This is for anyone in a leadership position at a rapid growth start up who has folded to the notion that self promotion is a necessary evil.
It’s not. It’s counter productive.
Here’s a sentiment I hear on a regular basis.
“My success in this business often comes down to one skill. I surpass my competition because, on a daily basis, I show a positive face to the people in power. My colleagues, who sometimes work twice as hard, consistently fall behind because they do not do this.”
The general sentiment is: game the “positive face-time bias”. Spend your time selling yourself. Do it now. Do it often…
Can you relate?
This may be how you came to your current role, but it does not have to be what you look for in others.
I think a deeper understand if this “positive face time bias” is an issue that needs addressing. In my view, beers, lunch, office strolling, and friendship is not an effective way of tracking talent.
At large, I see the issue as - seeding a culture of self promotion births a competitive mistrusting un-collaborative work environment. It is expensive and toxic.
The solution is quite simple. Know when you are being “faced” and call it out. Get smart to those around you who understand “face time bias” and tell them it’s not something you value.
It’s not the job of your reports to tell you why they are worth promoting on a daily basis. As a people manager or leader, it is your job to be present and figure this out. This means you must gain a deep understanding of the tools, the effort, learnings and teachings without being disruptive.
Unfortunately, in a self promoting culture, 1:1 Feedback is not a sufficient mechanism for tracking team work. It’s a conflict of interest. There is a bigger issue to solve before feedback comes into play.
The first step to solving this issue of self promotion is to start thinking more about embracing teams. Team success. Team work. Team goals. Team boundaries. Team promotion.
Find individuals who consistently work with thriving teams. Understand that these people are your biggest asset. They are more valuable than your technical heroes.
Team work is priceless. Openly promote teams. Openly promote team workers.
Choose to promote a team working mindset because it encompasses learning and delivery, and it scales.