Runs on PeoplePlaybooks / Capability · 2 min read
Getting noticed, without the networking malarkey
Careers move on people, not decks. The people you know, know, so make sure the right ones know your work.
In 30 seconds
- Promotions get decided in rooms you're not in, by people who know your work, or have heard about it.
- Your manager is your first sponsor. If they can't describe your work in one sentence, nobody above them will.
- Visibility isn't networking events and LinkedIn posts. It's making sure the right three or four people know what you did and why it mattered.
The situation
You're working hard and delivering. Someone louder gets the project, the promotion or the credit. You're told to "raise your profile", which sounds like a second job you never wanted.
What's really going on
People who decide careers are busy. They rely on what they hear from people they trust. So the question isn't "how many people know me?" It's "do the people whose opinion counts know what I've done, and could they describe it?"
The people you know, know. Your reputation travels further than you do, through them.
What to do
- Give your manager the sentence. Once a quarter, write the one-line version of your best work: "I cut the month-end close from six days to three." Make it easy for them to repeat.
- Share outcomes, not effort. Not "I worked really hard on the migration" but "the migration means support tickets are down by a third".
- Find your two or three. Who, beyond your manager, would be in the room when your next step is decided? Make sure each of them has seen your work at least once this year.
- Help other people visibly. Unblocking another team is the most credible visibility there is, because other people tell the story for you.
- Ask for the next step directly. See the promotion conversation, and check where you are on the career ladder.
How you'll know it's working
- The sentence: your manager can describe your best work without notes.
- Reach: two or three people beyond your manager know what you've delivered this year.
- Invitations: you're asked into conversations and problems you weren't asked into before.
- Care check: none of it feels like pretending to be someone you're not.
In other industries
- Healthcare The nurse who redesigned the handover sheet should make sure the ward manager and matron know it was her.
- Accountancy A manager who saved a client relationship should make sure the partner who owns the client hears it.
- Manufacturing The operator who cut changeover time should present it at the shift review, not just mention it to their lead.
- Small business Tell the owner what changed for customers, not what you were busy with.
What to say
To your manager, once a quarter:
"Could I give you a quick summary of what I delivered this quarter? I'd like you to be able to describe it easily if it ever comes up. Does this sound right to you?"
Try this week
Write your one-sentence summary of your best work this quarter. Send it to your manager.
Think about it
If your name came up in a meeting tomorrow, what would people in that room say about you?
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