The Visibility Trap

If you’ve been advised to ‘be more visible’ (a vague statement in itself) to be more ‘leaderlike’, it’s easy to assume that means speaking up more often, being omnipresent or continuously proving your worth (loudly.) While that might hold some truth, it’s essential to understand that visibility without presence and clarity is just noise.

If you lack clarity on what you want to be known for, all that extra effort can feel exhausting and ultimately be for nothing. It’s disorienting and exhausting for others when they don’t understand the purpose behind your presence. So you’ll appear the very opposite of ‘leaderlike.’

So, start by defining the kind of leader you aspire to be – what you stand for and what you won’t tolerate. Reflect on how you add value, then show up consistently aligned with that vision.

This is what I term strategic visibility. It’s far more impactful than merely being seen everywhere for no apparent reason. (And let’s face it, we all know people who show up everywhere but achieve very little.)

If you shifted your focus away from being everywhere to being recognised for the right things – for your zone of genius –  how would that transform your impact?

Imagine being the go-to person for turning ideas into actionable results (not the same as ‘fixing it’ for everyone, I hasten to add!). Or the genius at fostering collaboration among diverse groups working toward common goals. Or the person who outs the elephants in the room and gets everyone moving forward with energy and purpose.

When visibility meets your zone of genius, you become unstoppable!