Too Self-deprecating

Most of us admire self-deprecating humour.  Cultivating it as our standard wit may actually undermine our career.

The self-deprecating approach requires us to slightly undermine our usual confident face to engage our colleagues in the ups and downs of life.  By using this approach continually, we may actually undermine how our colleagues perceive us and our abilities.  They may gradually believe that we are not indulging in humour but are revealing our real insecurities.

With habitual use of personal irony and understatement, we can talk ourselves into undervaluing our own skills and achievements.  Because there are no pure successes (unaided by others), we may excessively mis-portray our leadership roles, in the mistaken expectation that others will see through our self-deprecating humour to the core role we played.

While no one likes a braggart, we do have to ensure our skills are seen and appreciated if we want to be offered new positions and responsibilities.  Over the next few weeks, mentally review how you are presenting yourself in business situations and analyze how you may be perceived by colleagues and staff.  Keep your sense of humour - just make sure what you say is funny and not undermining yourself.