Doing your job well isn’t always enough.
If you want to advance in your career, you need more than performance—you need visibility at work.
In most organizations, promotions don’t just go to the hardest worker. They go to the person who delivers results and makes those results easy to see, easy to explain, and easy to trust.
This week’s Growth Steps focuses on how to manage up, earn trust at work, and create the kind of visibility that leads to career momentum—not just more tasks.
Whether you’re new in a role or aiming for a step up, these strategies will help you grow without feeling like you’re bragging.
This week’s visual playbook outlines the five stages of becoming visible and trusted—from “doing the work” to “leading the work”—plus three essential principles for managing up effectively.
If your manager doesn’t know what you’re achieving or how your work impacts the team, they can’t support your career growth—no matter how good your work is.
This isn’t about ego. It’s about clarity.
Your manager is busy, and if you want their trust, it’s your job to make your value clear.
Promotions often come down to one thing:
Can your manager confidently explain why you deserve the next opportunity?
If you’re not actively communicating your progress and potential, the answer is probably no.
That’s why professional visibility and building trust at work are core leadership skills—not just nice-to-haves.
One of the biggest hurdles to getting promoted is the discomfort people feel around self-promotion.
You don’t want to sound arrogant.
You don’t want to “talk yourself up.”
So you assume your work will speak for itself.
But here’s the truth:
Work doesn’t speak. You do.
To stand out and earn manager trust, focus on sharing value—not volume. Here’s how to make it easier:
1. Share outcomes, not effort.
Instead of saying “I worked on the report,” say “The report helped the team spot a 15% drop in churn—three weeks early.”
2. Give credit generously.
Mention collaborators. Highlight team wins.
This builds influence while keeping ego out of it.
3. Normalize short updates.
Send a weekly bullet. Recap a meeting takeaway.
Even one sentence that connects your work to impact builds clarity and credibility.
You’re not promoting yourself—you’re giving your manager the context they need to support you.
That’s leadership.
This book is a career staple for anyone stepping into leadership or preparing for it. It’s packed with tactical ways to improve communication, earn trust, and increase your impact—without waiting for a title.
Key takeaway:
You can’t lead until others understand how you think.
Visibility isn’t a spotlight. It’s a skill.
“If you don’t promote yourself, no one else will.
But if you do it well, they won’t have to.”
— Unknown
This week, pick one win—big or small—and connect it to business impact.
Then share it in a sentence or two.
With your manager, your team, or your peers.
That’s not self-promotion.
That’s how leaders manage up.
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