Summary.
It takes more than hard work to advance in your profession and get credibility. Others must be able to see the results of your efforts. Workplace visibility is critical for getting your name mentioned in the room where decisions are made, being included in career-shaping projects, and eventually landing a promotion. If others are unaware of your accomplishments, you will never reach your full potential for advancement. Here’s how to make yourself more visible at work:
Make a move. Being a visible employee requires action. If you don’t generally speak up in meetings, start speaking up or follow up with the meeting host right away. Remember that humility does not imply silence.
Deliver quality work. It may appear obvious, but make yourself known for the right reasons. Perform admirably. When people can rely on you for outstanding work, you’ll gain the reputation of being a dependable, trustworthy, and respected member of the team, which will lead to increased visibility.
Know what’s top of mind for key stakeholders. Be capable of assisting and adding value to the work of influential decision-makers in your organization. They are more likely to pay attention to your work if you demonstrate that you have a skill set that can be a beneficial resource to them and their work.
Love to learn. Look for, inquire about, and volunteer for learning programs that will allow you to expand your skills. All the better if the opportunities benefit key stakeholders. Is cross-departmental job rotation available at your company? Is your boss in need of a helping hand on a time-sensitive project? Can you volunteer to speak on behalf of your team in cross-functional meetings? Look for learning opportunities with urgent tasks.
When you initially start out in the workforce, conventional advice is to “work twice as hard as everyone else.” Many of us have been told that in order to achieve in any role, we must work efficiently and put our best foot forward. In most circumstances, this is correct—establishing yourself as a productive and dependable person from the start of your work will help you build a strong personal brand and gain trust with your colleagues.
Fewer people will tell you that it requires more than hard work to advance in your role and get credibility. Others must be able to see the results of your efforts. Workplace visibility is critical for getting your name mentioned in the room where decisions are made, being included in career-shaping projects, and eventually landing a promotion.
Figuring out how to make yourself visible during your first few years in business can be difficult, especially with all of the uncertainty you may be experiencing. Let’s start by discussing how visibility in the workplace can help you, and how you can improve it.
How can visibility help you?
There are many benefits to being visible at work. For starters, visibility will provide you more influence, which is essential for every aspiring leader. To be clear, you do not need to be a powerful, high-level leader to build leverage. However, your visibility is based on your ability to influence the feelings, beliefs, and actions of others.
Second, workplace visibility can open the door to new opportunities that might otherwise be restricted or concealed from you. If important decision-makers know who you are, what you do, and believe your work has a good impact, you will have a better chance of being included in innovative or high-stakes projects, obtaining critical information, or being promoted.
Third, visibility allows you to more easily engage in conversations with strangers. In other words, it’s a great way to expand your network. The same influencers who appreciate your efforts may be able to introduce you to other decision-makers in other departments, cross-functional teams, or even persons in their external networks who may be beneficial contacts in the future.
How do you become visible at work?
No job is intrinsically visible or invisible; rather, what people see depends on the setting in which you work. This means that the value of your work can and will alter as the objectives and goals of the business change. To keep track of the context of your work, ask yourself:
– How is my position and work viewed in the organization? What’s my reputation?
– Is my work connected to what’s valued, like revenue generation, increased market share, or positive shifts in company culture?
– Do people think of me and the work that I do when they need help with something important?
– Do influencers at work acknowledge, praise, and support the projects I lead?
– What relationships do I have with supervisors, decision-makers, and influencers, and how would I define them?
These questions can assist you in reflecting, recognizing changes that may effect your visibility, and being conscious of how you present yourself at work. You can also request a 360-degree evaluation from your manager or HR team, which is a helpful (and often humbling) activity in which your colleagues provide input on your strengths and weaknesses, ideally providing you with practical information to improve.
Conclusion
Visibility will draw more attention to you, which may raise the pressure to generate excellent outcomes and perform at a greater level. Responsibility comes with visibility. You can’t fly under the radar any longer. You become a role model for others when you put yourself out there.
P.S. It takes time to increase your visibility. Be patient, and know that when you exhibit your skill and commitment, people will notice your work, ask for your participation and input, and eventually recognize, value, and reward you for your contributions.
Photo Captions:
Image 1: Which one catches your attention? The heel, the sneaker, or the colorful sock?
Image 2: A man with a laptop at his workplace is pondering his future.
