You’ve recognized something you’re good at and practiced (hopefully) receiving praise for it in general, and now it’s time to test your ability to advocate for yourself. That thing you identified in the easy challenge? Yep, you’re going to tell someone, once a week for an entire month, that you’re good at it. Here’s why: throughout the course of your career, you’ll probably run into moments where a project or opportunity arises, and the only way you can be involved is to raise your hand and say, “Hey, I’m actually really good at spreadsheets/speeches/business plans/whatever, and I’d like to be a part of this work.” Don’t sit there waiting for someone to notice, because even if you do excellent work, people are busy and distracted and thinking about their own needs.
Or think of this exercise as dropping seeds that could later blossom into something fruitful. Once I became a manager, I realized how often I relied on offhand statements people had previously given me regarding what they liked to do or wanted to work on, which absolutely popped up in my brain down the road when I was thinking about how best to delegate a project or give someone a chance. For example, if a person on my team mentioned her strategic mind-set regarding communication plans, you can bet the next time I needed someone to come up with a strategic communication plan, that’s who I’d reach out to.
Over the span of the next month, tell four different people what you’re good at, your strengths and experiences. This doesn’t need to be a formal endeavor; think of it like four opportunities to answer the question “Tell me about yourself.” Is there a time when you really pushed yourself outside of your comfort zone and you consequently learned to be resilient in the face of uncertainty? Cool—that might mean you cope well with change. Are you passionate about playing chess? Great—that’s really an indicator of your ability to think ahead and build processes. To bypass a feeling of bragging, focus on how the thing you can do well translates to a useful skill or trait that benefits others, and let the people you’re telling know that you’re practicing how to communicate your strengths.