When Is It Okay To 'Toot Your Own Horn' As A Leader?

"As leaders and professionals, when is it okay to 'toot your own horn'?"

Lori, the CEO of a multi-generational family-owned service-based business, shared this question, and it's a great one. 

It's common to focus on what's going wrong.

It's rare (and easy to bypass) what's going well.

Ultimately, I don't think there is one answer to this question, but I do believe this:

The most important person with whom to acknowledge and celebrate your wins is yourself.

There is no one to whom you need to prove anything and your relationship with yourself matters most.

Get a journal and pat yourself on the back daily.

From there, it's up to you: consider joining a community of other business owners where it's encouraged to 'toot your own horn'.

Or, create your own informal board of advisors who are thrilled to hear this type of news.

If you want to share more publicly, do so thoughtfully (beware of the humblebrag and simply own it), remembering that it can also be encouraging for others to see what's possible through you.

Just like any competent leader will acknowledge, affirm, and celebrate their teammates for accomplishments big and small, you deserve that, too. As the leader, there may not be other people to do that on your behalf, so feel free (as with anything, understanding that too much of a good thing can also become a bad thing).

If you err on the side of self-effacement, push yourself to do this more than feels comfortable. If you're more prone to feigned humility or boastfulness, then practice moderation.