Be More Machiavellian, Less Altruistic?

This NY Times article considers how traits like Machiavellianism and aggressiveness may have a direct impact on compensation and play a role in pay disparities between genders.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/do-nice-gals-finish-last/?src=me&ref=business

I don't advocate becoming Machiavellian but I do urge you to consider your own personality traits and strengths, and whether and how you can become a better advocate for yourself , regardless of your gender.

For example, I recently coached a lawyer client on how she always shines the light on other lawyers she works with and away from herself. As she talked about her preference to stay out of the light, she realized that by so doing, she actually reinforces for others and herself the impression that she is insignificant. Like other lawyers and other people, she is beginning to learn that appropriately sharing success stories does directly affect how others view her.

Try out a few different ways of projecting more of an image of success in the next few weeks and notice what happens. See if you notice a difference by June.