How to Increase Your Visibility at Work | by Lucy Levy

Melody Wilding, a leadership coach, coined the term ‘sensitive striver’, which resonated with me. A ‘sensitive striver’ is someone who is a high-achiever and is sensitive to their emotions and the world around them.  I don’t want to pigeonhole myself or others, but having read the description, I did identify with some of the main attributes. 

Characteristics of a sensitive striver:

• Always aims to exceed expectations 
• Desires meaning and fulfilment 
• Senses other people’s feelings and emotions
• Struggles to silence their inner critic
• Finds it difficult to say no to requests
• Doesn’t easily switch off 
• A stickler for detail

Understanding these traits has helped me think about what it means for my professional presence. I have carefully considered what the characteristics mean to me and how they can be turned into advantages, to ensure I am consciously showing up, participating and increasing my visibility at work. Here are my top tips:

1. Welcome the worries
“Always aiming to exceed expectations” can leave one feeling nervous before meetings, work events or presentations. Befriending nerves and pre-meeting stress can be a great way to tackle them. 

What to do? 
Recognise and call out how you’re feeling. This can help rationalise what you are experiencing. Verbally remind yourself that nerves are a positive thing - it helps to be alert, gear up, and shows you care, which in turn motivates you to perform well. 
Breathe - if you’ve never practised breathing exercises before, build it into your calendar - complete a breathing pattern 10 minutes before your meetings. I particularly like the 4-7-8 breathing exercise, which is proven to reduce anxiety and stress (see link below).
 

2. Speak up early
Making yourself known and being heard are key to developing confidence and leadership skills. Speaking up can be difficult when there is an internal or external pressure to only speak when you think you are “adding meaning or value”. Finding the right time to speak and wanting to ensure what you say is important can prevent you from speaking at all. The longer you leave something, the worse it gets - I feel this is true for many situations … from leaving food in the fridge to delaying going to that event you’ve been dreading. What I’ve realised though is that the pre-thought / pre-match nerves are usually worse than reality. 

What to do? 
Commit to speaking early in the meeting - get it out the way and ideally speak within the first 10 minutes. Be brave and start the dialogue - you’d be surprised how many people think the same as you but if you don’t say it you won’t know. Being the first to speak up demonstrates ownership, confidence and courage. 
Once you know the meeting agenda, plan how you want to contribute in advance. While things may not go to plan, you’re more likely to feel confident and seek an opportunity to add value if you have thought about it beforehand. This will increase your visibility at work.

3. Ask questions
It can be difficult to “switch off” at the end of the day. Unanswered questions can be disconcerting. I often find my brain ticking away looking for answers or solutions that haven’t yet been provided. 

What to do? 
I have learnt that asking questions always helps as it closes the worry loop of not knowing. You will feel more secure having the answer and it has the added benefit of speaking up in a meeting. This will develop confidence and visibility.
 

4. Plan after
As a “stickler for detail”, don’t drive yourself crazy wondering what the next steps are and who is going to do what. 
 
What to do? 
Take ownership, clarify the action plan with those involved. It’s always helpful to follow up with everyone. This supports the team in ensuring accountability for the tasks they own.
 
 

That’s a wrap
Elevating your visibility at work is key for career and personal development. Be intentional by adopting these actions and they will become second nature. Incorporating these actions will help you be more visible at work, which will improve your confidence and leadership skills.
 

References:

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/trust-yourself/202108/6-ways-speak-greater-confidence 
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2021/03/08/18-signs-youre-a-sensitive-high-achiever/#:~:text=Sensitive%20Strivers%20are%20high%2Dachievers,own%20and%20those%20of%20others. 
• https://melodywilding.com/what-is-a-sensitive-striver/#:~:text=A%20Sensitive%20Striver%20is%20a,than%20their%20less%20sensitive%20peers. 
• https://health.clevelandclinic.org/4-7-8-breathing/ 

Lucy Levy is a Project Management coach at Multiverse.