4 Ways to Increase Your Visibility in the Workplace
Last week I had the privilege of working with a group of young graduates from an engineering firm and we discussed the importance of being visible and creating an authentic personal brand within the company. They’re at the start of their professional careers and have the opportunity to build their presence in the company and engineering industry.
Later in the week, I had a mentoring session with an executive client who reports directly to the CEO. The interesting thing is that we discussed exactly the same thing; being visible. This female leader is driven and passionate about her work. She works long hours and puts in 100%. However, the feedback she’s getting is that she needs to give more. Her reaction? ‘I’m not sure I have anything more to give.’
In this situation, it’s not actually about giving more. It’s about being smart with your focus, time and energy. Of course, delivering on your operational goals is vital to your success but ‘Business As Usual’ is a given. You can keep your head down and work extremely hard but if no one knows what you’re doing, you and your team won’t get the recognition you deserve or be considered for future opportunities.
What stops you from being visible?
You may lack the confidence to promote yourself and your team. This is when you don’t have enough self-belief to speak up and acknowledge your hard work and achievements. It may feel safer to keep your head down and stay under the radar. You may be so busy and overwhelmed with work that you feel you don’t have the time to ‘get out there’. It’s not a high priority. Or it may be that you fear criticism and judgement from others if you speak up. The well-known ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’.
However, increasing your visibility is not about bragging or over-the-top self-promotion. It’s about building your personal leadership brand and the reputation of your team, so that you can be of greater service to others.
How can you be more visible?
1. Do work that adds the greatest value.
Ask yourself: How do I add the most value to this organisation? What am I getting paid to do? What is my expertise? What is my magic? And focus on that. Effectively delegate work to team members and administration staff and get really clear on your role. This may require you to extend trust to others and let go of any perfectionist tendencies.
2. Use your voice at every opportunity.
Speak up in meetings. Demonstrate your knowledge and share your opinions and ideas. Consider the agenda prior to meetings and think about questions to ask or examples to share. Volunteer to represent your team at company events. Work on your presenting skills and gaining more confidence if you need to. Ask to be placed on high-visibility projects.
3. Build connections with influential people.
Start expanding your network both within your organisation and externally. Build relationships across different departments. Make the time to attend events and have your elevator pitch ready. Speak with your immediate manager regularly. Find a sponsor within your organisation to Grow your online connections and contribute to your online community.
4. Participate in learning opportunities.
Commit to your own professional development. Set an example to your team members. Attend internal and external learning sessions and workshops. Ask questions and meaningfully contribute to the discussion. Give valuable feedback. Offer to get involved with learning and development - give a webinar, mentor a junior team member, write a blog post.
Increasing your visibility is about making sure people understand what you do, how you can contribute and what makes you unique. Without visibility, you will get lost in the crowd and fail to develop your own authentic strong leadership brand.
So, get out there and be seen!
Midja x