Stop Shrinking Your Story at Work
12 mag 2026
"I feel like a fraud talking about my achievements."
Daria (name changed) said this during our third coaching session. She had already figured out that her skills belonged to her, not her company. But now she faced a new challenge: actually talking about them.
Here is what was happening.
LinkedIn post draft: "I developed a process that saved 40% of project time." Daria's edit: "My team and I were fortunate to work on a process that helped improve efficiency."
Interview preparation: "Tell me about your biggest accomplishment." Daria's practice answer: "Well, I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time..."
The pattern was clear. Every achievement got watered down. Every success got credited to luck, timing, or other people.
During our session, I asked: "Daria, if your colleague John had built that same process, what would you tell him to say about it?" "I'd tell him to talk about it. It was great work that took months of analysis and testing." "And when you did it?" "That's... different."
No, it is not.
We spent the next 30 minutes rewriting her achievements. Not with arrogance. With facts.
"I designed and implemented a process that reduced project delivery time by 40%." "I grew my team from 3 to 15 people while maintaining quality standards." "I led the company through its largest crisis in a decade."
Finally, Daria started speaking about her work the same way she would speak about a friend's work. With respect. With accuracy. With pride.
The opportunities start opening when we stop shrinking our story.
What is one thing you are shrinking in your story?
Why capable people undersell themselves
The instinct to shrink your own achievements is not modesty. It is self-protection. If you never fully claim the win, no one can accuse you of overclaiming it. The cost is that the people who decide your next role never get an accurate picture of what you do.
The shift Daria made was small and powerful. She stopped reaching for words like fortunate and lucky, and started using verbs that were simply true: designed, built, led, grew. Stating, not asking is the same muscle that decides promotions: you describe what you did, plainly, and let the facts carry the weight.
A useful test is the friend test. If a respected colleague had done exactly what you did, how would you describe it for them? That is usually the accurate version. The watered-down one is the distortion, not the humble truth.
Owning your story is not arrogance. It is accuracy. And accuracy is what opens the next door.
If this resonates and you want something practical you can use, I have a free Speak Up Quiz short quiz that helps you see what is really holding you back from naming your value, in meetings, in interviews, and in the rooms that decide your next step. Leave your email here and I will send it over: https://www.thechangerepublic.com/free-resources