“The Art of Humblebragging” is a recent post from the site, Boredom to Boardroom, that puts a name to the phenomenon we all know so well. Humblebragging. Humblebragging is a method of self-promotion that highlights one’s accomplishments without appearing too egocentric. If it is done right, humblebragging can do wonderful things in the workplace. According to the writer, the best way to humblebrag is to draw attention to others. So, for example, if you are the manager of a team who just finished an awesome project, the best thing to do is not to congratulate yourself on leading the team to a victory, but to give your team praise instead. And if your project had sponsors that made its existence possible, then praise the sponsors as well. By doing this, you are not only making everyone who was involved feel happy and accomplished, but you are also bringing attention to your work as well.
While I was reading this post I couldn’t help but think about those moms that love to humblebrag about their kids. Doesn’t this sound familiar to you??
“Oh, Jackie can’t do a play date this Wednesday. She has a state competition on Saturday…she won last time but it is always good to practice more.”
“Do you want to bring your kids to my house to study Chinese? My Allison is at a fifth-grader’s level. She can help teach Stephanie.”
“Your kid didn’t make the soccer team? You know, that’s a good thing. Now they’ll have so much more time to improve their Chinese! Well, time to shuffle mine off to the game, cya!”
Have you ever heard someone humblebrag? Do you do it? Now that you know about it, will you try it at work?
Steph Musings 