How to Increase Your Executive Visibility

(Because being the "best kept secret" won't help you progress in your career...)

There comes a point in your career where simply “being good at your job” stops being enough.

It’s table stakes. The minimum. The very least you should be doing.

I know that might sting a little, but it’s important to me that I help you understand this. As a leadership and career coach, I work with so many brilliant professionals who are struggling to get ahead or move into a more senior leadership role, and it’s often because they have failed to recognise this.

As a former corporate leader myself (I was a director of corp communications for more than 20 years), I also made this mistake when I was emerging into leadership. And I paid for it, in terms of missed opportunities, unsuccessful promotion / succession plans and more.

So I know exactly how it feels to be caught up in what I call the “quietly competent” trap.

And it’s devastating once you realise what’s happening.

You work hard. (Often harder and longer than other people). You know you deliver. You know your team respects you. You know you're making a difference.

But somehow, it’s not quite cutting through with the people who make the big decisions, about roles, pay, influence and progression.

And if you’re anything like many of the aspiring leaders I coach, you’ve probably heard some version of this:

“You need to raise your profile.”
“You need to be more visible.”
Or that vague classic: “You need to think more strategically.”

But what does that actually mean in practice, especially when you already feel like you’re stretched to the max, already performing, and you don’t want to come across as shouting for attention, or letting your ego lead you?

We’re going to unpack this today.

And get ready. Because I want you to start actively considering your executive visibility.

Why and how you can increase yours with the stakeholders that really matter (without being fake, or losing sight of who you are in the process.)

And if you want to go even deeper with this work after reading today’s coaching advice, (and a promotion or senior progression is high on your list for 2025), then grab my Promotion Playbook. It’s packed with scripts, exercises, worksheets and coaching advice (based on successful results with my clients and in my career) that will accelerate your path to promotion.

You can even upgrade here to become a founding member of Lead with Intention, which gets you a one to one coaching session with me, where I help you identify your visibility plan (and remove any blocks or barriers that might be getting in the way!)

Let’s get into it. And let’s start with a mindset shift.

Visibility isn’t about ego, it’s about leadership

And it’s not about being loud. It’s about being clear.

Clear about who you are, the value you bring (and how you do it), and how that supports what is most important to your organisation.

Remember - if you don’t shape that story, others will, and they might get it wrong.

Worse - they might have a perception of you that is going to keep you small and “othered” in leadership development conversations.

I’ve worked with so many smart, capable professionals stuck in this space. You’ve worked hard to be low-maintenance. To deliver without fuss. To be the person everyone can rely on. To be “helpful”. (If you know my work, you know how I feel about that term…)

But that same quiet competence can work against you when it’s time to move forward and claim your space.

The 3Rs of Executive Visibility

Here’s a simple framework I often share with clients to help them shift from reactive to intentional visibility:

Relevance: who actually needs to see your work?
Get specific. Think beyond your boss, who are the decision-makers, the influencers, the ones with a say in your next opportunity? (There’s a worksheet for this in my Promotion Playbook by the way.)

Reinforcement: how do they hear about your impact? It’s not just about what you did, it’s about the difference it made. Are you showing the link between your work and business goals? This is an area we often neglect - get this right and it’s a game changer!

Reputation: what are you known for (and is that still serving you?) Are you still seen as the person who gets stuff done quietly? Or are you becoming known for your strategic thinking and leadership voice?

But here’s the real magic when it comes to increasing your leadership visibility…

And it comes when you realise this…