Visibility in Leadership

Not everyone has the same level of comfort with visibility as a leader. And that’s okay.

Feelings of doubt are common — especially when you take on a new role at work that is bigger and more visible. Although it may seem like you have to change to fit into this new level, this is a choice that you get to make.

One way I’ve found to combat anxieties around visibility is to come up with a story that helps to show my work and who I am as a leader. It doesn’t have to be any longer than a couple of minutes, but doing this consistently is how I can start sharing my accomplishments with someone.

I will have a few stories that are ready to go, so no matter who I talk to, I will be ready.

Everyone has value to add to an organization and talking about what you do helps to raise your visibility. Sharing through the use of stories can make it easier and people will remember it!

Advocating for Yourself

It is great to create visibility for the good things when they happen, but leaders also need to speak up when things aren’t going well too.

Many leaders struggle to bring up the hard conversations with their managers. They feel that it will be negative for them and if they need help, they won’t get it. This is an opportunity to share a problem, but not without a set of solutions. It needs to be laid out with facts so that the data speaks for itself. It becomes an easier conversation about the solutions you want to recommend when you have data to back it up.

Use problems as an opportunity to advocate for yourself and get some visibility. Show that you can think strategically about the situation and how to best solve it.

Being Visible as a Leader in a Tough Situation

I like to believe that most leaders are good and do the best that they can for their teams.

However, what do you do if you have a manager who is not a good leader and doesn’t even try to improve or support you? We could dive into understanding why they are this way, but I would rather have you consider how this type of situation impacts you and figure out what you want to do.

• Can you continue to do your job and not let them negatively impact you
• Can you build relationships with the decision-makers and influencers that give you visibility and allow you to establish your own brand?
• Do you have the confidence and self-motivation to get things done regardless of the situation with your manager?
• Do you have other mentors, sponsors, or peers that you can rely on and who provide support for you?
• Can you have success in the company regardless of your manager?
• Is this situation negatively impacting your mental health and you need to get help or leave the company?

These are a few questions to ask yourself and I know the answers are not easy. This is such a tough place to be, but you have the choice of how to handle it. You will need to look out for yourself and find a way to carve out your own space in the organization so that people can see you stand on your own.

There are many ways that you can continue to stand out and do what you need to do.

You don’t need a manager to create those opportunities for you. This situation could force you to rely on yourself and the people that you trust to help you. I know it isn’t easy, but no matter what your decision is, you have to do what is best for you.

Value Yourself, So Others Value You Too

Coaches are some of the most supportive people on the planet, but we also deliver the truth to our clients.

Sometimes we are the messengers of the truth that they already know deep down inside but need to hear it out loud from someone else to begin to accept it.

Tammy brought me a potential role that she was interested in for another company. I was surprised to see it because she had been at her company for a long time. She was a single mom and even by her own admission wanted to be liked by people. She had experienced a lot of challenges in her life and avoided conflict as much as possible. She was smart, dependable, and her strong work ethic was evident by doing whatever was necessary to make a deadline. She had been asked to take a demotion and a pay cut to move to a part of the organization where there was more work and less likelihood of a layoff. It felt like her manager was looking out for her best interests and she couldn’t risk a layoff, so she accepted it.

We talked about the potential new role and I asked her why she was interested in this now. She shared all of the negative things that had been happening for quite a while. In her mind, she was powerless to make changes and felt like she was stuck. She dealt with it to keep her job. It wasn’t great, but then her manager gave her a lower rating on her end-of-year review. He justified it by saying she hadn’t been in her role very long. He barely talked to her and there had been no conversations with her on her performance, so how did he even know what she was or wasn’t doing? Tammy pushed back on her boss, but she felt like she had no choice, but to accept it.

Tammy didn’t feel appreciated. She had given everything to this company, but it made her miserable. She had so much fear about any possible change, that she stayed because it provided the illusion of safety and security. People can’t always see their blind spots or they are too deep into a situation for too long to have perspective anymore. We talked in more detail about the things that had happened and how they impacted her. Tammy didn’t feel like she had a voice and she diminished her value. She dismissed all the good things that she had done because others didn’t see it.

She found it easier to hide out in the background than to stand up for herself and make a different choice.

Tammy wasn’t my client, but I asked her if I could share with her what I would say to one of my clients in a similar situation? I said this will be hard to hear, are you open? She said yes. This company doesn’t value you, because you don’t value yourself. You are so much smarter and valuable than you give yourself credit for because they have killed your confidence. I think you have told yourself a story that this company is stable, but is that true? She had to admit that it wasn’t. I explained that you always have a choice in these situations, even when you think that you don’t. We talked about what choice she wanted to make so she could be happy and appreciated.

Don’t allow others to make you feel invisible and undervalued. If you are in a similar situation, please know that you have choices. Life is too short to be in a situation that makes you miserable. If you want my help, here is the link to set up a time with me: 30-minute conversation

Susan M Barber, President of Susan M Barber Coaching & Consulting, LLC, works with individuals, teams, and organizations to build skills that leaders need to attain breakthrough results. Her passion for coaching and leadership development is driven by seeing the transformation of leaders as they reach far beyond their own ideas of success. She continues to drive custom programs for groups that want to make changes in their careers to become more powerful leaders.