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No longer the 'quiet qualified': Self-Promotion as a skill

It is time to move beyond being quietly qualified and toward a culture where contributions and aspirations are both visible.

The New Gastroenterologist
Physicians are often taught — implicitly and explicitly — that excellence will be rewarded. We are encouraged to focus on patient care, to support our teams, to publish thoughtfully, and to say yes when our practices and institutions need us. Many of us assume that sustained effort and good outcomes will naturally lead to recognition, promotion, and leadership opportunities. Yet the data tell a different story. For example, despite increasing numbers of women entering academic medicine, there has been little progress in advancement from associate professor to professor over the past 35 years, and salary disparities persist across departments and specialties.¹ One study showed that women were less likely than men to describe themselves as highly skilled, to use affirmative language in professional documents, or to frame their work broadly in scholarship and grant applications.2 Instead, accomplishments are often presented narrowly, with an emphasis on team success rather than individual contribution. While collaboration is essential in medicine, advancement decisions are still made on an individual basis. The result is a cohort of physicians who are highly capable, deeply invested, and largely unseen — the "quietly qualified." These patterns extend beyond medicine and mirror inequities seen across health care leadership more broadly.  This stagnation is not due to a lack of talent or commitment. It reflects a mismatch between how systems function and how many physicians — particularly women and those from historically underrepresented groups — are socialized to navigate those systems. Physicians are taught that drawing attention to one’s accomplishments is inappropriate or risky. When contributions are understated or invisible, opportunities are more likely to bypass even exceptional people.  While systemic reform remains essential, individual strategies still matter in the current landscape. One of the most powerful and challenging skills physicians can develop is self-promotion. Self-promotion is frequently mischaracterized as bragging or over-exaggeration. In its most practical sense, it is simply how individuals communicate their work, contributions, and aspirations to others. It is the difference between assuming excellence will be noticed and ensuring that it is visible.3 Self-promotion becomes easier when it is reframed as professional clarity rather than personal praise. Communicating your work accurately and confidently allows leaders to see your strengths and understand when to consider you for the next leadership opportunity. Another way to think about this is to think about how sponsorship works. Sponsors open doors, recommend candidates, and name individuals when opportunities arise. However, sponsors tend to be senior, often have limited availability, and may unintentionally gravitate toward those whose ambitions and accomplishments are already visible. Therefore, waiting for sponsorship to appear can result in missed opportunities. Self-sponsorship becomes a necessary complement and can include things like documenting achievements, sharing aspirations clearly, asking to be named for specific roles, and ensuring that interests are known before decisions are made.  For many faculty, discomfort with self-promotion or self-sponsorship is compounded by uncertainty about what they are promoting toward. Traditional markers of academic success, such as title and compensation, remain important, but they do not fully capture what motivates many physicians. Fulfillment may come from the experience of work itself: autonomy, collaboration, flexibility, and the sense that one’s efforts make a meaningful difference. These values serve institutions well, but when left unspoken, they can disadvantage the individual. Systems often operate on the presumption that higher rank and salary are sufficient motivators for everyone. When faculty do not articulate their goals explicitly, they may be guided toward roles that do not align with their strengths — or overlooked altogether.  Individual habitual behaviors we have been taught may also play a significant role in limiting advancement. Many patterns that are rewarded during training become obstacles later in one's career. Common examples include reluctance to claim individual contributions, expecting work to be noticed without communication, overreliance on expertise at the expense of relationships, and prioritizing loyalty to a role or team over long-term career development. These tendencies are not flaws; they are learned survival strategies. The challenge is recognizing when they no longer serve us.  Behavior change is difficult, particularly when it challenges deeply ingrained professional norms. Studies of behavior change consistently show that sustainable shifts occur through small, values-aligned actions rather than sweeping declarations. Self-promotion, like any other professional skill, is built through repetition. Below is a list of several options that can start to create momentum toward self-promotion. In particular, the "elevator pitch" can be useful. When opportunities arise suddenly — and they often do — physicians who can articulate their goals clearly are more likely to be considered.  How to kickstart self-promotion techniquesShare an accomplishment with a trusted leader Ask for clarity about promotion pathwaysAsk to understand how your current roles and accomplishments work toward promotionPublicly recognize a colleague's contributionKeep one's curriculum vitae current with detailed descriptions about each accomplishmentPractice your “elevator pitch” which is a concise, rehearsed explanation of what you do now, what you hope to do next, and why you are well- suited for your current or future roleWhile the above tools are very important at a facility and institutional level, increasingly, self-promotion may extend into digital platforms. Digital platforms have been well described in their role in professional branding because they offer opportunities beyond physicians' local or regional environments for professional networking, collaboration, research dissemination, educational resources, and advocacy. 4  In addition, digital platforms have the unique ability to amplify physician self-promotion or professional branding opportunities because of their broad reach. Individuals might select one or multiple digital platforms depending on the overall purpose and desired benefits. The specifics of which digital platform is best is beyond the scope of this article, but a great resource is available by Bilal et al published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.4 It is also important to consider current practice or institutional policies in place around online presence and content prior to engaging. Beyond professional branding, online presence is increasingly being recognized in academic centers as a criterion for academic promotion. Digital presence can also play a role in medical recruitment throughout the training and career journey.  While considering these benefits, it is also increasingly important to uphold professionalism, as online presence can both positively and negatively reflect on professional and clinical credibility. Physicians are held to a higher standard of conduct when it comes to digital presence. Whether you’re currently active on digital platforms or considering the opportunity, the list below highlights important considerations to keep in mind as you build an online presence and more naturally support increased positive visibility.  Building a successful on-line presence  Be clear and transparent about your current role, specialty and institutional affiliations, and any conflicts of interests  Lead with education over self-promotion to share evidence-based information with goals to inform and clarify Maintain patient privacy when sharing any details by following HIPAA and privacy standards Present yourself in a professional manner considering a broad and diverse online audience Always engage in communication with others professionally and respectfully Avoid offering any individual medical advice on digital platforms  In summary, there are several ways to increase visibility as medicine cannot afford to lose talented physicians to invisibility. Promotion and advancement systems will not change overnight, but physicians deserve tools to navigate existing realities while advocating for more equitable structures. Self-promotion is not about ego. It is about stewardship of one’s skills, clarity of purpose, and ensuring that excellence is recognized. It is time to move beyond being quietly qualified and toward a culture where contributions and aspirations are both visible. Dr. Horst is in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter @HorstIBDDoc.She has served as a consultant for Mirador, Johnson & Johnson, Takeda, AbbVie, Pfizer, and Biocon, and has received educational grants from Takeda and AbbVie.Dr. Kinnucan is in the Division of Gastroenterology at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Follow her on Twitter @ibdgijami.She has served as a consultant and advisory board member for AbbVie, Pfizer, Takeda, Johnson & Johnson, and Lilly.References Richter KP et al. Achieving Gender Equity in Academic Medicine: Progress and Challenges. N Engl J Med. 2020;383:2148–2156. Exley C, Niederle M. Gender Differences in Self Promotion. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 26345; 2021. Helgesen S, Goldsmith M. How Women Rise. Hachette Book Group; 2018. Bilal M et al. The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media: A Guide for Gastroenterologists. Am J Gastroenterol. 2019 Mar;114(3):375-376.