I Give You Credit

Do you have trouble taking credit for things, even though you, and the people around you, know that you deserve it? Do you have trouble with self-promotion because it feels cheesy or inauthentic? If you do, you’re not alone. It’s actually quite common.

But is it a problem?

One could argue that hesitation about taking credit or about self-promotion is probably grounded in a deep sense of humility or in selflessness. These are positive traits, right? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if more people were humble and selfless? No argument here.

The things become a problem only when the person sees them as a problem. In other words, does the humble and selfless person believe these traits are costing them opportunities for personal and professional growth? Does the person believe their overall happiness and satisfaction are suffering, either directly or indirectly, as a result? If so, then we have a problem.

Unfortunately, a lot of people experience this problem and they don’t do anything about it. They may recognize how their personal values and beliefs are contributing to the situation, but instead of making a change, they simply blame the system. They point out the ways the system punishes people who are unwilling to claim the spotlight or to sing their own praises. The system becomes the enemy. A convenient enemy at that. Who can argue with the side of virtue? I mean, we’re talking about humility and selflessness here. Those are pretty company. 

Unfortunately, blaming the system doesn’t do much in the way of making progress. It simply gives us an excuse to stop trying. This is the very definition of Life By Default. 

The default is never the only option.

We always have the option to reframe things in a more beneficial way.

Such was the case with “Amy”, a recent client of mine. She believed that her unwillingness to self-promote and to publicly take credit was costing her opportunities at work. 

The first thing we needed to do was to identify why this was a problem. It may seem obvious at first. Nobody likes missing opportunities. But remember, Amy’s core traits are humility and selflessness, which don’t necessarily require taking every single opportunity that comes along. Amy was able to recognize that by missing opportunities, it was limiting her ability to have a positive impact on the organization. She was able to connect it directly to her goals in a way that was totally authentic.

Step one, complete.

Next we had to boil things down to her essential motivations. In her case, that was a deep desire to help other people to succeed. Once we got down to the essential ingredients, we were able to build up from there. We were able to design an action plan that would be grounded in Amy’s essential motivations, but still advance her cause, professionally. She needed a new story. One that accomplished both objectives.

We talked about Magic Johnson. Even if you’re not a basketball fan, you likely know Magic Johnson. Magic was basketball in the 1980s. His battles with Larry Bird were epic. He was an amazing player, capable of taking over any game at any time. But the thing that Magic was most known for was his passing. He had a knack for getting the ball into the hands of his teammates so they could score. It became his defining trait. It became his brand. 

Amy’s approach to her job is very much like Magic Johnson’s. 

Amy discovered that she would prefer to make an assist to making a basket of her own.

Why not tell that story? Sure, people probably already sense that about Amy, but why not invest a little time and energy to make sure they do? Why not help people associate “Amy” with “Assist?”

Amy’s work shifted from finding ways to take credit for individual successes to shaping her image as someone who would rather help her teammates score than score herself. By shifting the objective, Amy was able to come up with lots of different ideas how to work this into her day-to-day life. The best part, she was able to do it in a way that felt natural to her and didn’t compromise her essential values.

Do you have a positive, essential quality that is limiting you?

Don’t accept the default.

Design a new framework.

Prosperous Journey,

-zog

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Photocredit:  https://unsplash.com/@abhishek_archie