In my work as a HR professional and as a coach, I met many introverts who struggled with having visibility at work to aid their progression. The most common feedback I get is that speaking up or sharing their viewpoints when not asked to would be too showy, too pretentious, and not their authentic self. Yet, I hear the same group complaining that their stellar work performance would have spoken about their contributions and value, and that it would be unfair that their promotions were overlooked because another colleague had more visibility.
I, too, struggled with this uncomfortable need to be visible, especially being left in my own world to deliver what I do best would be something most welcoming to the introverted self. However, career development is a co-ownership and partnership between myself and my supervisor. I am not helping my supervisor to support my career development, when no one at the table knows who I am when he says he wants to promote me.
So what does it take for one to do their part for their career development? Well, there is an easy framework to work with.
Now we know that career development or progression is not going to happen just relying on our work performance. Visibility (exposure) and image play a part, too. The next step is to figure what we could do to increase our visibility while remaining to our authentic self. This requires inner work to shift our mindsets and perspectives about certain actions and behaviours, and to figure out what behaviours and actions would be a comfortable stretch for us to start with while remaining aligned with our values. For a start, we could stop labelling voicing our opinions when not asked as pretentious or showy. Opinions and suggestions matter at work because it serves to help each other deliver the best piece of work. You are making a contribution when sharing a valued opinion.
What shifts would you consider to improve your professional visibility at work?