Jul 12, 2022
Become More Visible With These Easy Steps.
2am…
[Phone rings and vibrates simultaneously]
Hello…
Hi, S
Thank you for staying up. I apologize. Had to run an extra shift.
It’s okay. I already left you a voicemail…
S is a friend. She started off as a bank teller, right after we passed out of the national youth service and not long after, she was retained and made a full staff. Six years down the line and many branches in between, she’s now a level II member of the HR department…ABO something something.
My friend S is a sight for sore eyes- the kind of beauty that captivates you from across the hallway- but she’s an introvert. The sharpest sense of humor and wit but she’s an introvert, always in her space, doing her doings, an introvert.
“And she’s in HR?”
Well, what can I say.
“I’m content with being in the background. The spotlight is not for me. The spotlight gives me anxiety, abeg. Moreover, not everyone must lead from the front.” — My friend, S.
You know Moses in the bible and how he ran from leading God’s people from, FROM THE FRONT? Yea.
S is hardworking and creative, diligent and so teachable. She knows it, I know it. But I guess that’s about it for those who know how great S is.
S’ story is a long one but what I want you to focus on is that S got transferred to work from a certain department about a year ago — same role, just a different department- and since she’d already spent the prerequisite three years in her current position, she was due for a promotion.
When it was time, her direct boss told her he didn’t know what she did for the team and that he’d need more time to observe her AND confirm that she didn’t just lazy around, drinking air.
Following the first time he said those words, the conversation came up two more times and his response did not change. He maintained that the fact that she wasn’t as loud as certain other people in the same department and the fact that her partner sent sixty-five percent of the mails meant that she only went to work to help them use up their air and their Wi-fi.
Therefore, let’s talk visibility in the work place.
Can they see you yet?
Do you agree that it’s better for someone to have a +ve or even -ve opinion of you in the workplace than for them to not have any opinion at all?
I mean, this matter of visibility is so important, even more for people who are introverted.
One of my bosses once told me that it looked like I didn’t rate them, “them”, because I was in my seat for most of the day. Plus, I was too private, so they were sure I was being fake — giving them a version of me that wasn’t the fun version. He also had me know that the jobs where people just went in, did their jobs and left without having to interact with so many people were about two percent of all the total existent jobs.
Basically, “come out of your shell or win the award for being the least liked”.
I want you to take a look at some of the crazy and ridiculous voices that might be stopping you from taking the steps or picking up tasks necessary to put you in the spot light and highlight whichever one rings a bell.
“I don’t want to brag”
“I don’t like to be the centre of attention”
“It’s not modest to self-promote”
“Why should I blow my own trumpet?”
“My business manager has my back”
“My partner knows I work hard; they’ve told me numerous times how lucky they are to have me”
“The world might not be fair but it always finds ways to balance things out”
“Somebody is better at it than I am, let them have it”
“I’m not that good. What if I shit the bed?”
“I’m not confident enough and this is for confident people”
“I am comfortable being anonymous”
“What’s yours is yours”
As you can see, the list might just be endless.
Wanna know the wildest thing? Self-promoting is not bragging. And even if it is, who cares??
Let me tell you about Esther. The Bible recorded that the babe knew herself too well. Very strategic, too. She knew when to kit up for the king, when to serenade him and massage his ego, when to agree with the king’s advisers and when to state her thoughts in clear sentences.
Was it balance or was she just lucky to have grown up around a lot of wisdom and mentorship? We’ll never know for sure.
What we know for sure though is that at a certain level in your career, regardless of what you do, leadership and visibility skills will catalyze your promotion faster and even rather than your job skills.
Yes.
Many people who aren’t as proficient or as hardworking as you are are getting the best benefits because you won’t make some noise.
Throw that low self esteem away and stop working in anonymity. Position yourself to be noticed by the right people and don’t let people forget about you. We’re having this conversation because you have a sting, so, STING AWAY. The impact is diverse and the fruits, numerous: you get interesting tasks, more and more visibility, plus, more opportunities which in turn do wonders on your skill set and experience. More tasks mean more practice and the more practice you get, the more you iterate. What better way to become an expert at something than reiteration? It’s a loop. Then comes the recognition that erupts within the circles in your organization (all things being equal sha) and eventually seeps into the outside world.
When the external recognition commences, what follows is more and more growth and opportunities to grow. Some people grow to the point that they switch careers completely. You basically get access to opportunities that originally would not have been open to you. When people can see you, you get a trillion chances to display your talent and effect your sting. You become invaluable and resultantly, you become the go-to person for certain tasks, thus further enhancing your profile.
Everybody benefits from you becoming more visible — your direct boss and team inclusive. When I was quitting one of my jobs, my business manager told me he’d miss me on all my accounts. Then, we went on to yarn the different reasons why he would.
But you need to be intentional and you need to do a lot of personal branding too.
