The Truth About Sucking Up: How Authentic Self-Promotion Benefits You and Your Organization

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KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE

To be effective at self-promotion, you must be well received. If your boss or superiors interpret your self-promotion as bluster or a poor attempt to gain favor, you will be seen as silly, annoying, or worse. If your peers or group members sense that you are more interested in being in the spotlight than in doing the work, you will weaken those relationships.

Different people respond positively to different behaviors. What might be appreciated by one boss may be viewed as too much information by another. We all have different talents, personalities, needs, and responsibilities that make us who we are as leaders and affect the lens through which we view others.

To increase your effectiveness at self-promotion, you need ...