The title of an article in Psychology Today caught my attention: Two of the dirtiest words in business: self promotion and introversion, written by Nancy Ancowitz, a business communication coach.
After reading the article, I realized the headline writer for Psychology Today missed the mark. Being a life-long businessman, I can tell you that self promotion is not a dirty word in business and neither is introversion. However, as a fee-only financial planner who’s worked extensively with psychologists and therapists for the past five years, I can tell you that self-promotion is a dirty word in the mental health field.
However, the message of this article isn’t about the inherent differences of how the business and mental health communities view self-promotion. It’s based on Ancowitz’s book Self-Promotion for Introverts that gives tips and ideas to introverts on how to promote themselves without coming off sounding aggressive, narcissistic, and disingenuous.
With that focus in mind, the article is a good read and I would guess the book is even better.
