“Tactful Self Promotion: Getting the Recognition You Deserve” offers strategies for tooting your own horn without being seen as a blowhard. In today's world of work, being a stellar performer is essential, but not sufficient, if you want to keep your career on track. People get ahead only if the right people see their value so it's important to figure out who those people are and how to gain visibility with them. And your focus needs to be on building a reputation not only within your organization but also within your profession, industry and community. 

It's up to each of us to make sure our talents and contributions are recognized. But most of us feel awkward or obnoxious when we try to promote ourselves. This doesn’t have to be the case. This session will cover strategies and tactics you can use to promote your personal brand in a tactful way. Topics include:

• Building the foundation: ensuring you're worthy of a great reputation.
• Getting crystal clear about what you want to be known for. 
• Nearly invisible ways to build visibility with key constituents.
• Becoming a recognized expert without being a show person.
• Increasing your Google Quotient (GQ) and leveraging networking groups

“Tactful Self Promotion” will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to develop a plan for promoting your interests while keeping your self-respect intact.

Nancy Burke is the Senior Vice President and Director of Professional Services for Lee Hecht Harrison's Minneapolis/St. Paul office. Nancy provides individual and organization consulting services in leadership development, executive coaching, career management, and change and resilience, and assures the delivery of the highest quality of service to its clients. Nancy understands well the issues confronting organizations, human resources professionals and individual employees in today’s fast-paced environment. These experiences strongly support her work with coaching and career transition clients.

Richard Dodson has worked for Lee Hecht Harrison for 10 years and throughout his career, he has focused on the design and delivery of programs and services to help people manage change and take responsibility for their careers. He is the author of Tactful Self-Promotion: Getting the Recognition You Deserve and is a popular speaker on current work issues, organizational change, career strategies and building resilience during turbulent times.

In today’s competitive world, those who achieve success make things happen and have developed the ability to be assertive. Regardless of your background, professional position or area of expertise, you can immediately boost your assertiveness and take control of your destiny. If your goals include a promotion, increasing your income or leading your next meeting more effectively, being assertive can be the key to making those goals a reality. 
 

Jill J. Johnson is the president and founder of Johnson Consulting Services, a management consulting firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota specializing in strategy development. A consultant since 1982, Jill assists her clients in the development of business plans, marketing plans and market-based strategies for growth. Jill’s consulting work has impacted more than $1 billion in business decision making. She has worked with a wide array of corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations and her clients are located throughout the United States, as well as in Europe and Asia.

Jill has been a member of the Board of Directors of a number of organizations and is an appointee currently serving on her second federal board. Jill was named Minnesota’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the age of 29 and she received one of the prestigious National Small Business Advocates of the Year awards from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Jill is one of only a few people nationwide to have ever received this dual honor from the SBA.

Cynthia (Cyndi) Lesher is the retired president and CEO, Northern States Power Company (an Xcel Energy company). During her career at Xcel Energy she served as Xcel Energy's vice president, chief administrative officer and chief human resources officer, president of NSP Gas, vice president of NSP human resources, and various other positions. Lesher was appointed chair of the Governor’s Workforce Development Council in 2004 by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. In 2003 she was inducted into the Women’s Economic Roundtable, comprising of the top 100 women leaders in Minnesota. CityBusiness magazine named her among the Twin Cities' most innovative women. In 2007 she received the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal’s Lifetime Career Achievement Award. She was selected by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce as 2008 Woman of the Year. 
 

Since 2000, Elizabeth (Beth) Willis has served as the Vice President of Corporate Communications for Xcel Energy where she has been affiliated since 1973. In this capacity, Beth oversees all advertising, communications and corporate giving activities for a prominent natural gas and electrical company with service in eight states. She is a 2003 Graduate of The Leadership Advantage, Xcel Energy’s 18-month leadership study, and a member of Electric Power Research Institute Corporate Communications Council and the Edison Electric Institute, Communications Executive Council.

With her From Now to WOW!™: Who Are You? seminar, Roshini Rajkumar guides you through her special presentation formula to help you first showcase YOU. Only then can you WOW! every time.

Roshini Rajkumar’s life is about performance. During her television career, she reported on all kinds of news events, anchored the news, launched an investigative unit, and hosted talk shows on TV and radio at network affiliates in various parts of the United States. She started public speaking in her teens and to this day, it is her favorite thing to do. You can hear her locally on WCCO Radio as a guest expert discussing powerful presentation.
 

Roshini returned to her hometown in January 2006 to start Roshini Multi Media. She helps business people present their best and get to their WOW! within their industries or for the media. Roshini keeps her own performance skills tuned up through keynote speaking, commercial acting, and voice talent work. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a guest professor at St. Catherine University’s Leadership Institute.