When image and visibility are pivotal to career success, how do you stand out? It’s a dilemma if you’re someone who shuns the limelight and for whom the concept of networking makes you feel slightly nauseous. However, it’s equally frustrating to see confident candidates being selected over capable ones.
How can you find a way to be recognised and rewarded for your abilities without feeling you have to constantly put yourself in the spotlight?
The good news is that you don’t have to change who you are to be successful. You simply need to reframe your approach. Consider Aesop’s fable, the Hare and the Tortoise. You don’t have to be the fastest to win the race. Take time to build your visibility authentically.
Here are some approaches that can help.
Reframe your mindset around visibility
Start by addressing your discomfort with self-promotion and reframe visibility as a service to others. When you share your expertise, you’re helping people solve their problems, not simply boosting your ego. This mental shift can make visibility feel more authentic and purposeful.
Focus on the value you can provide
Think about what you can offer others rather than what you can gain. This includes sharing insights from your experiences, teaching skills you’ve mastered, or highlighting lessons you’ve learned from your failures. When value comes first, awareness of the value you add as a contributor will follow, and your influence will expand.
Capture your impact
In review meetings with your line manager, don’t just write down a list of everything you’ve done, but rather the impact you’ve had. How have you contributed to team or organisational strategic goals? Use the opportunity to show how you continue to grow and develop so your line manager is aware of your appetite for continuous improvement and contribution.
In applications and at interview, focus on the added value you bring. You don’t need to use superlatives to make your achievements sing. Simply quantify or qualify the skills you’ve used by describing your impact.
Leverage the power of storytelling
Consider how sharing personal stories about your challenges or breakthroughs creates connection without feeling as though you’re ‘selling’ yourself. Stories allow people to see your expertise in context while making you more relatable and memorable.
Build through collaboration and community
On platforms such as LinkedIn, feature or mention others in your content. Participate in meaningful conversations, contribute to sector discussions, and support your peers publicly. By elevating others, you naturally elevate yourself while building genuine relationships.
I routinely invite guest blog posts from some of my connections on LinkedIn. This helps others to expand their networks and provides me with different voices and perspectives for my blog. In turn I’m asked to contribute my voice to others’ forthcoming books, podcasts and blogs. I’ve made some great and lasting connections this way.
Master the art of strategic content sharing
Create and curate content on LinkedIn and other platforms and comment on sector news, research, or trends in ways that demonstrate your perspective and expertise. This positions you as a thought leader without directly promoting yourself. Over time, you’ll become a voice others in your field listen to and respect.
Use platforms authentically
Which are the platforms that your sector engages with? Explore how different platforms (e.g. LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, Youtube,) allow for different types of visibility, and how to choose the right medium for your natural communication style.
Small, consistent actions pay off over time
Small, regular contributions to your field build visibility over time more effectively than sporadic self-promotional pushes. At networking events, take time to meet just one or two people who look friendly or interesting. Let go of any idea that you need to get something from them or the conversation. Simply ask questions and listen to what others have to say. Deeper conversations with fewer people will lead to more meaningful connections.
The compound effect of strategic visibility
The compound effect works like financial investing – small, consistent actions accumulate over time to create exponential results. Unlike dramatic self-promotional campaigns that often feel forced and yield temporary attention, strategic visibility builds recognition through steady, authentic contributions.
By commenting thoughtfully on three LinkedIn posts per week as opposed to one major achievement monthly, you’ll make 156 meaningful interactions a year, as opposed to 12. Over time, your frequent contributions become familiar. A trusted voice that people actively seek out. LinkedIn’s algorithms favours more frequent postings so more people will see your content when you post regularly.
Micro-interactions create macro-recognition
Each small action plants a seed in someone’s memory. A helpful response in a professional forum, a quick insight you share on social media, or a thoughtful question you ask during a webinar might seem insignificant individually. But these micro-interactions accumulate in people’s minds, creating a composite picture of your expertise and character. Eventually, you become the person others think of first when opportunities arise.
The trust-building timeline
Strategic visibility operates on what psychologists call the “mere exposure effect” – people develop preferences for things they encounter frequently. By showing up regularly with helpful contributions, you gradually move from unknown to familiar to trusted. This progression can’t be rushed through intensive promotion, but it happens naturally through consistent presence.
The amplification effect
Consistency creates credibility, which leads to amplification by others. When you regularly provide value, people begin sharing your insights, mentioning you in conversations, and recommending you for opportunities. This organic amplification is far more powerful than self-promotion because it comes with the implicit endorsement of the person sharing it.
Strategic patience vs. promotional urgency
The compound approach requires shifting from “I need visibility now” to “I’m building visibility systematically.” This means focusing on showing up helpfully today rather than worrying about immediate recognition. Those who master this approach often find that opportunities begin finding them, rather than the other way around.
What actions will you take to increase your visibility?
Authenticity is the key to being seen. When we show up as our true selves, unapologetically and without masks, we invite others to do the same.
Brené Brown