When you hear the expression “shameless self-promotion,” it probably conjures up visions of someone who draws excess attention to themselves. Going beyond the “humble brag,” in self-promotion people blatantly try to get others to see them as fantastically talented. Self-promotion can also take a more commercial form. Perhaps you work with someone who has a side hustle and is constantly trying to sell you overpriced products you don’t need (you’re all set with socks, thank you very much). Even in group settings, this person seems to have no trouble hawking their goods. The constant drumbeat of hype spills out into their social media feed, which you now can’t stand to follow.
Because you would never engage in this type of behavior, you can’t understand why anyone would. Is it just a lack of modesty or tact, or perhaps some desperate need for attention? New research on self-promotion in entrepreneurs can provide some clues.
Self-Promotion as a Form of Adaptation
According to a new study by HEC Montréal’s Jean-François Harvey (2024), when people engage in self-promotion as an impression management strategy, they run the risk of seeming arrogant. Although effective in some contexts, such as a job interview, self-promotion can actually backfire once you’ve been hired. However, according to Harvey, you might not know whether what you’re doing is over the line or not. Sometimes constantly putting yourself out there could be beneficial, but if the norms are ambiguous, you won’t get feedback either way.
Imagine that you’re in an environment where your only pathway to success is by, without trampling on other people, making sure that your talents are noticed. Harvey suggests that this is exactly what happens to entrepreneurs. They must, in his words, “advocate for themselves and their ventures while navigating uncertainty.” Unlike ordinary job settings, people who work as entrepreneurs should benefit from making positive statements about themselves, their ventures, future plans, and past successes. They need to do this, Harvey proposes, to engage the curiosity of their targets, which, in turn, can provide feedback that guides the interaction as it unfolds. People who are too modest won’t grab the attention of their targets, leaving them without the opportunity for further interaction.
Relying on the theory of Stanford psychologist Alfred Bandura, the HEC Montréal investigator notes that the success of the self-promoter, in these situations, depends on “agentic” or active behavior in the pursuit of goals. An additional layer of theorizing draws on classic work by sociologist Erving Goffman on impression management, or the way that people seek, through feedback, to create a favorable image.
Putting the Self-Promoter Under the Microscope
In an initial study of 574 entrepreneurs followed over a five-week period, Harvey gave participants a series of prompts to trace the “agentic benefits of self-promotion.” Those salespersons higher in self-promotion on items such as “I made employers or stakeholders aware of the potential of my business model” were more effective in adapting their business model because they were willing to experiment with alternate steps toward achieving their goals (“I tried new courses of action for my business”). This only worked, however, for people high in “self-efficacy” or the belief in their own skills (e.g., “Indicate how confident you are in identifying new business opportunities”). You had to believe in yourself to sell yourself, or at least your business model.
However, the study was conducted during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, so this created a serious limitation as far as generalizing to ordinary times. Additionally, although conducted over a series of weeks, it remained a correlational design, limiting any cause-and-effect potential. Harvey therefore shifted to a scenario-based approach in which online participants provided the responses they would make in fictional situations experimentally varying in degree of promotion. An example of a low promotion scenario used terms such as “We’re focused on creating a good business model that taps into a decently sized market.” A high promotion scenario was identical except with the sentence “Our business model … (is) centered on outstanding efficiency.”
Based on the social influence theories that guided the study, Harvey went on to ask targets of these messages not only how high the messages were in self-promotion but also how they would react to each scenario. The findings showed that in the high self-promotion conditions, targets were more likely to provide feedback in the form of suggestions for improvement, consistent with expectations. As predicted by both Bandura and Goffman, Harvey concludes that entrepreneurs are most successful when they strategically encourage engagement and feedback. This feedback, in turn, can build their self-efficacy, further strengthening their ability to pursue their goals.
Turning Entrepreneurship Into Your Own Self-Promotion
Unless you are in business on your own or have that side hustle, this study may seem far removed from your own reality. However, think about times that you’ve needed to draw on your self-promotion skills. Maybe it wasn’t a business model you were pushing forward, but a model of the type of person you are, perhaps when first meeting a relative of your romantic partner. Like all those rom-coms featuring the new love interest of the protagonist, you had to shake the hand of a prospective in-law or just a close cousin. You can probably conjure up quite easily the perils you feared would await you if you blew the opportunity.
The Harvey study suggests two important takeaways that can help you in these and similar real-life situations. Yes, you don’t want to come across as a narcissist, but, no, you don’t want to seem timid and unsure of your self-worth. Erring on the side of a bit more than less self-promotion seems warranted. The second lesson involves feedback. You need to know quickly whether your strategy is working. If you live too much in your own worried head during these interactions, you might fail to pick up on cues about whether you’ve gone too far. Indeed, a positive response from the person you’re meeting could help build your self-efficacy. From there, you’ll only be more effective in managing your impression.
To sum up, not all self-promotion is bad, and sometimes it is necessary. Knowing how to temper yours with the right degree of modesty can help guide you toward more fulfilling interactions.