What to do when you win an award

Andrea Myles
Sep 5, 2018 · 5 min read

Yesterday here in Australia, the 100 Women of Influence Awards were announced. As a 2014 alumni of this award here are my shortcuts on how to get the most out of receiving any accolade. Whether it be the #100WOI or not, this works a treat.

Not everybody reads intros. Safety goggles on. We’re diving in.

TL;DR Be Bold. How? Relax. Recognise yourself. Tell your story. Leverage the crap out of it. Use it to influence. Be bolder. Get a long held goal under your belt. Thank me later.

THIS IS KEY: Be Bold. The first thing we did when we got this award in 2014 was reach out to then CEO of of one of Australia’s biggest banks who was a partner on the award, with words to the effect of “You’ve just recognised us for this achievement. We align to your strategy in X, Y and Z ways and can add value doing A, B and C which are currently being under-explored in the market. We would like to meet to explore these synergies” …which we did and we ended up partnering together to brilliant seven-figure success.

So how the hell do you just “be bold”? Here are the 5 preparatory steps you need to take to be able to pull off leveraging your award into further success.

1) YOU. First thing, you’re likely to feel overwhelmed by the accolade, the attention and the recognition. Do not fight this and just enjoy these feelings.

Here’s how: You’ve just had massive, abrupt recognition for what has likely been an extended body of less recognised work. You’re free to feel overwhelmed temporarily, but to move past it, you’ll need to translate negative feelings of disbelief into a positive emotion like surprise, and turn questions of worthiness into pride for hard work done. Then simply enjoy the rush while the overwhelm lasts.

2) Get Your Story Straight. The next thing that will happen is a LOT of attention on you. If you’re a people person, this is a great time to leverage that superpower. For those of us who are introverts, it can be damn exhausting. A hack for this, no matter your personality, is to get your narrative sorted.

Do: get 3 sound bites together, a nice 10 sec (10 word), 30 sec (60 word) and 2 minute (250 word) spiel which captures what you won, why you won it and how you feel about it.

Do: Let all and sundry know about it and listen to what they say. People can offer great intel to those who they perceive to be on a roll.

Do: Follow up on EVERYTHING. This is a period of rapid evolution, of your (yes I’m gonna say it…) “Personal Brand”, of your ability to have impact in the world and of your network. Everything just got a step change. You can keep the positive outcomes of achieving this award going longer by following up on every compliment, kudos and nod you receive. I get my virtual assistant to manage this and it’s a great way to achieve even more. If you don’t currently use a VA, you may start to need one given you’ve just levelled up. I use Twinsy.

Do not: deflect the accolade by saying things such as “they were crazy enough to give me XXX award” or “it was all the teams work, I did nothing”.

Do not: tell no one. Fair enough you might feel weird about tooting your own horn but you’ve worked bloody hard and the impact you’re having has to have a face. This time, it’s yours. Get over the weirdness. It’s temporary and your impact deserves all the attention it receives.

Do not: Be a douche bag. This advice always applies. The world is small. People who are great get known for it. People who grate get known for it.

3) Display the award badge on your LinkedIn and/or email signature. It might feel a bit cheesy, but you’ve worked hard and all you’re doing is giving people an opportunity to celebrate you…which most people genuinely enjoy doing. Put the accolade on your LinkedIn straight away in the Awards and Achievements section AND include it in your bio. You’re sure to get some nice comments from people you’re connected with. Everybody wins.

If you have a separate written bio on file, make sure it’s up to date and includes the achievement of this award. People like winners. You are one. Folks will want to include that when they’re using your bio and you should too. This award is now part of your personal narrative too.

4) Treat yourself. This is compulsory. Making the most of an award creates additional work. Get something which treats just you and make it something that nurtures a goal you’re trying to achieve.

A massage or a facial is a great treat if you’re aiming to relax more. A drive thru Big Mac is a crap treat if you’re aiming to have a healthy diet.

Make it about a days pay so it’s special. Don’t make it so crazy that it blows up your credit card. No Teslas.

5) Leverage, leverage, leverage. Now you’ve got your story straight, use it. You’ve got third party verification of your awesomeness. An independent entity (not your boss, not your Mum) has singled you out as being extraordinary. It’s now time to use this achievement and the resulting momentum to kick your next several goals. Everybody loves cheering on someone on a winning streak. Let them. Eg. If you don’t have a mentor, this is a great moment to get one.

Weirdly, just being named as influential actually gives you influence. NOW is the time to tell LOTS of people about your award. Jump on it the week you receive the award if not the day. Tell your boss and tell your Mum, but make sure your employer is including it in their newsletter, on the intranet, and has a little morning tea for you to celebrate. In my own organisation, my recognition as a 100WOI was the result of a collective effort, so we celebrated it together as a team. If your boss doesn’t care that you won an award, get a new boss.

So, Be Bold. By the time you’ve taken the above 5 steps above, you’ll be sitting on some great momentum and chutzpah and able to bail up who ever you like and ask them for a chat. They’ll never know how awesome you are unless you get right in front of them and say “I do this, these people think it’s important and I can help you in this way”.


Let’s recap.

If you:

Be bold.

Relax.

Recognise yourself.

Tell your story.

Leverage the crap out of it.

Use it to influence.

Be bolder.

Get a long held goal under your belt.

You’ll thank me later.

Thanks for reading. Go get ’em, Champ.

Andrea Myles is the CEO of the China Australia Millennial Project, all round entrepreneurial superstar and winner of everything ever. @beijingbetty @ChinaxAus.

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