Kate is the mid-level director I introduced in my last post, who was the invisible employee in her company. She was smart, talented and good at her job, yet she was stuck in the mid-level while less hard-working employees had zoomed by her on the fast track.
Why is that? It seems so unfair. But visibility counts in the career world.
To get unstuck, Kate began an internal networking and visibility campaign. Kate started volunteering for cross-functional task forces so she could contribute in a broader fashion and build her internal network. Since she had a large team of direct reports, she set up a monthly lunch-and-learn, and invited senior executives and colleagues she wanted to meet to present to the group.
No longer the invisible woman, Kate now had a network of supporters throughout the company. It didn’t happen immediately, but Kate eventually got her promotion about nine moths after she began her personal marketing campaign.
The higher you go in your job, you’ll find you need visibility and the ability to create positive perceptions about yourself.