This Strategy Makes Your Career BenefitFrom Someone Elses Success

This Strategy Makes Your Career BenefitFrom Someone Elses SuccessThis Strategy Makes Your Career Benefit- From Someone Elses SuccessGlamour Magazine just named one of my co-workers at The Muse, Lily Herman, as one of its Top 10 College Women of 2015.In the past, I probably wouldve been a little jealous (okay, a lot). However, as I explained in this article, my jealous tendencies went away when I discovered how to take pride in others successes by reminding myself of how I contributed to that success.Well, I have a new discovery Taking ownership of someone elses achievement shouldnt end in your head. While that technique can boost your spirits, taking ownership of someone elses achievements externally can boost your career. I dont mean you should claim credit for anothers victory. Im talking about the opposite approach- sharing that persons victory as if it were your own. HowYou can do this in several ways.For example, when Lily revealed her amazing news, several of her connections tw eeted about it to all their followers Erin, our editor, sent out a company-wide email congratulating Lily and several of Lilys co-workers reposted the Glamour list on their social networks. Next time someone in your network does something great, try one of the following (just make sure your contact has made it clear the news isnt a secret)Tweeting about itCrafting a Facebook postWriting a LinkedIn status updateSending an email to your team, department, or the whole amtsstubeGiving a short, public congratulations to him or her at the next meetingSharing the news informally, like when youre talking to your co-workers WhyObviously, each of these public shout-outs is a well-deserved pat on the back. But they have many other positive effects, as well. Sharing someone elses newsMakes other people more likely to share your achievements when the time comesStrengthens your reputation as a collaborative professional whos great to work withLinks you to highly successful people in other peoples minds (hey, associating with successful people makes you seem more successful, as well)Gives you a mood boostActs as a networking toolAnd, of course, reinforces your relationship with the person whose success youre sharingI already knew Lilys news by the time I read Erins email, so my first reaction was, Wow That was so cool of Erin to make sure the whole Muse office knew about it It reinforced my view of Erin as a warm, generous supervisor invested in her employees success- and Im pretty sure it had the same effect on everyone else who read the message. Plus, Ive subconsciously made the association between Lilys success + Erin. Theres no doubt Erins tutelage played a role in helping Lily get to where she is today, so this mental connection is definitely merited. However, I probably wouldnt have made it if Erin hadnt publically shared Lilys success.And in the future, when Erin does something awesome, not only will Lily probably be the first to promote the news, but everyone else is more likely to promote it as well, because we know Erin is the type of person who deserves it. WhenIts not every day that your co-worker lands on a high-profile list. In fact, if you waited for an occasion like that to celebrate one of your peers, youd probably have to wait a pretty long time.Fortunately, you can share others good news whether its big or small. (Sometimes, smaller is even better, because youll be one of the few to recognize it)Heres a general guide to the type of news you could share on behalf of your peersDoing an awesome job on a projectFiguring out a more efficient way of doing thingsReaching a personal achievement, like running a half marathonFulfilling a goal, such as meeting a sales quota or helping a specific number of clientsReceiving an honor or awardPublishing a paper or getting interviewedLearning a new skillTrust me The more you look for opportunities to promote your colleagues, the more youll find. (As an added benefit, youll be even more aware of othe rs work and successes- which will naturally improve your office reputation.)I dont know about you, but after realizing the incredible effects sharing someone elses achievement can have, Im dying for more people I know to do more great things. Photo of men on mountain courtesy of Shutterstock.