Manager Advice #2 - Visibility

I think at some point in all of our careers, we've ran into folks that really don't feel like they should be where they are. Incompetent, unknowledgeable, can't hold real conversations, but somehow appear to get everything done. You've probably also known the absolute killer manager or boss who just seems to always be on their A-game every single moment of everyday, coming in with positivity, taking care of their teams, and just overall appears to accomplish everything.

"Appear" is the word I want you to pay attention to here.

For every manager or boss that you've run into that sounds like the above, there's also another who's name you've never heard, who does the job just as well, or just as crap as the people we just mentioned. Visibility actually matters far more in leadership than anything else.

This piece of advice is a few ways to use your visibility to your advantage.

So whether you want it or not, as a manager, you'll be in front of other managers, directors, executives, and maybe even other team members. Your reputation will either excel or destroy you faster than your actual accomplishments.

But I am always told about the things I need to do... if they aren't measuring me on what I can accomplish, then what are they measuring me on?

Friction. That's what they're measuring you on, whether they realize it or not. You may think being a good manager means protecting your team, getting speed and efficiency out of your work, and completing your goals, but that's only part of it, and how you handle it makes a huge difference in your ability to succeed.

If every project you have 35 ways of saying "we can't do that" or trying to hard to create wiggle room in due dates or goals, you'll be a target. There are ways to approach it that appear positive, while also providing valuable feedback and challenge.

Think of it this way; if you have three leaders beneath you over three large teams that do the same things, and you say "we need to get X done by the end of the year," which response works the best?

• "Yes sir, we'll get it done"
• "There's no way, we don't have enough time"
• "Let me go back and see what we can do"

Two of those creates forward momentum, and one of them creates friction. You want to be... well not the guy who creates friction. What this does is give the illusion that you're positive (whether you are or not), thus resulting in a positive reputation.

You've probably seen 80 videos on TikTok about corporate talk. It's true; the larger the company, the more important communication becomes. It's not quite as bad as TikTok makes it out to be though. The problem is that leaders above you (you as a manager, or aspiring manager) all want and expect different things, so you have to... for lack of better words, speak their language.

I've been a leader a few times in my career, and there's different types of people expecting different types of things. What you have to do as a manager, is deliver what they want in ways they can understand. It creates visibility in their mind to where they feel understood and can translate what you said, to those above them.

It sounds ridiculous, but yes, it absolutely makes a difference.

You don't have to change who you are to your boss, but what you have to do is target the language and expectations of those above you. Here's a few examples -

• Some just want you to be present. Even when you're not needed.
• Some expect metrics. Give them the numbers, without the fancy words.
• Some expect challenge, so they'll make impossible assumptions that you need to work through with realistic expectations.
• Some expect efficiency. If you're doing it the right way, with the right MVP, then you win.

It doesn't mean you ignore what needs to be done, but rather you show them what they want to be shown.

You always hear about companies wanting to recognize good employees, celebrate the wins, and reward the hard work. I'll tell from personal experience, it's less about actually rewarding the people who deserve it, and it's more about yelling "my team accomplishes things" from the mountain.

Silence is the ultimate killer of a leader. You'll go under the radar until someone remembers that you exist, and if they have to dig for you or your team's accomplishments, you are wholly at risk of being fired. Why? Because you appear like you're doing nothing whether you are or not.

This is where those awful managers succeed. This is like a cheat code to winning as a leader. You can be an absolute garbage human being, never do anything, be useless, and yet somehow get rewarded from upper management. That "somehow" is being recognized as someone who's team is succeeding and accomplishing things.

The truth is, most directors and executives don't actually have time, and don't create the proper pathways to understanding what happens beneath their leaders. Entire departments could be full of misery, burnt out individuals, and insane amounts of friction, but if that department head is constantly telling management about everything they've accomplished and keeps accepting company changing and altering work... the executives only see that individual's perspective that they've chosen to give and take.

In short, be visible by telling the world about your accomplishments, about your team's accomplishments, and be present and vocal whenever your team gets a win, but also be brutally honest about the situations. It makes all the difference.

So visibility is often invisible to you; so having insight and the ability to see things within yourself is highly important to being a leader. If you can’t do it yourself, then you at least need to be open with others to let yourself accept things you may not see.

A reputation is valuable at a leader level. It’s almost essential. If your reputation sucks, you may not even know it, and y’all; that’s bad. The only way to repair or rebuild a bad reputation is to first know it exists. In order to know it exists, you have to be honest with yourself, and honest and caring with others.

You may think you're killer at getting projects done and prioritizing things, yet your team went silent. You may think you're doing a great job pleasing your management, but your peers have something else to say. You may think you're involvement everywhere is helping, while everyone works around you. The point being here is that you aren't actually hearing any of this, or seeing it because it's in your blind spot. Everyone has them. As a leader, it's just that they affect other people.

This is why your visibility should also go internal, to you, as a person. Sometimes you need sit back and see what you're doing. Ask others for true feedback, and if you can't get it, ask others who can to get the feedback. Honesty hurts, but that suffering ends up turning into something beautiful over time.

Don't twist it already, we haven't even gotten in; no I am not asking you to be involved in everything. I am telling you to appear everywhere, like some omnipotent being. Jokes aside, a lot of what folks are going to judge you on is how much forward progress you make. Some leaders actually analyze what you do, but most just kind of see your name pop up everywhere; documents, meetings, chat rooms, etc. - and realize what you're involved in.

That's what you got to do. Be in all the places. Even if you're just there to ask questions, filter things, acknowledge something, just be there. Lead and make meetings. Create a paper trail for everything and share it. Post annoying "hit all folks in the channel" messages. Create rooms. Find areas to help and poke. Create processes (even if they seem dumb).

What all that does is create an image; when you're super present everywhere, you're in all the conversations and thoughts of those around you. That means your name is involved in a ton of those accomplishments too.

Visibility is important as a leader, and to be honest, it's what I've made the most mistakes in, because I really don't want to be all that visible. I personally love being in the shadows and lifting those around me, rather than leading the charge as the face of the pack.

All of my mistakes though, you can learn from. The advice up above will get you probably 40% of the way to success as a leader. It's a huge chunk.

Good luck out there!