Visibility has nothing to do with performing on stage, flashy LinkedIn posts, bragging loudly or giving presentations constantly. Although let me tell you, all this actually helps. At a base level, visibility is making sure that people know who you are and what you are working on.

In a recent article for European Women in Technology I wrote:

“Women often believe that if they work hard, their performance is recognised and this leads to a promotion. However, achievements don’t speak for themselves. Literally. Bosses and peers are busy with their own things – achieving their targets, managing a team and dealing with burning business priorities. If we don’t bring our achievements and strengths to their attention, they won’t know.”

You don’t need to be a woman to recognise yourself in these words. Visibility is crucial for career advancement, give it a closer look.

What is visibility?

4 Aspects of visibility

… your presence.

A part of presence is your body language. Do you make direct eye contact? Are your shoulders upright? Are you nervous with your hands or are your gestures grounded and in flow? And the other part? It’s the inside. How you feel and if you fill the whole space of your body. Think about these people who are like magnets. You don’t really know what it is about them, but you feel drawn to them. Or people who radiate authority. The ones who enter the room and have everyone’s attention without saying or doing much. 

… your work.

Giving a presentation on your subject or project ultimately gives you a lot of visibility. Seek those opportunities out. That also means you will need to make the proposal to do so, they don’t just come along. If you dread presentations, how about giving an update in a meeting? You can better prepare and are less exposed. You can make it even simpler and ask for feedback. That gives you 1:1 time with managers or important stakeholders and gives you the opportunity to talk about what you are working on. Welcome side effect: people will trust you more because they will know that you will also come to them when facing challenges. And lastly, an early career advise from a former boss ‘also put your name on that slide deck’. It seems like a silly detail, but you never know at what level in the organisation your documents land. 

… your network.

Who do you know? Citing my ex-boss again ‘I already have approval for your course from 2 Executive Team members’. I was a junior at that time and there was no way I could have gotten such a direct line to those individuals. If you have someone who advocates you it means that your name will be mentioned in rooms you never have access to. Build, nourish and leverage your network.

… your brand.

That is your expertise, your soft skills or personal image in the perception of other people. What do you want to be known for? Note: this is different from what you are good at. Why? There are some things you may be incredibly good at like coordinating meetings and taking notes. You may even enjoy those tasks, but that doesn’t mean you should be doing them. Would you like to be known for organising the Christmas party or be the go-to person for the next transformation project?

People who excel at visibility carefully nurture the 4 aspects of visibility: presence, work, network and brand.

How do I improve my visibility?

Start with reflection. Take a piece of paper and note down the 4 aspects of visibility.

1) Give yourself a rating from 0 – 100 for all four

2) Brainstorm small actions that could improve your rating for each of the 4 aspects

What keeps people invisible is thinking of steps that are too big for them and then discounting their efforts altogether because it’s impossible. Start small, build from there.

3) Once you have a full list of all the things you can do to become more visible, focus on the 1-2 actions that feel most resonant.

Summary

If you have a desire to advance in your career or if you get the sense that you need to promote yourself and your work more, reflect on how visible you are in your organisation. Rate yourself in terms of personal brand, work achievements, network and presence. Define small wins. Small actions you can take immediately to increase your visibility.