Mastering Self-Advocacy for Introverts at Work

Hello, and welcome to the travelling introvert. Welcome back. And today, I want to talk about how to advocate for yourself at work. A lot a lot of the time I spend my time talking to organizations and extroverts and telling them the things that they can do to change and make things more accessible for introverts in the workplace or just anyone in general. But today, I want to talk to the introverts. And whether it's you looking for promotion, seeking recognition for your work, or wanting to ensure your voice is heard, self advocacy is key. And so I wanna talk about some practical strategies that might help you shine in the workplace. So self advocacy in the workplace involves expressing your needs and achievements confidently to ensure that your contributions are recognized or to get the things that you need to help yourself work better.

It's not about boasting but it is about communicating your value effectively. And one of the ways that I work with my clients on this is we have the the success visibility portfolio where they kind of go through every week and they take a look at what they've done and write it down and notice it and if they have proof that they did it so that maybe they got an email from a client and make sure they put it in there, and then they do a review at the end of the month and, like, write all these things that they've done, and they update their LinkedIn profile. Right? And so it's all one of the things about your self advocacy is maybe imagine you're working on a team project you've contributed success significantly to it is its success but you haven't really spoken up about it and other people have spoken over and people don't necessarily know that you have contributed and what you have contributed. So in this situation, self advocacy will mean speaking up during meetings to highlight your role and the impact of your work. And so part of this for some people can be build on confidence. So know your value, reflect on your strengths and skills and achievements on a weekly basis, keep a journal of your accomplishments, and remind yourself of your worth. Use I statements to express your thoughts and needs. For example, I believe my skills in project management have significantly contributed to our team's success because of x, y, and z.

And seek feedback. Because a lot of the time, our strengths are things that we don't know because they come naturally to us, but other people, it doesn't come naturally to them, and so they see it as a strength or a key point for you. For example, Sarah, whom is a data analyst, felt overlooked in meetings. She started by reminding herself that her expertise and how great she was, and she began sharing her insights bit by bit. She shared them with a friend first and they championed her, and then over time her contributions were recognized and she was invited to lead a project. And part of that is effective communication. It's crucial in self advocacy to be effective in your communication and prepare your message could be something that you do before meetings outline key points that you want to convey this preparation helps you articulate your thoughts confidently. Be concise and specific a lot of the time you might be really excited or go really deep into something that you want to say and go off on a tangent which can be really useful but and it has to be in the right context and time.

So be concise and specific when needed. Clearly state what you need to do and how they align with the organization goals or the team's goals or your boss's goals. Avoid vague language. So, what I've heard from a lot of clients is also that self advocacy can be challenging especially if you're not used to saying what you need for example people will always go and book meetings all over your calendar and really you were just like a two hour segment where you could block it out and no one would put meetings on there so you could get some deep focused work done But speaking up comes with that fear that someone will will say something or that it won't be listened to or that people will ignore it or will judge. But if you don't speak up people aren't going to know what you need and you won't be able to show your best self at work. And remember, this is part of the process. Even if your ideas aren't accepted initially or people sort of walk all over your boundaries initially, as long as you keep setting those boundaries and pushing back, people will understand. And then it will be easier the next time.

You just need to take action and advocate for yourself, set clear goals, create an action plan, celebrate the small wins. All these things help build confidence and means that you will feel better self advocating for yourself because you will see the progress that you make because of it. Advocating for yourself is a journey it's not a destination. By understanding your value and communicating effectively you can ensure your contributions are recognized and your career progresses. Remember, your voice is powerful and deserves to be heard. Thank you for listening. This is Janice at the career introvert helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.