How to Make Yourself Visible to Senior Leadership When You’re Allergic to Office Politics
[Photo by The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash]
Beth came to me for coaching because, as a woman in tech, she kept getting the same feedback. Management (mostly male and pale) didn't know how she was contributing. Translation: a visibility problem.
Then she got laid off. And she felt relieved. Relieved that she didn't have to ingratiate herself with leadership she didn't respect.
SJ didn't have a visibility problem. She had a fit problem.
Why does visibility feel so icky?
Many of my clients are conscientious, hardworking, type A women in male-dominated industries. When they hear the word "visibility," they wince.
It feels like self-promotion. It feels fake. At worst, it feels unethical. They've watched other people grow their visibility in sycophantic ways, by putting other people down, or at the expense of collaboration.
They want to grow their visibility in thoughtful, ethical ways. Most importantly, they don't want to do it in bombastic, inauthentic ways.
If that's you, good. Your instincts are sound. But before you fix your visibility, figure out which visibility problem you actually have.
Key decision #1: Is this a fit problem or a visibility problem?
Sometimes the trouble with visibility isn't a visibility problem. It's a fit problem.
Ask yourself:
Do I respect the people I'm trying to get noticed by?
Would being seen by them actually get me what I want?
If I became fully visible here, would I like who I'd have to become?
If the answers are no, no amount of speaking up will fix it. You don't need a better pitch. You need a better fit.
Key decision #2: Is this a skills problem or a nervous system problem?
Aya is a technical project manager who sets extremely high standards for herself. Before coaching, she believed she needed to know everything. She thought she should be able to answer every question that came up in her weekly project meeting.
That internal pressure had a cost. Whenever someone raised an open question and she didn't have a precise, pre-calculated answer ready, she froze.
Aya didn't lack skill. She knew her stuff. Her nervous system was slamming the brakes.
This is common. Sometimes visibility is a problem because you feel self-conscious, anxious, and nervous about speaking up and engaging senior leadership. Often it traces back to experiences from long before a Tuesday Scrum meeting. It can trigger nervous system activation that starts beyond the level of cognitive thinking. So you freeze up in meetings, even though the work has been done and you really do know your stuff.
You can't think your way out of a response that starts before thinking does.
Can you actually stop freezing up in front of leadership?
Yes. The freeze is a habituated pattern. Patterns can change.
In coaching, I help my clients unwind that pattern by leveraging neuroplasticity. It doesn't require a personality or brain transplant.
With Aya, we started by reframing her role. Her job wasn't to know everything. Her job was to manage the unknowns. She also learned very simple, quick brain rewiring techniques that calmed her nervous system within minutes.
Shortly after we started working together 1:1, she reported that she was leading meetings with greater ease and comfort. She stopped freezing up. And as she gained more visibility with leaders in her organization, she started becoming more herself.
That last part is key. Visibility done right doesn't make you less you. It makes you more you.
Communicate your work at the right altitude
Once your nervous system is on your side, we marry that with simple, clear communication frameworks.
One of the easiest ways to become more visible is also one of the most useful: learn to communicate your work at the right altitude.
Start with the point. Add the data that supports it. Articulate the impact and the bottom line in a way that matters to them. Then reiterate the point.
Instead of saying, "I spent three weeks rebuilding this process," say, "We redesigned the process and cut turnaround time by 30 percent."
Instead of listing every task your team completed, explain what changed because of the work.
Do's and don'ts
Do:
Check for fit before you pour energy into visibility.
Treat freezing as a nervous system pattern, not a character flaw.
Lead with the point, not the process.
Translate your work into the impact leadership cares about.
Don't:
Assume you have to know everything before you speak.
List every task your team completed.
Try to logic your way out of a freeze.
Copy the people who got visible by stepping on others. You don't have to.
It's translation, not self-promotion
This is not about making yourself sound more impressive than you are. It is about translating your work into the language people at higher levels are actually using to make decisions.
You don't need to become louder, slicker, or someone you're not. You need a calmer nervous system, a clear message, and a room that deserves you.
If you're ready to stop freezing and start being seen for the work you already do, book a free consultation with me today.