If you are struggling for visibility, find yourself overlooked when it comes to promotions or new opportunities, or otherwise failing to attract the right sort of attention from senior people, you have a big problem on your hands.
I’m not going to sugar coat it because you need to wake up to the potential that it’s not them, it’s you. In all probability it is something you are doing, or not doing, that is creating the problem.
So come on, take a deep breath and see which of the following key invisibility causes may be blighting your progress. Don’t take it personally. If the cap fits, wear it, wake up, and do something about it – here is a wonderful opportunity to start turning things around.
Cause No. 1: You are boring senior people.
If you keep banging on the same drum in the same way people are going to tune you out of their awareness. If you’ve said it a hundred times, don’t keep saying it. It may still be an issue and you need to find a new way to talk about it. When your message is not getting through, call it a day and change the message or at least the medium.
Alternatively, you may have a boring personality. You don’t have to be the life and soul of the party, you can be an introvert, but most of the time, people are far more interested listening to interesting people. You may have the best of business cases, the most stunning ideas, but if they fall asleep while you deliver the message, wake them up!
Cause No. 2: There is nothing remarkable about you.
Just being a good egg is never enough to get recognised. You have to have something about you that others want to talk about – to others. Something that is different (in a positive way) either about your capability, character, style, results.
This is why in Building a Powerful Reputation I put such heavy emphasis on distinguishing features. In an entrepreneurial/commercial world this would be your USP, a stand-out quality that makes you different from everyone else.
Being professional and having high integrity has little stand-out value when everyone else has the same. Being a top-flight project manager with all your Agile, Scrum and PMBOK qualification is pointless when there are 2,000 other project managers in your organisation.
Cause No. 3: What you have is irrelevant.
Ah now, you may have a stand-out quality or capability, you may be able to add a tremendous amount of value, but it that value is not wanted by the powerful, you are in the wrong place trying to get attention.
To get noticed, you absolutely have to be seen as capable of adding the right value to the agendas of those with power. Their attention is by necessity on solving the problems they (and the organisation) face. If you are not instantly able to contribute to that, they will ignore you. And if I was working with them, I’d be encouraging them to ignore you.
That said, when I’m coaching the invisible, is it is usually quite easy to reposition capability and value so that it resonates with the powerful. Usually a different language and perspective is required, and once done, people can begin to move very fast indeed.
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Cause No. 4: You are hard work.
This is a hard one to become self-aware of. We all know you’re a wonderful, intelligent, generous individual, but sometimes you may be, well, a little too keen? Or a little too assertive? Too challenging? Maybe you’ve got that proverbial chip on your shoulder?
Many things about the way you engage with people can make them disinclined to engage with you. From here I cannot say what this might be for you because I don’t know you. However, I would heartily recommend that you look in the mirror and ask yourself some serious questions about how hard you are making life for others.
The point is, however strongly you feel about the message you need to have heard, there are a great many ways of sending that message. You can wrap it in all sorts of different behaviours. What you need to do is check in and see how your approach might land with those who need to hear it. Don’t make the mistake of losing your message because of the packaging.
And go easy on them. They are only human at the end of the day. They have a different context, different problems, and what may be screamingly obvious to you may be completely wrong with the benefit of their greater knowledge and understanding.
If you can’t look in the mirror, talk to some real friends who will be willing to tell you honestly what they think.
Cause No. 5: You’ve failed to invest in the right relationships.
Given a choice, people will spend time listening to those they like, trust and respect. All those people you want to notice you, where are they on the like, trust and respect scale when they think of you?
Tough one, especially if your access to the powerful is restricted. Though to what extent is this restriction self-imposed? So often I hear excuses that they’d not be interested, or they are too busy. This may be true, but if what you have is something that will be relevant and of high value, people will make the time for you.
Relationships by their nature are two-way. It takes two to Tango. What else could you be doing to build trust with these important people? This is vitally important. During my workshops I stress that before you try to get people to agree with you, you need to get the relationship into a good place. Otherwise, why would they believe you?
Consequently, if you are failing on this point, you may need to put your agenda to one side a little, or at least into the background. Reach out to them and listen to what they have to say, their concerns. Flatter them with your attention, interest and care.
Which is an interesting point to close on.
If you want others to take more notice of you, to show more interest in what you can contribute, to welcome your input, you may find it useful to award them the same. Become far more aware of what they are doing, what they are adding, their agenda. Then you will find multiple ways to link and in turn, get more attention.
Now, just between you and I, take this article in the spirit it was intended. It is not a criticism if any of this applies to you. It is an opportunity to become more self-aware and then to take action. You have a great deal more to offer, and why should it not be you that gets that attention?
If you keep doing what you’ve always done…
Colin Gautrey
Provocative Coach/Mentor | Specialism: Impact and Influence
Ready to take the next step? Discover how personalised coaching can ignite your full potential and accelerate your success. When you’re ready, let’s talk about how we can work together to turn your vision into a reality.
The Gautrey Unleashed Blog
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