brand is not about being self‐centered. It's not a way for you to trick people or make you sound more important than you are. It's a shorthand for other people to understand how you can help them and what makes you uniquely you.
Your personal brand can also be thought of as your career brand: it's your reputation at work. It helps people quickly understand the value that you offer and what it's like to work with you. It shapes important decisions like whether you should be part of a key project, how to share important feedback with you, or even who gets that promotion.
“Everything I do can impact my broader image: from a single line in an Instagram post to running into fans at my local dive bar,” says Natalie Marshall, the content creator and advisor better known as Corporate Natalie. “I do feel like every move I make has the power to alter my public image, and how I carry myself is vital.”
Developing an intentional career brand helps you influence what people say about you when you're not there. As the saying goes, “Your reputation precedes you.”
You can choose two paths: take the time to craft your brand and control your story or leave it to chance and let others do it for you.
Not convinced that your career brand is that important? Let me share a story about how my reputation created visibility and opportunity for me.
▪ ▪ ▪
I had been packing for an international trip when I heard the ping go off. The LinkedIn News team was getting ready to launch its first‐ever Top Companies feature, and the team was under a tight deadline—with a ton of work still to be done thanks to a finicky new website platform.
The project lead was asked by his boss to choose someone to help him bring the project to the finish line. The person he chose? Me. I wasn't anywhere near the most experienced nor the most convenient (I was the youngest person on the team and would have to fly cross‐country to New York), but my reputation as someone who could be depended on had spoken for itself. I quickly packed a separate suitcase ready to take on the challenge.
I landed in New York, and we quickly got to work uploading text and photos, copyediting, and tackling whatever last‐minute fire drills popped up. I worked late into the evenings and was back in the office before the sun rose. Thankfully, we got it done.
On the day of the launch, munching on celebratory snacks, I reflected on what got me there. It was my brand, even though I hadn't recognized it at the time. People knew me as someone who was prepared, reliable, and calm under pressure.
This illustrates what Daniel Pink, author of five New York Times bestsellers, shared with me about how important simply doing good work is for building your brand. “I think the best way to build your own brand is just to do really, really good work all the time. I think that that is 80% of it. I'm not naive enough to think that's all that it is, but I really do think that that is 80% of it.”
For most of you reading this book, you have that 80% locked down. It's that critical and nuanced 20% that can be the most challenging but remains an essential piece to ensuring you're seen as a leader. This is what we'll continue to tackle throughout this book.
The Mindset Shift: How to Become the CEO of Your Own Career
Many of us move through our careers believing certain truths. For example, “I will get promoted after three years because I will have paid my dues,” or “My boss will remember my goals and do everything they can to help me get there.” It's not hard to understand why: as we go through our school years, we're told what to do by authority figures in order to succeed. When we enter the working world, it can be easy to assume that there'd be at least some sort of clear path forward.
In reality, it's more like a roller coaster—full of exciting highs, unexpected drops, and sharp turns that you can't always see coming. While a great manager can certainly be a guiding force (and there is plenty of advice in this book for how managers can support their direct reports), you will ultimately care the most about your own career and be the one most invested in achieving the goals you've set out for yourself. In other words, you must think of yourself as the CEO of your own career.
When you adopt this attitude, you become responsible for your professional development and the opportunities you create for yourself. You set your own vision for your success by setting clear goals, making informed decisions, and advocating for yourself. It all comes down to you—and that should be an exciting feeling!
Here are just a few of the ways you can shift your mindset:
Before: Hard work alone will pay off
.
After: If no one sees my work, it will be like I didn
'
t do it. I need to actively share my accomplishments
.
Before: My network will grow naturally
.
After: I need to make sure I
'
m actively building relationships, not just when I need something
.
Before: Feedback comes during annual reviews
.
After: Feedback should be continuous if I want to grow faster
.
Before: Promotions and raises happen with enough time
.
After: I need to advocate for myself at every opportunity
.
Bringing the outlook of a CEO to my career changed how I interact with people on a day‐to‐day basis. It made me proactive instead of passively letting things happen to me. It made me think more strategically about my career by being more vocal about my goals and intentional with building relationships. I began looking at company metrics and thinking about how my work connected to the bottom line. It boosted my confidence to feel more in control, and it ultimately put me in the driver's seat of my career. It allowed me to take charge of my professional presence.
How to Share Your Accomplishments Without Bragging
Most of us downplay our accomplishments to a fault. Don't get me wrong, humility is a good quality—but it's important to your career advancement, your team, and your company leaders that you learn how to talk about your successes.
If you're feeling uncomfortable vocalizing your work, think about different ways to frame the information by using these strategies:
Share learnings or wins that others can benefit from.
By doing this, you're helping them learn faster and avoid mistakes. At Prezi, I published a weekly newsletter highlighting the work from my team. I'd often have data scientists and engineers I rarely worked with reach out with ideas or resources after reading it.
Present work grounded in data and facts that align with the company
'
s bottom line.
If you've positively impacted a company's bottom line, leadership will want to know. Bring the information to them in an easy‐to‐digest way. No one can argue with cold, hard facts!
Use collaborative language like “we” and “us.”
