What does “dimming your light” mean at work?

It’s minimizing or deflecting your contributions—saying things like “It was nothing” or crediting others entirely—so your role and results aren’t visible.

Why do many people—especially multicultural women—downplay achievements?

Cultural norms that prize humility and collective success, plus bias concerns about being labeled “braggy,” can make acknowledging wins feel uncomfortable.

How does minimizing your contributions affect your career?

It hides your impact from sponsors and decision-makers, weakens your credibility, and reduces opportunities for growth, stretch work, and promotion.

How can I share wins without sounding arrogant?

Use facts and outcomes. Pair team credit with clear ownership: “I led X with Y team; result: Z.” Keep it specific, concise, and tied to business impact.

What phrases should I avoid—and what can I say instead?

Avoid: “It was no big deal,” “I just helped.” Try: “I scoped and delivered…, which improved…, resulting in…,” or “I partnered with the team to achieve…; my role was…”

How can leaders normalize healthy self-promotion on teams?

Create rituals like win roundups and shoutouts that include both team recognition and individual ownership. Model language that names roles and outcomes.

What’s one action I can take this week?

Write a three-line win: context, your role, measurable outcome. Share it in a 1:1 or team channel to practice visible, confident ownership.

Why Do Women Downplay Their Achievements?

Downplaying your accomplishments | Rising Legacy — If you’ve ever stumbled when asked to “tell me about yourself” or downplayed your biggest win in a meeting, you’re not alone. For many women, especially multicultural women navigating corporate spaces, talking about accomplishments can feel awkward, risky, or even taboo.
But truthfully: *how* you share your story matters. Your words can position you as a leader, attract sponsors and mentors, and open doors you didn’t even know were possible. And yes, there are ways we sometimes trip ourselves up without realizing it.
Here are the five most common mistakes women make when talking about their accomplishments and how you can avoid them.

Mistake #1 Dimming your light

Too often, we soften our achievements: “Oh, it was no big deal” or “My team really did all the work.” I get it, we’ve had “model humility” drilled into us, but erasing yourself from the story sends the message that you’re not the driver of your success. You are!

For multicultural women, this can feel even more complicated. Many of us grew up in cultures where collective success was valued over individual recognition. Let’s acknowledge that real tension, but your contributions still deserve to shine.

✨ Shift it ✨

Share the credit and name your role. Try: “I led the project that helped our team hit a major milestone.”

Mistake #2 Getting lost in the details

When asked about accomplishments, some of us default to a play-by-play. We want to share every step, every obstacle, every tiny action. While impressive, it can overwhelm your listener and bury the impact.

For multicultural women, this often comes from wanting to prove we really earned our success. We want to share the entire story to demonstrate that it wasn’t luck, favoritism, or a handout. So we tend to pile on the details to “show our work.” The irony? In trying to sound credible, we risk losing the clear headline of what we achieved.

✨ Shift it ✨

Lead with results, then give just enough context. “I launched a new client onboarding process that cut ramp-up time by 40%.” Boom.

Mistake #3 Shrinking your impact

Phrases like “I think,” “I was lucky,” or “I just helped” can creep in and soften your success. They frame your wins as circumstantial, instead of earned. This trap catches women more than men. Social conditioning often teaches us to soften our language so we don’t come across as “too much,” while men are more often rewarded for speaking in confident, declarative statements.

✨ Shift it ✨

Replace apologies with impact language. “I created,” “I drove,” “I contributed to” – these are strong and accurate.

Mistake #4 Forgetting the bigger ‘why’

Accomplishments aren’t just about what you did, but why it mattered. Too often, we stop at the task and forget the broader business, community, or personal impact.

✨ Shift it ✨

Connect the dots. “I negotiated a new vendor contract, saving us $250K that we reinvested into employee development.”

This is exactly the kind of shift we’ll practice in our next Power Friday workshop: The Art of Self-Promotion — How to Celebrate Your Wins Without Apology. Together, we’ll explore practical tools to advocate for yourself, tell your career story with confidence, and reframe “self-promotion” as a leadership skill. Save your spot here ➝

Mistake #5 Not practicing out loud

This one’s sneaky. We assume we’ll just know what to say in the moment, but nerves can kick in and our words fall flat.

For women, and especially multicultural women, the stakes can feel even higher. You might worry about being judged as arrogant, or about how your accent, tone, or cultural communication style will be received. The pressure can make you stumble, even if your accomplishment is rock-solid. Practice goes a long way toward getting comfortable with the words you want to say!

✨ Shift it ✨

Practice speaking your accomplishments out loud until they feel natural. Say them to a friend, your mentor, even in the mirror. One of the things I’ll do is record myself on my phone and listen back. Although I don’t like hearing my voice, it helps me notice where my voice shines and where I can tighten my words.

Why this matters for multicultural women leaders

We already face barriers – systemic, cultural, and personal. But we have to internalize that talking about our accomplishments isn’t bragging. It’s how we advocate for ourselves. It’s how we claim our space at the table, model confidence for the women coming up behind us, and shift workplace cultures to recognize diverse leadership. We’ve got this!

Lead the way,