The Visibility Gap: Why Good Work Isn’t Getting You Noticed
The Momentum Files #66
Visibility as protection, not performance.
In uncertain markets, visibility isn’t about being louder.
It’s about being clearer, more intentional, and strategically positioned.
And right now, that distinction matters more than ever.
Across industries, high-performing professionals are watching layoffs happen around them - sometimes suddenly, sometimes quietly, often without clear logic. Teams are leaner. Leaders are stretched. Decisions are being made faster, with less information.
In that environment, many capable people are asking the same question:
“Why does it feel like being good at my job doesn’t protect me the way it used to?”
This is the visibility gap.
The Visibility Gap (And Why It’s Wider Right Now)
The visibility gap is the space between:
the value you’re creating
and how clearly that value is recognized, remembered, and protected
In stable environments, good work often speaks for itself.
In moments like this, it rarely does.
Not because your work suddenly became less valuable - but because attention is fragmented, priorities are shifting, and leaders are making decisions under pressure.
When markets feel unpredictable:
recognition becomes inconsistent
contribution becomes harder to see
being “reliable” gets mistaken for being replaceable
and quiet excellence gets overlooked
This is not a personal failure.
It’s a structural one.
And it’s why visibility needs to be reframed.
Visibility Is Not Self-Promotion. It’s Positioning.
One of the biggest misconceptions I see is this:
Visibility = being louder, more visible, more “out there.”
That’s not only untrue - it’s risky advice in a volatile market.
Strategic visibility is not about performing more.
It’s about being positioned clearly in the right contexts, with the right people, for the right reasons.
Think of visibility as:
clarity, not volume
relevance, not exposure
alignment, not attention
This is where most professionals get stuck.
They’re producing.
They’re delivering.
They’re exceeding expectations.
But they’re not positioned.
What Strategic Visibility Is Not Right Now
In uncertain markets, visibility often gets misunderstood.
Strategic visibility is not:
posting constantly to prove relevance
talking more in meetings without purpose
trying to be visible to everyone
over-documenting your work “just in case”
Those behaviors often increase anxiety without increasing protection.
Strategic visibility is quieter, more intentional, and far more selective about where energy goes.
Strategic Visibility vs Performative Visibility
This distinction matters more than ever.
Performative visibility asks:
- How do I look active?
Strategic visibility asks:
- Who needs to understand my value, and why?
Performative visibility is loud.
- Strategic visibility is precise.
Performative visibility reacts to fear.
- Strategic visibility responds to priorities.
In unstable markets, precision matters more than volume.
This is where the idea of visibility as protection becomes practical.
Client Story: Career Direction Isn’t One Decision, It’s an Ongoing Practice
A client came to me at a point many professionals recognize but don’t always say out loud.
She knew she wanted a new line of work. She also knew that if she didn’t act soon, she might lose the courage to try and spend years wondering “what if.”
Our early work focused on clarity, not urgency. She got honest about her values, how she wanted to show up at work, and what she genuinely needed to feel engaged and do her best work.
That clarity helped her land a role in a completely new field fairly early on.
But the story didn’t end there.
Once inside the new organization, the reality of a new company and new industry brought a different kind of challenge. Instead of assuming something was “wrong,” we slowed down and examined what wasn’t quite fitting.
Through that process, she realized she was being underutilized. She didn’t need another move; she needed more complexity and challenge.
We worked on how to name that clearly and advocate for projects that tapped into her strengths.
That shift changed how visible and valued she felt, not by working harder, but by positioning herself more intentionally.
Vision - Voice - Visibility: Visibility as Career Protection
This is why I often work with clients using a Vision - Voice - Visibility framework.
Not as a branding exercise - but as a career protection strategy.
1. Vision: Be clear about what you want to be known for
In unstable markets, people remember patterns, not effort.
Ask yourself:
What problems do I consistently solve?
What kind of impact do I want associated with my name?
Where am I uniquely strong?
Without vision, visibility becomes scattered.
2. Voice: Articulate your value in human language
Good work doesn’t speak. People do.
