“I hate LinkedIn,” my friend said. “I feel like I’m just blatantly tooting my own horn. ‘Hey, look how great I am!’”
“I know what you mean,” I said. “I might as well write, ‘I’m hard-working, smart, resourceful, ambitious, and of course, humble.’”
I still remember the conversation my friend Emily and I had a few years ago. We were working on our LinkedIn profiles and had agreed to review each other’s pages and offer constructive criticism, but it had proved much more difficult than we had anticipated — not the part about giving feedback; the part about listing our respective skills and accomplishments without sounding like braggarts.
It’s not easy to do.
If you’re like me and Emily, tooting your own horn just doesn’t feel right. It feels awkward, forced, and even unnatural. As kids, we’re taught not to brag — it’s right up there with tattling. But there are times when you need to step out of your comfort zone and showcase the achievements you’re most proud of, whether they are personal feats or group efforts.
Because if you don’t, they might go unnoticed. And in today’s competitive environment, that simply can’t happen.
In a recent interview, Charlotte Wray, chief clinical and information officer at EMH Healthcare, talked about the work her organization is doing to shine a light on recent successes such as earning Stage 6 recognition.
“I think traditionally in organizations, IT has been underappreciated, and EMH has done a good job of trying to make our new group of IT professionals and our multidisciplinary professionals feel valued. We’ve celebrated those successes,” she said, noting that the organization’s president and board of directors make it a point to participate in recognition events to make sure the staff understands the significance of these accomplishments.
And it doesn’t stop there.
In addition to posting news items on the organization’s website and handing out Stage 6 pins, EMH also secured coverage from local TV stations and newspapers to help educate the community about the work it’s doing. “They need to know that we care enough to invest the resources to demonstrate Meaningful Use, demonstrate Stage 6, and be a recognized hospital as far as quality and clinical care go as well,” said Wray. “It’s a little hospital, but we do a lot of great things here. I’m really proud of what we do.”
Wray believes it’s critical to publicize her team’s successes, because she sees it as a validation of the hard work they’ve done. It’s not boasting; it’s positive messaging.
And while some worry that it might create animosity between departments, it’s really no different than advertising Magnet Recognition — these types of achievements should be celebrated and shouted from the rooftop. If anything, it might even help fuel some healthy competition within an organization that could lead to more awards.
And even if it does come off like boasting, is that such a terrible thing? For far too long, IT successes have been overlooked. But today’s leaders have an opportunity to buck that trend and give IT departments the recognition they deserve, and maybe even throw a party.
Just don’t serve humble pie.
[For more information on this topic, register for healthsystemCIO.com’s upcoming webinar, ‘Internal CIO Marketing For Future Departmental Success,’ featuring CIOs Ed Marx of Texas Health Resources and Thomas Bartiromo of Barnabas Health.]
Share Your Thoughts
You must be logged in to post a comment.