Strategic Visibility that Doesn't Cause Burnout

(3 mins)

This week, I had three similarly themed conversations with three completely different clients. Different industries, different roles and very different personalities. They all had the same exact problem.

Let’s call my first client, Jaya. I saw her Monday morning and she said, “I don’t get it. My manager literally told me that I’m invaluable.” That sounds good, right? It wasn’t. Because in the same breath, her manager also said, “I just don’t know if you’re ready for the next level yet.”

So, invaluable… but not promotable. She is my client who jumps in everywhere - covers gaps, helps everyone, fixes things before they break. The problem here is that she is optimizing for being helpful, not memorable. So her work is appreciated in the moment…and then forgotten just as quickly.

Let’s call my second client, Aditya. He’s quite different from Jaya in that he’s a little more confident, a little more direct. “I know I’m doing a lot,” he said. “Like… a lot.” He walked me through his projects, the timelines, the complexity, and the effort. And then I asked him a simple question: “What's changed because of your work?”

And cue the silence. Not because his work didn't have any impact, it definitely did, but because he had never practiced saying it out loud before. He just assumed that people saw what he saw. But the reality is, they don’t. Leadership won’t connect the dots, because with all due respect, that’s part of your job, not theirs. 

My third client, let’s call her Rosie, excitedly shared, “I just feel like I’m next. Like… if I just keep going, it’ll just happen.” Now, I’ve been doing this a while and I’ve heard that sentence too many times. And it’s not wrong, it's just incomplete. She, like most of my clients, is waiting to be noticed. She is hoping her consistency, her quality of work, her reliability will eventually “click” for someone. But careers don’t move on hope, they move on perception. And perception is shaped by what people see clearly.

So, three clients, three patterns, one root issue. They are all doing great work but none of them is positioning it in a way that makes it easy to recognize, remember, or reward.

Here’s the shift: Stop asking, “Am I doing enough?” Or "Is my work good?" And start asking: “Is my work memorable?” “Is my impact clear?” And, “Am I making myself known for the work that I'm doing?” Because helpful and efficient get you liked, while visible gets you promoted. And the gap between those two is NOT more effort. It is clear, simple and direct communication about the work you’re already doing.

Jaya already put my suggestions into practice. Instead of saying, “I’ve been helping with a few projects.” She went to her next meeting and said, “I led X initiative, which helped us hit Y goal ahead of schedule and made the next phase smoother for the team.” Same work, different perception. Now instead of being helpful, she’s being strategic. 

She slacked me to say that she has been implementing this and the other changes we discussed wherever she can and that her manager has already commented on the shift. While she was focused on her manager’s response, I was actually more focused on her effort and her ability to take feedback and suggestions and run with them. She was willing to try something different and because it was still aligned to who she was and how she operated, she was able to implement it pretty seamlessly. She will carry this new communication style with her wherever she goes. So again, it's not just about visibility. It's about strategic visibility that doesn't cause burnout because then it is sustainable.

So now let me ask you, which client do you most relate to and what are your answers to the three questions posed above? Because if you’re answering no to any of them, come join me this afternoon at 2pCT for my FREE live masterclass From Overlooked to In-Demand. It’s 55 mins of solid tools for you to implement immediately. Because this isn’t about changing who you are. It’s about changing how your work is perceived. 

I’ll walk you through the exact framework my clients use to to:

• create strategic visibility (not just be appreciated and slammed with more support work)

• build influence so the right people are championing you (even when you’re not in the room)

• get a “hell yes” when it comes time for your promotion b/c you have set yourself up successfully from the start (vs. hearing another, “maybe next cycle”)

If you’re tired of being the best-kept secret on your team…this is your next move. Dm for details to join, and no - it’s not too late! 

See you at 2pCT today, otherwise, I’ll see you next week,