Resources: Newsletters

Be Your Own Marketing Department

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I’ve just finished reading “How Women Rise” (Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith, 2018) and could fill a whole year’s worth of newsletters just from this book – well worth a read. They describe 12 habits that hold women back and although it’s not a one-size-fits-all, it was scary how many of them rang true for me and what I’ve heard from other women. The one which felt particularly pertinent was “Habit 2: Expecting Others to Spontaneously Notice and Reward your Contributions”. Drawing attention to your achievements can feel uncomfortable to do, usually for two reasons: one, we don’t want to seem arrogant or full of ourselves; two, an inherent belief that great work should speak for itself: if I’m doing a good enough job, then people should notice – I shouldn’t have to tell them.

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However, there’s a reason why great companies have marketing departments – the likes of Apple didn’t just assume that customers would automatically know how great their products were, they went out and told people. You need to be your own marketing department; no-one else is going to do it for you.

Highlighting the great work you’re doing in an authentic and meaningful way doesn’t have to be awkward or cringy, instead it can be empowering and help you achieve the recognition you deserve.

Here are 3 actions you can take to start becoming your own marketing department:

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• Next time you do a great piece of work, or are proud of an outcome you’ve achieved, let your boss know. What’s the harm in sending an email outlining what you’ve achieved, framing it around both your achievement and how it reflects well on her/him and the wider team?

• Spend some time articulating where you want your job to take you so you can give a concise response in work scenarios i.e. create your own “elevator pitch”. This should be 3 clear sentences describing your present job, what your goal is and why you feel you’d be successful. Make it authentic and it doesn’t have to be cringy!

• In your 1:1s instead of just focusing on the tasks outstanding, make sure you spend time highlighting the successes you’ve had and what the impact has been. Make this a habit in both the 1:1s you have with your manager, and encouraging members of your team to do the same to you.

In light of the above, I am going to take some of my own (well, Helgesen and Goldsmith’s) advice! I’m really proud to have set this network up: we have almost 100 members from around the world, comprising of women in a broad spectrum of roles and healthcare sectors from charities to management consultancies to NHS. My vision is for it to grow, as the more people who join, the more engaging and supportive it will become. However, I need your help!

• If you’re enjoying being part of the network, could you please send one of these emails (or the link to the website www.womenleadersinhealth.co.uk) on to 3 other women you know who would find it valuable, recommending they join?

• I wanted to highlight the Spotlight series video I recorded with Becky from Coaching Partners providing advice and tips on how to return or pivot career and manage work/life balance – please watch and recommend! https://youtu.be/g8T4n8rOxXQ?t=3

• If you feel comfortable to, I’ve sent everyone an invitation to join a private LinkedIn group for network members only, please accept so we can create a more informal space for chat and communication (let me know if you can’t see the invite and I can resent).

There, I did it – thank you!