Why Your Best Work Isn't Getting Noticed (And How to Fix It)
“I'm concerned that my leadership has no idea what I'm doing”
Exhaustion was evident in Christina’s voice during our last coaching session. She had just wrapped up a week of late-night troubleshooting sessions for a major project demo – the kind of dedication that should turn heads. But instead of recognition, she was met with silence.
Sound familiar? You're not alone. 30% of professionals report feeling invisible or ignored at work, regardless of their contributions (source).
It's a paradox of modern workplace dynamics: doing great work doesn't automatically translate to being seen for that work.
The Visibility Blindspot: Why Excellence Isn't Enough
Here's what most people get wrong: they assume their work speaks for itself. I see this mistake constantly and I've made this mistake personally. You pour your heart into projects, tackle complex challenges, and deliver outstanding results – all while thinking,
"Surely, they must notice."
But here's the truth that I didn’t learn until I started leading teams: what's crystal clear to you is often completely opaque to leadership.
When I dug deeper with Christina, asking about her communication with her manager, her response illuminated the core issue:
"I've been falling behind on meetings and administrative tasks because I was heads down trying to get this done. I know that my manager knows that I'm working on this project, but I haven't broken down the details of what's happening and how I'm specifically contributing."
My response?
"Well, how are they supposed to acknowledge your work if they don't even know about it?"
The Leadership Perspective
Here's a reality check that will influence how you approach workplace visibility: what's important to you isn't automatically important to your leaders. And it’s not because they don't care – it's because their viewpoint is necessarily different.
Think of it this way - while you're zoomed in at 10x magnification on your specific projects, your leaders are looking at a satellite view of the entire business landscape. They're:
Making strategic decisions that affect multiple teams
Balancing competing priorities across departments
Managing stakeholder expectations at all levels
Synthesizing information from countless sources
The further they are from the front lines, the more they rely on clear signals from their teams about what's happening on the ground.
This isn't a flaw in the system – it's simply how organizations scale.
The Strategic Visibility Framework
Through years of my own experience crafting narratives to leadership, receiving status updates from teams as a manager, and working with professionals across industries, I've developed a framework that consistently helps people like Christina transform from feeling invisible to becoming recognized in their organizations.
Here are the three core principles:
1. Keep It Simple
Most leaders have the intellectual capacity to understand technical details – they've likely done similar work earlier in their careers. But they don't have time to decode information from a hands-on perspective anymore.
Transform your communication by following these guidelines:
Frame Like You're Teaching a Smart 6th Grader
Lead with context: "This is about our customer retention project that aims to reduce churn by 25%"
Focus on business impact: "We've implemented a new caching layer that reduces customer wait times by 40%"
Use clear, jargon-free language while maintaining professional credibility
2. Keep It Brief
I shake my head everytime I see brilliant insights get buried under avalanches of information.
Your message needs to pass the 60 second test – can your manager grasp these four elements within 60 seconds?
What you're communicating
Why it matters
The business impact
Required actions (if any)
Structure your updates like a news article, not a novel.
Lead with the headline, follow with key details, and save the deep dive for optional appendices.
3. Keep It Coming
Visibility isn't a one-time achievement, it's a practice. Your manager is your designated advocate, but they can only advocate for what they know about.
Establish a rhythm of communication that works for both you and your manager:
Weekly bullets of key achievements
Monthly impact summaries
Quarterly strategic alignments
Remember: recency bias is real.
Your incredible achievement from three months ago might be ancient history in your manager's mind if you haven't maintained the narrative.
Implementation Roadmap
Now that you understand the principles, here's how to put them into action:
Audit Your Current Visibility
Track your communication patterns for one week
Note when and how you share achievements
Identify gaps in your visibility strategy
Create Your Communication Template
Design a simple format for regular updates
Run it by a trusted colleague for clarity if needed
Refine based on manager's feedback
Build Your Rhythm
Schedule regular check-ins
Set reminders for updates
Create a simple system for tracking achievements
Your Visibility Action Plan
The gap between doing great work and being recognized for it isn't about your capabilities, it's about communication strategy.
Start with one principle this week:
Choose your key project
Craft a simple, impactful update
Share it with your manager
Note their response and adjust accordingly
If you’re ready to transform your workplace visibility, you can download a free communication template to start structuring your updates for maximum impact.
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