Voice is about:
naming your contributions clearly
connecting your work to outcomes
translating effort into impact
This isn’t boasting.
It’s context-setting.
If you want a deeper dive on this idea, you may also appreciate my blog post titled:
You Don’t Need a New Job to Grow.
3. Visibility: Be seen in the right places, not everywhere
Visibility isn’t about broadcasting.
It’s about placement:
the rooms you’re in
the conversations you’re part of
the people who associate you with key priorities
In uncertain times, being visible to the right five people matters more than being visible to fifty.
Power Circles: Visibility Through Risk Diversification
This is also where Power Circles matter more than ever.
Power Circles aren’t networking lists.
They’re risk diversification.
Your Power Circle includes:
mentors who see the big picture
peers who understand your reality
connectors who expand opportunity
advocates who speak your name when you’re not in the room
In volatile markets, relying on one leader, one team, or one organization for visibility is fragile.
Power Circles create:
perspective
optionality
continuity when things shift
This is why I don’t talk about networking as relationship-building alone.
I talk about it as career risk diversification.
If uncertainty has been shaking your confidence, you may also find this blog post helpful:
How to Stay Confident in Uncertain Career Seasons.
What Strategic Visibility Looks Like in Practice
I worked with a client recently who realized their visibility problem wasn’t effort - it was placement.
They were highly visible inside their immediate team, but nearly invisible to cross-functional leaders who influenced resourcing decisions.
Instead of doing more, they:
clarified what they wanted to be known for
identified three relationships that mattered most
shifted where they invested their energy
Nothing dramatic changed externally.
But internally, their position became much more secure.
If Layoffs Are Happening Around You
When uncertainty increases, people often default to one of two extremes:
hiding and keeping their head down
or over-performing in hopes of being “safe”
Neither is strategic.
Visibility, when done well, isn’t about protecting a job.
It’s about protecting your position - your relevance, relationships, and optionality.
Visibility Is Positioning, Not Performance
Here’s the reframe I want you to hold onto:
You don’t need to do more.
- You need to be clearer.
Strategic visibility looks like:
aligning your work with visible priorities
choosing conversations intentionally
strengthening relationships before you need them
making your value easier to understand
It’s not about urgency.
- It’s about positioning.
And positioning compounds.
Client Story: Repositioning After Long Tenure
One client came to me after more than two decades with the same company.
She wasn’t junior. She wasn’t underperforming. She wasn’t lost.
But she had started to quietly doubt whether her experience would still “land” anywhere else.
What she needed wasn’t new skills.
It was a reset of how she saw herself and how she articulated her value.
As we worked together, her mindset didn’t so much change as it refocused. She got clear on what she was genuinely good at, what she wanted her work to support now, and which opportunities actually fit her priorities.
Instead of chasing everything, she learned how to evaluate trade-offs and pursue roles that met her where she was today.
That clarity didn’t just restore confidence.
It made her visible again in the right ways.
Practical Reflection: Closing the Visibility Gap
If this resonates, start here:
Where am I relying on performance instead of positioning?
Who actually understands my value right now?
Where am I doing strong work that isn’t clearly visible?
What would it look like to clarify, not amplify?
These are not performance questions.
They’re strategic ones.
Final Thought
In uncertain markets, visibility isn’t optional - but it doesn’t need to be performative.
When visibility is rooted in clarity, relationships, and intention, it becomes stabilizing rather than stressful.
Not louder.
Not constant.
Just strategic.
If You’re Ready for More Than Reflection…
If this post resonated and you’re ready for more clarity, structure, or support, here are a few ways I work with professionals navigating visibility and uncertainty:
Career Club
A strategic, supportive community for professionals in transition and growth. We focus on clarity, visibility, confidence, and momentum - with weekly structure and real conversation.
Executive Blueprint Call
A 30-minute targeted consult designed to bring clarity fast. You’ll receive a 1-page Executive Momentum Blueprint within 24 hours, plus a 7-day follow-up check-in.
Career Vault
A growing library of practical tools to support career direction, visibility, and intentional momentum - at your own pace.