The tall poppy syndrome is alive and thriving around the world and particularly in Australia. It’s something that seems to have been embedded within our culture to tear someone down when they are getting ‘too big for their boots’. This is how crabs in a bucket behave! It can be challenging in a world that celebrates being the same to step up and stand out. When you’re growing your business, you must do this, though.

Standing out and wanting to achieve success comes with risks and fear. According to a CGU study 68% of people believe that Australia has a culture of negativity towards ambition – and the research shows that nearly 7 out of 10 of us say we don’t like to talk about our ambitions for fear of being labelled a ‘bragger’.” You must market yourself and your business and you have to put yourself out there. You must be visible online. You need to be your cheerleader and promoter. Defying these statistics can feel like a big effort.

You’ve got to embrace the fact that you can be a flamingo in the proverbial bucket of crabs. You can step out of that cesspool forever and achieve all the visibility you want. Here’s how to do it graciously and powerfully.

1.Have courage

You’ve seen the people out there who are willing to stand up and be the faces of their businesses and do it successfully. You’ve seen the trailblazers who get out there and lead the way. You have seen the likes of Pete Evans courageous sharing his opinions and views of the world. It takes guts to talk about the things that you believe in and are passionate about.

The good news is, there are people out there who will love you for that. Turn on the “I have courage switch” and get ready to just do it.

2. Understand that many won’t ‘get it’

There’s a big difference between marketing yourself and putting yourself out there from a place of narcissism. You are growing your visibility for a reason: to help more people find you and what you do. This isn’t a vanity project to be famous for the sake of it.

It’s not your job educate those who don’t understand what you’re doing and why. Focus forward and think only of the people who are you putting yourself out there for: Your prospective clients.

3. Set boundaries 

Boundaries can be your saviour when it comes to stepping up your visibility efforts. Have a well thought out plan of how you’re going to create boundaries that support and empower you.

For instance: You don’t have to share what you’re doing with everyone. How are you going to deal with people when they try to tear you down? Hint: You don’t have to have conversations with anyone you don’t want to!

4. Choose your cheerleaders wisely

It’s important to have a group of people around you who are going to cheer you on and lift you up. The unfortunate fact, is that when you’re ready to step things up, there will be many who who will tell you that it won’t work. That what you’re doing is a fools errand and is not going to happen, because of this reason and that reason. 

Be selective about who you have on your cheer squad. Your friends and family should be your biggest supporters and biggest advocates. If they’re not the loudest people cheering you on, you may need to find some new cheerleaders.

Worried about haters? Feel the fear and do it anyway

We talked earlier about being courageous and it’s time. It’s time for you to feel the fear and to do it anyway. The haters, the naysers and the doubters are the crabs in the bucket! They’re trying to pull you down and pull you back to their level. This helps them to feel superior and powerful. You’re likely to see this pattern repeat over and over again. So it’s time to decide that you’re going to leave them to crawl over each other in the bucket. Let them keep pulling each other down while you get out and do your thing.

Hop out of the bucket! Flamingo’s like you don’t belong in there. Share your achievements far and wide and let us be your cheerleaders.

Nicola Moras is an online visibility expert, author of VISIBLE a guide for business owners on how to generate financial results from social media and digital marketing. Nicola helps clients around the world achieve visibility, impact and profits. Find out more at www.nicolamoras.com.au