It’s been over a year since Olivia joined her present work as a manager, but she seemed to be invisible.
Her contributions were felt, but they lacked a voice, especially when it mattered; for example, she didn’t speak up at meetings, and this made it easier for others to take credit for her work.
She was that cool lady who only spoke when absolutely necessary or when asked a question.
But it was beginning to look ugly on her.
Word got to her that the management wasn’t pleased with her approach.
They preferred that she was vocal, especially at meetings.
They wanted her to be visible and stay visible.
Not that she had a problem with that, she just preferred to speak when it mattered most to her or her work, thereby treading cautiously.
What Olivia didn’t realise was that she had chosen the path of invisibility, which had delayed her job confirmation.
Have you gone through anything similar in your professional life?
Have you tried everything but can’t seem to get ahead?
Have you been invisible, but now you feel it’s time to shine?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are in the right place, my friend.
Many people feel that all they have to do to be visible is work hard.
But not so.
Because, at a certain level, your work alone won’t speak for itself without You having to do extra stuff.
More than hard work is required to gain visibility.
Here are 5 things you must do to increase your visibility at work:
- Stop the self-judgment and comparison: Learn to focus on yourself and make choices that work with your style and show others your values. Comparing yourself to others will only make you focus on fear and perfection and leave you with a lack of confidence.
- Know your self-worth: Stop the self-skepticism and believe more in yourself. Believe that you are worth it. What you believe and think about yourself affects how you act at work, so change the way you see yourself.
- Kick out the impostor syndrome: As long as you keep believing you don’t know enough and live in fear of being discovered, you suffer from impostor syndrome. Believe in your abilities. Believe in your abilities and dare to compete in the spirit of teamwork.
- Understand the culture of your workplace: Being aware of your workplace’s culture allows you to appreciate its formal and informal values, beliefs, and customs. This also includes how decisions are made, communication styles, work environments, and overall structure. This understanding would assist you in better navigating encounters, aligning your own views, and avoiding mistakes. Knowing where you work would assist in improving your job satisfaction and, eventually, your visibility.
- Create your own visibility action plan and begin to execute it: For example, one of my plans was to review previous meeting minutes and take notes in order to prepare for the next one.
Peter Amoo is a Business Development Expert, Business Strategist, Visibility Expert, Website Designer, Copywriter and Cybersecurity Enthusiastic