Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-04-30
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Jean-François Harvey, Associate Professor, Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, HEC Montréal
The American psychologist Edgar Scheinstrongly supportedthat humility makes great leaders, emphasizing that deep learning happens when we listen rather than when we speak. His perspective is strongly rooted in modern organizational leadership thought, where restraint and curiosity are often considered the foundations of effective decision-making. But what if that was only part of the story?
I recently published astudywhich concerns leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises facing the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. My results suggest that leaders who confidently express their ideas and achievements generate engagement that fosters learning and adaptation. Far from being opposed, these approaches highlight two complementary ways to gather the information necessary for strategic decisions.
The missed opportunity of an overly cautious self-promotion
In recent years, we have seen extreme cases of self-promotion end in spectacular failures: one can think of American businesswoman Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, who claimed to have revolutionized blood tests with a technology later widely invalidated andat the heart of a fraud case, or the Israeli-American businessman Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork, whose rhetoric of “vision” masked business model and governance problems that contributed tothe collapse of the IPO project.
These examples have fueled a broader skepticism towards aexcessive entrepreneurial promotion, leading many leaders to conclude that self-promotion should be minimized, if not avoided altogether. Platforms likeKickstarterhave even established policies aimed at having entrepreneurs present their projects“more faithfully”, by limiting exaggerated claims and uncontrolled optimism.
While these safeguards are necessary, they also introduce an unexpected risk: overcorrection. Leaders who become too cautious might miss out on one of the most underestimated benefits of self-promotion: its ability to attract constructive feedback. My study shows that self-promotion not only shapes external perceptions: it acts as a mechanism for seeking engagement, stimulating exchanges, and strategic adaptation.
This issue is particularly critical in a context of uncertainty. Entrepreneurs and leaders often operate in environments where structured feedback loops are often absent. Unlike employees benefiting from formal evaluations, leaders must actively generate opportunities to receive feedback. The more they talk about their work, the more input they receive that is likely to refine their strategy and guide their next decisions.
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How self-promotion creates a feedback loop
In a five-wave longitudinal study conducted with 574 entrepreneurs, supplemented by controlled experiments, my work uncovered a surprising mechanism.
Firstly, self-promotion captures attention and fosters engagement. When leaders highlight their work – emphasizing achievements, strategic goals, and lessons learned – their audience responds with greater curiosity and involvement. Experience shows that higher levels of self-promotion lead to richer and more constructive feedback, rather than a passive reception of information.
Secondly, these feedbacks nurture experimentation and adaptation. Engaged responses encourage leaders to test new ideas, adjust their strategies, and make more adaptive decisions. In short, self-promotion triggers a loop in which individuals receive not only validation but also valuable information to innovate and improve themselves.
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This effect is not universal, however. Leaders with a strong sense of self-efficacy, that is to say a marked confidence in their abilities, make more effective use of feedback. Conversely, those with lower self-efficacy do not derive the same benefits, probably due to a lack of confidence to act on the feedback received.
Thus, self-promotion is most effective when accompanied by openness to learning. Leaders who use it strategically – not to boast, but to initiate a meaningful dialogue – are those who derive the most benefits from it.
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Rethinking self-promotion as a lever for adaptation in leadership
Schein’s vision, centered on humility and curiosity, remains a fundamental principle. Leaders who listen more than they speak can discover otherwise invisible information. But the idea that they should avoid any self-promotion ignores an essential reality: visibility generates engagement, and engagement fuels learning.
Rather than opposing these approaches, they should be considered complementary. On the one hand, Schein’s model of humility is particularly relevant for complex and high-stakes decisions, where listening precedes action. On the other hand, strategic self-promotion is crucial when feedback loops are weak and leaders must actively generate engagement to enrich their thinking.
In practice, this involves transforming self-promotion from an act of self-congratulation into an act of strategic engagement. Rather than simply listing successes, leaders would benefit from designing their communication as an invitation to dialogue. For example, a team responsible for developing an innovative new product could share encouraging findings in a confident tone and thus solicit industry perspectives in order to enrich and improve the solution. Similarly, a leader entering a new market could openly and confidently discuss their pricing choices or customer acquisition strategies, inviting the relevant experts to contribute.
This distinction is crucial. Self-promotion that opens the conversation encourages collaboration and strategic refinement. Conversely, self-promotion seeking exclusive recognition risks causing disengagement.
A paradigm shift: from self-promotion to self-discovery
The central message of my study is the following: when practiced with discernment, self-promotion is not merely about visibility, but about intentional visibility. It is about gathering feedback capable of stimulating innovation, adaptation, and strategic change.
For leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals, this means rethinking how they talk about their work. Rather than fearing a perception of boasting or egocentrism, it is appropriate to recognize the potential of self-promotion to spark conversations that foster learning and growth.
In the era of rapid transformations, those who use self-promotion as a tool of engagement – and not mere exposure – will be best positioned to adapt, innovate, and thrive.
Jean-François Harvey received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
–ref. Why self-promotion is not just about bragging. It is a lever for learning and adaptation –https://theconversation.com/why-self-promotion-is-not-just-about-bragging-it-is-a-lever-for-learning-and-adaptation-276131