Maybe you’ve heard that you need to increase your visibility to get to that next level. Heck, maybe you’ve even heard it from me! But if it’s not working the way you’d hoped, today’s newsletter is for you.

I see so many high-performing women trying to be more visible. They speak up more. They volunteer for high-profile projects. They even present confidently.

And yet… they’re still not being seen as the obvious choice for that next VP role.

And I realized the other day that telling women they need ‘more visibility’ may be sending the wrong message.

Because visibility is not the goal, leverage is.

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to break down the difference between being visible and being positioned, and share some tips to ensure that you aren’t just being seen… you’re getting the leverage that results in a seat at the table.

Let’s dive in…

What’s the difference between being seen and being positioned?

Here’s what it means to be seen:

  • People know you’re competent
  • You contribute
  • You’re in the room
  • You’re present

This is what most of you are doing today. Leadership knows you’re hard-working and great at your job. They like you. But that doesn’t mean they’re ready to promote you.

Now, here’s what it looks like to be positioned:

  • You’re associated with enterprise-level thinking
  • You’re trusted with cross-functional complexity
  • Your name comes up in succession conversations
  • Senior leaders see you as low-risk at the next level

As you can see, the type of visibility we create can have a big impact on the outcome.

(Monday’s episode of ​More Women Promoted​ went deep on the 3 types of visibility, so if you want to dive into this more, check it out here or at the end of this email)

This is where ‘strategic’ visibility comes in. Being seen may get you praise. But being positioned gets you promoted.

There are 3 types of visibility we can create.

Reactive visibility: When you are competent and share updates, but only when asked. You wait to be noticed. You’re seen as talented, but not strategic. You’re considered a high-performing executor, but not considered for promotions.

Truthfully, most of the women I know fall into this bucket.

Performative visibility: When you’ve heard the message to ‘be more visible,’ so you speak up in every meeting, are active on Teams and join every committee you can. This is ‘activity-based’ visibility. People know you and like you, but leadership wonders if you can really operate at that next level.

What we really want to aim for is:

Strategic visibility: You’re framing decisions, versus reporting on them. You’re delivering insights, instead of sharing metrics. This allows leadership to see your enterprise-level thinking and sets you up to be seen as ready for the next level.

So what does this look like in practical terms? What does it look like to be seen versus be positioned? Here are three examples:

Instead of: Reporting on your team’s work
You: Connect outcomes to company-level impact

Instead of: Sharing problems and risks
You: Frame trade-offs and implications

Instead of: Waiting to be asked
You: Proactively share key decisions and opinions

This may sound simple, but most don’t do this. Most directors toggle between reactive visibility and performative visibility, meaning they’re either responsive (not proactive) or trying to be noticed.

Very few are operating from strategic visibility, and if you can make this shift, you will be seen as a top 2% leader who gets promoted to the next level.

Strategic visibility is what makes you the inevitable choice for that executive role.

If you want to start creating this visibility, know who to create it with and how to tactically implement habits to do the heavy lifting for you, don’t miss my workshop on Monday, March 9th: From Invisible to Influential – The 4-step recognition framework.

I did this in November, and the response was amazing, so I’m doing it again! It will be a pen-to-paper workshop where you leave with key templates and frameworks to start putting into action right away, so you can get the visibility and promotions you deserve.

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy