How To B.R.A.G.: A 4-Step Method for Success

How to B.R.A.G. is a career success method designed to Build, Recognize, Articulate and show Gratitude

“In order to navigate through your career with success, you have to get good at articulating who you are, what you need, your skills and ultimately what you bring to the table.”

– Denita Guthery

Build meaningful relationships

For me, it was a little difficult building meaningful relationships, especially early in my career. I was so intimidated by rank it wasn’t funny! I think Basic Training scarred me and permanently had me on high alert anytime I saw “brass”. Whenever I directly interacted with leadership, I would get super nervous. This caused me to not show up as my authentic self.

Myself and others would literally turn and walk in the opposite direction when we saw leadership coming down the hall. I came to understand that they’re people just like we are and they would much prefer us to be ourselves instead of being super anxious around them.

When we’re not our confident selves, it’s harder for leadership to get to know who we truly are and what our goals are. You don’t want to just be another face. Early in my career I remember people saying “get some facetime with the boss”, and I used to think of it as “brown nosing” or being fake. I want you to be true to yourself but it is also important to know the value of relationships and make the best of them for your professional advancement.

Tip: Figure out commonalities and try to stay there as much as possible and focus on their strengths instead of focusing on the negatives. You never know what relationship or connection will link you to someone or something that can help you get to the next level.

Recogize your strengths and weaknesses

As an Airman, I observed two main qualities about the majority of the people receiving attention and mentoring. They spoke up more and were vocal about what they wanted/needed. No surprise there, right? A strength of mine was being willing to volunteer for all kinds of activities; a weakness was that I hadn’t figured out how to let my leadership know what I was doing, “boss talk”, as my husband calls it. This means to talk about your accomplishments and bring attention to yourself so leadership knows what you are about and how much value you bring to the organization. I always felt like it was “bragging” and I wanted my work to speak for itself. In actuality, it is absolutely necessary to know how to market ourselves. When we do this, those in the position to help know the potential you have and feel good about their decision to mentor you. It’s essential to the B.R.A.G. method to recognize & develop strengths and weaknesses to capitalize on strengths while getting more proficient in weaker areas.

Tip: Know what you know and talk about it often (past successes etc). Figure out what you don’t know and ask questions often.

Articulate and ask for what you need with confidence 

Guess what? You don’t have to know it all already. I know that might be a obvious, but many of us approach being a beginner or new to a job, as a personal failure when we don’t catch on or figure things out quickly. Please do not beat yourself up! Put your pride (or shame) to the side and ask for help! And when there are official avenues in place i.e. feedbacks, where you can request time with your supervisor, please do not allow these times to be wasted. Hold your supervisor accountable to what they are supposed to do/say they will do. My boss said we would have monthly check-ins for me to voice concerns, ask for help, and get feedback. It ended up falling off and I let it slide without holding them accountable. Not only did this hurt me in the long run, this took away an opportunity for my supervisor to get to know me and make sure I was on track. Don’t be nervous or afraid of constructive criticism either, because this will help you grow.

I felt like I was getting out of one more meeting, giving me more freedom and autonomy, but in the end, having open communication and a regular avenue to get constructive feedback was far more valuable than I gave it credit for.

Tip: Don’t suffer in silence trying to figure it out. Lots of people love to help and are just waiting on you to open your mouth.

Gratitude towards those who help you and write it down daily 

Please do not skip this part! When you look back at this portion of your journal/planner, or wherever you decide to record it, you will be so thankful that you kept track of these moments. Being in a grateful state of mind attracts more good energy and more of the opportunities you want. Additionally, when you focus on the good that is going on instead of every single negative thing that is happening, it shifts your perspective and helps you to see that there is something to be thankful for. You start to see the positive things that have happened and that can help take you out of the “whoa is me” mindset. 

Tip: Always look at the positives of a situation or person first. Notice how doing so can shift your whole mindset and mood!

Parting thoughts

Take it from me. Over the years I have learned a few things. Thankless work is just that, thankless. When you work behind the scenes you sometimes get left behind and unseen!

You must advocate for yourself because not many people will. You must B.R.A.G. (B-Build relationships; R-Recognize strengths and weaknesses; A- Articulate your needs; and G-show Gratitude). This career success method is how people will know who you are, what you are doing, and how they can help you.

I used to believe that my hard work would be recognized and rewarded. This hard work consisted of staying late and going above and beyond on my duties, but a lot of times, no awards were written unless I initiated AND wrote them. I was reminded several times, no one cares more about your career than you. So, if you want something, you have to make it happen!

Let’s continue learning how to do that more effectively by incorporating this method into our career building practice.

Would you like to dive deeper? Check out my FREE BRAG Guide, now available for download!