YPAC recently attended an amazing webinar hosted by Angela Huser and Airtame.
Angela Huser is a career advancement coach for leaders and badasses and her session absolutely radiated that energy. Angela is committed to change management and coaching for companies and individuals – her mission in life is moving people.
Check out Angela here: https://angelahuser.com/
The session was structured in three parts asking participants to asses where they currently rate their visibility, then look into some theory, and finally to come up with strategies for increasing visibility. When asked to rate our own visibility when considering an outside view, we were challenged to consider our own contributions and accomplishments but then to filter them through the lens of others. And further, to consider the lens of other teams or senior leaders at our organizations.
Looking into theory, and how we can prepare a strategy before acting, Angela highlighted that the following must be considered:
- What area are we highlighting to be more visible?
- What specifically are we going to be making visible?
- Towards whom is this targeted? What channel should it take?
There is a tendency to be working away diligently on our tasks, without stopping to reflect on what needs to be recognized (by ourselves AND others). Taking the time to acknowledge and track our own accomplishments helps us have examples that we can share later on. Considering whom this is directed to is important as well. We want to be focused and strategic with highlighting our successes. The channel is also critical. E-mail isn’t always the right method. Nor is phone. It is dependent on the person who you want to become more visible towards. A great tip is to ask that person how they want to be reached.
Next, our group moved towards strategies to improve our visibility. Some key tips were:
- Distill the information – be concise and pick a great example that highlights your accomplishment, condense big accomplishments to broader teams/senior leadership via a “one-slider” (a single power point slide)
- Be present – ask questions, make connections
- Ask for help and feedback (builds trust)
- Get the good projects so that you build exposure
- Be excited – share your successes authentically!
Being visible in a work environment is hard. A remote work environment makes it even harder. We loved sharing tips and tricks with fellow attendees and developing strategies for ensuring that our accomplishments were noticed by the right people.
Some other strategies we developed:
● Going out for virtual lunch / coffee
● Follow-up with people who capture your interest during presentations (could lead to your next promo).
● Make yourself available “Do you need help with anything?”
● Proactively reach out by phone or video when feeling isolated. Others relate.
● Be the person to facilitate, initiate and provide a space to connect.
● Make contributions or regular postings a habit to make it less daunting
● Show your authentic character – after all, people are excited about people