What do you wanna be known for? An expert? Okayyy, at what? of what? in what? A thought leader in what niche? (although I recognize that one person can be an expert at more than one thing…)
Since personal branding is the art of selling people and marketing their careers as if they were brands, it follows that investing in personal branding would mean doing things that are so delicately intentional that they influence how people perceive you, who you are and what you stand for in a positive light both internally and externally. I mean, something must have made Jeff Bezos say that your brand is what people say about you when you aren’t in the room.
Management is always drawing up all kinds of lists: promotions, lay offs, incentives, name it. What list will your name fall in?
Abi they won’t even remember your name?
Imagine putting your thoughts, time and sweat into a job for a full three sixty five days (Q1, Q2 and what not), only for someone to ask you “what do you do here?”
Premium insolence.
If someone looked you up online, will they find anything?
Personal branding sets you apart from every other person.
Bruce Lee once said “absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically your own”. This translates to adding the essence of you which only you can bring. Just like Salt bae.
Start like this…
- Take up the task of delivering a keynote address every once in a while.
- Or develop a blog
- Or write a compelling bio on the company website
- You can contribute to/write physical and electronic articles, column publications. You should write them regularly too.
- If you’re camera shy, amplify other options like videos without your face but with your voice.
- Never be afraid to introduce yourself wherever you go. (On my first podcast some years ago, my co-host asked me to do a small intro as per I was just joining the team and I went “hi guys, welcome to sososo podcast, glad to be here”. He made me do another take o, and I said my full government name as well as what I was about).
- Go big or go home when it comes to networking. I know how hard this one can be!! Whether it’s on digital or in real life, go big or go home. Periodt. In the Love Island community, we call it grafting. You aren’t looking for love, I know, but constantly be grafting. And don’t undermine yourself by grafting in one direction.
So, go up to your bosses, go out to your peers and go down to your subordinates. Internally and externally.
8. Move across departments and work across teams. This puts you on everybody’s radar. See what I said about knowing a bit about everything?
9. ALWAYS CONTRIBUTE IN MEETINGS. Prepare your thoughts and be conscious of your body language. (To be honest, I’ve never cared for meetings. I never want to impress nobody. I’d rather text my idea to my partner for them to say it or place it on a sticky note and pass it forward/around or even stick it on the strategy board after the meeting but this my two korokoro eyes have seen things. Imagine scenes where you hear that your partner is the only one doing all the work from ideation to execution because you steady sit back and let them echo your ideas during meetings.
Plus, e sure me sey if pesin tiff your idea, you go wan talk am for everybody front the next time. see ehn, for that retreat, raise your hand first.
10. Have a sting. Man or woman, have your own sting o.
11. Make yourself available for tasks that take you out of your department and always try to provide innovative solutions. You’ll be better off as a problem solver than as a problem identifier.
12. Help your bosses achieve their goals, they’ll most likely return the favour, if they are normal. This even strengthens your relationship with them. Don’t go about trying to snatch their jobs or worse, sucking up to them. Eww. I mean I get the who “learn how to manage your bosses” mantra but I am sure I don’t need to kiss ass to manage my boss. Thanks. Plus if my boss is a normal person and not a bastard, we will flow.
13. Be willing and mobile enough to volunteer, sometimes.
14. Always look the part. Your appearance too can set you apart. Get creative with the lewks but don’t spiral.
15. And my personal least favorite, ask for opportunities. Especially when they refuse to come on their own.
Remember, arm yourself with knowledge. Everybody either learned on the job or they are learning on the job. So don’t let anybody give you shit for learning on the job.
You deserve proper recognition for your work. Put yourself out there, garage-door-up style.
Collect that shiny assignment, raise your hands and drop that idea as e dey hot, snatch the high profile briefs and smash like the hulk, attend those conferences and mix up, oh you introvert. Take steps to make people think of you whenever they think of your field. In advertising, they call it Top Of The Mind Awareness.
A certain Dave Buck — while keeping it a buck I might add- once said and I quote:
“Your brand is a gateway to your true work. You know you are here to do something or help others in some way. The question is, how can you set up your life and work so that you can do it? The answer lies in your brand. When you create a compelling brand, you attract people who want the promise of your brand- which you deliver.”
What is the promise of your brand? You know how you can never taste bottom-pot Nigerian Jollof rice and not know? That’s what I’m talking about. And until we become as big as bottom-pot Jollof, we will tie a big rock to the ankle of that fear (or whatever it is that fucks our shit up as introverts) and push it down a slope. If the slope can just manage to be as goddamn slopey as that one in Jexi, greattttt!!!
Amen?
I personally believe you are lucky if you discover what you are good at. And I believe you should make every step you take while doing that thing as loud as thunder.
Silence is loud o but noise don enter set.
Go be a scream queen/king, love. Activate the Vuvuzela approach. Loud as thunder, baby. When you take a step, I want them to hear derereng.
If you’ve read up to this point, then you are intentional about being seen for all you are and all that you can be.
If this is your first time reading anything from me, welcome welcome welcome. You can’t see me but I’m dancing.
Feel free to highlight parts of this that jumped out at you. You can also clap for this post as many as fifty times. I assure you, you are doing the Lord’s work.
Alright, I’m rooting for you, honey.