When you do this, you're seen as more of a leader
1
,
2
(and if you use more “I” language, you're seen as more junior). It's a simple adjustment with powerful results. In that same weekly newsletter, a majority of the newsletter was taken up highlighting my team, with a few updates from myself. I believe a great leader lifts others up, and in the end, their successes are your successes, too.
If you're not sure how to communicate with the right tone, ask someone you trust for feedback. At LinkedIn, I would ask my managers to review emails before I sent them out to make sure I was framing things strategically and in a helpful way. Learning how to share your work is a skill unto itself, so be patient with yourself as you learn it.
How This Shows Up for Underrepresented Groups
For those coming from an underrepresented group, it can be difficult to adopt this mindset shift. For me as an Asian American, my culture is more communal than individualistic and teaches humility and deference to authority. My upbringing, combined with my introverted nature (and my desire to not mess up the opportunity I had working at my dream company), made me nervous to stand out.
Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) advocate Jerry Won knows all about this. He is the founder of World Class Speakers, where he often hears stories similar to mine—and knows how important it is to be visible. “While there may be many anecdotal stories of success from people who kept their head down and got promoted, the data says otherwise,” Jerry shared with me. “The data should be a more credible source of decision‐making evidence than anecdotes. And the data says, according to many studies, that Asian people don't get promoted as much. They leave the system.”
I'm just one example of the deeper cultural barriers that can exist adopting this mindset shift. There are many professionals I've encountered, who are not part of this community, who struggle for different reasons—perhaps they're introverted or they're facing different biases.
One possible solution for those experiencing something similar is to remove the idea that a barrier even exists.
When renowned communications expert Vinh Giang first set out to become a keynote speaker in the United States, he had never heard of the phrase “bamboo ceiling”—a term that describes the challenges and barriers many Asian Americans face in a professional setting. As Vinh was building his speaking career, he was told more than once that he was facing an uphill battle because there were so few faces that looked like his on U.S. stages.
“I had a mentor who said to me, ‘Look, you can choose to believe there's a ceiling, then there will be a ceiling, then now it's hard for you to break through. Or, you can follow the path of what Steve Martin says, ‘I don't care what your background is; just be so good they can't ignore you.’”
We've seen from Vinh and Pink that great work is essential. What's equally essential is that next step: making sure others are aware of that great work.
How One CEO Turned Her Differences into an Asset
As an Asian female CEO (for tech company Webflow), Linda Tong has walked into a lot of rooms where she stuck out. But her approach to this offers a lot of insights.
Being an Asian female comes with disadvantages. There are things that I'm sure I have had to overcome. But on the flip side, it actually comes with advantages.
For me, it's all about mindset. It's thinking about where I can leverage both my strengths and weaknesses and my advantages and disadvantages to ultimately drive impact in the organization.
I've never looked at my race or gender as this thing that's been holding me back.
I think that mindset is debilitating. It just holds me back more than anything else. Being the only female Asian in the room in many situations also comes with a flip side, right?
How can I use this to my advantage? I used to work for the National Football League (NFL), and the first thing that people wondered about me was, “Does she actually like football?” I don't look like the typical football fan. So showing up as a superfan, demonstrating passion and excellence, it not only made me stand out even more, but I had a platform because I was the only one of my kind in the room.
By being able to really understand the environment I was in and figuring out where I can leverage these points where I'm standing out, it gave me a bigger platform to demonstrate where I can add value.
I took those moments where it could have been, “Oh, I don't fit in this room and I'm going to shrink to the back,” and I spread my wings and really screamed and shouted.
The EPIC Career Brand
So how do you take charge of your career? You create an EPIC career brand.
Describing your brand can easily feel vague or unclear—the last thing you want is to use lots of buzzwords that don't mean anything. To make it powerful and easy to understand, your brand needs four crucial elements:
E
xperiences
P
ersonality
I
dentity
C
ommunity
The EPIC Framework is a simple way to curate how you want to present yourself and be remembered. Think of them as the essential ingredients in your brand recipe. Let's go through each element.
Experiences: This is information about your professional journey, and any life events that have influenced you. While you might have the same skills as someone else, your experiences are what make your story memorable and unique.
Personality: Your brand is not only about what you do but how you do it. These are the personality traits, soft skills, and special qualities that define who you are.
Identity: This is about your values, what you stand for, and your cultural background. Telling people about what you value helps them predict how you'll behave in just about any situation. Your values tell people how you'll show up every day.
Community: Ever heard the phrase “Perception is reality?” Your brand will depend on making sure your network sees you the way you want to be seen. How do your colleagues and former managers describe you? How do your peers perceive you on LinkedIn? We are all part of a community, and what these people say about us often carries more weight than what we say about ourselves.
This framework can give some shape to what you want to share.
Activity: Take a moment and write down two or three things for each part of the EPIC Framework that apply to you. Do you think others see you the way you want to be seen? Do they feel like important things that people should know about you? If you're having trouble, don't worry! This is the perfect time to connect with a few trusted colleagues to get a pulse on what your reputation currently is and whether it matches up to your ideal career brand.
Apply Your Career Brand in Four Steps
Once you understand the fundamental parts of what goes into your career brand, it's time to dig in a bit deeper. Building and evolving your career brand is something you should do throughout your working life. If that seems overwhelming, the important thing is to start small and build your brand over time.
