Council Article: Leadership Interviews: Expressing Your Worth While Preserving Humility

Council Feature: Leader Interviews: Demonstrating Your Worth Without Surrendering Your Modesty

If you've ever felt apprehensive talking about your accomplishments during job interviews, you're not an exception. Numerous professionals, especially those from cultures that value teamwork and humility over personal recognition, often find it uncomfortable to boast about their achievements. However, to secure an executive-level position, it's essential to confidently and clearly communicate your worth.

The strategies provided below were developed after working with alumni from the University of Illinois Gies College of Business, who encountered this exact challenge. Many admitted their reluctance to take credit for their work stemmed from a deep respect for teamwork and humility. I showed them how to develop authentic narratives that highlighted their contributions while still maintaining their values.

This article expands on that work, offering six practical suggestions to help you effectively communicate your value during job interviews while preserving humility.

1. Balance 'I' and 'We' Statements

In your narratives, balance 'I' with 'we' statements. Utilize 'I' to highlight your unique leadership contributions and 'we' to explain how a project was accomplished successfully.

During a job interview preparation session I conducted with a client, a senior executive at a multi-billion-dollar tech firm, she downplayed her leadership role repeatedly. She failed to explain her role in conducting analysis, creating business cases and presenting to executives to secure funding for landmark products. By jumping straight to the team's results, she neglected the significant leadership steps she took, such as providing data and persuasive arguments to procure resources.

Additionally, do not neglect the challenges you faced as a leader while guiding good work forward. Share how you made tough decisions under pressure, adjusted strategies, or managed conflict to achieve your goals.

2. Reframe Self-Promotion as Team Advocacy

To promote your career victories honestly, treat self-promotion as advocating for your team's success. This shift in focus from individual accolades to emphasizing the outcomes achieved collectively.

Instead of stating, "I led a project that saved the company $2 million," consider framing it as, "My team and I developed and implemented a strategy that reduced costs by $2 million, enabling the company to reinvest in other priorities."

This narrative highlights your leadership while also emphasizing collaboration. It also shows you as someone who shines a light on others, a trait that resonates with interviewers.

3. Use Concrete Data to Quantify Your Impact

Numbers provide a foundation for your narrative by grounding it in facts while avoiding exaggeration. Instead of saying, "I improved team efficiency," try describing a measurable outcome, like, "I introduced and streamlined workflows that reduced headcount by 10% and accelerated project completions by 20%." These tangible metrics emphasize impactful results and team achievements with clear before-and-after contrasts.

Ask yourself: What was the challenge? What steps did you take to solve the problem? What improved because of your leadership? These questions will help you identify your essential contributions without sounding self-promotional.

4. Allow Others to Speak on Your Behalf

Leverage feedback or approvals from colleagues, leaders, or clients to tell your story. Highlight praises or results shared by team members, top executives, or clients. This third-party validation adds credibility to your achievements.

For example, you might say:"Our chief operating officer described my approach as strategic and collaborative, which played a vital role in helping my team deliver on this initiative and led to my last promotion."

Sharing testimonials balances professionalism and humility, as the recognition comes from others. Incorporate this into your narrative, particularly if you have received public recollections, such as being quoted in a leadership memo or mentioned in a company newsletter.

5. Celebrate Awards and Milestones

Frame awards or achievements as part of a larger team success story, stressing their bigger impact within the organization. For example: "Our team earned an achievement award – given to only 1% of employees globally – for delivering a critical product ahead of schedule despite significant obstacles."

Informal recognition is equally valuable. Share examples such as being selected for high-stakes assignments or receiving praise in an organization-wide newsletter. These details indirectly highlight your accomplishments and demonstrate the trust others have placed in you.

6. Tie Your Efforts to Organizational Goals

Connect your achievements to the company's mission, vision, or values. This helps interviewers see your work as part of a larger purpose rather than isolated triumphs.

You might begin by setting the stage by stating, "Our team was tasked with supporting the company’s goal of market expansion in the Asia-Pacific region." Then share your specific contribution: "I led market research efforts, secured executive buy-in, and launched a product strategy tailored to local needs."

Finally, tie it back to the company's objectives: "This resulted in a 15% market share growth within one year, directly supporting the company’s vision of becoming a global leader."

This structure demonstrates your strategic thinking and reinforces your ability to align individual contributions with significant objectives.

Conclusion

Communicating your value during job interviews involves more than listing accomplishments – it’s about creating a narrative that highlights your leadership approach, aligns your contributions with the organization’s mission, and emphasizes shared achievements.

Describing the results of your leadership approach is not boasting – it’s demonstrating impact. Share how you recognized and addressed challenges, secured executive buy-ins, and allocated resources to facilitate success. Focus on framing your narrative to stress your leadership strategy and how you and your team collaborated to achieve meaningful results.

Self-promotion does not feel like bragging when approached with purpose and authenticity. Connecting your accomplishments to a larger purpose will leave interviewers with a lasting impression of your leadership, values, and capacity to create impact.

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Gina Riley, a senior executive at a multi-billion-dollar tech firm, found it challenging to balance her unique leadership contributions with the team's results during a job interview preparation session conducted by the author.
In the Gina Riley example, the author emphasized the importance of using concrete data and statistics to quantify one's impact, as well as allowing others to speak on one's behalf through testimonials and praises.