Module Fourteen: Visibility
Visibility is a word most of us use without defining. In leadership, it means being present in ways others can read and rely on. Being available is the starting point, though what people actually take from it is how you show up once you're there. We asked leaders across the organization what visibility means to them and why it matters to the way they lead. Here's what they said.
Eric: "Visibility builds trust and alignment. Without visibility, your culture can become very toxic very quickly. Because if you're not visible, you don't build that trust, therefore you don't build a culture of collaboration and genuine prioritization of what's important."
Jennifer: "Visibility means being present to see and hear people, to stay connected. Also, it helps with the motivation. It helps me stay motivated, it helps the teams stay motivated, and we can get through more challenges that way."
A theme that came up again and again was that visibility isn't the same as being seen. Presenting to a room, walking the floor, and appearing in meetings all count for something, but each of these leaders described visibility as depending on what happens once you're there.
Jake: "How you are visible is not just about presenting in a big audience, it's actually about being present in a meeting, or in a moment, and being present for your peers. So I think, just giving people that mindset, that you can be flexible, when thinking about visibility for yourself."
Stephanie: "Visibility isn't just being on the floor, it's about being understood, trusted, and connected. Being able to be there to acknowledge the challenges, provide the context for the changes we're making, and make sure the connections are clear to the overall priorities."
Rebecca: "It's also about showing up in the right way… to truly be visible and build trust you need to be focused on clarity, connectivity, consistency vs being visible and eroding trust because you show up as 'I'm the guy in charge, I know everything and I'm going to tell you how to do it.' So I really want my leaders to understand that to be physically visible, cognitively visible, but actually show up in the right way to build that trust."
“More visibility is more power, but more vulnerability. ”
Others talked about what visibility accomplishes, and both answers came back to connection. People need to understand how their work fits into something larger, and they take their cues about what matters from where their leaders spend their time.
Anthony: "It's the ability to articulate to team members the big picture of the company. We have to connect with them so they can relate and understand their contribution to the success of the company."
Peter: "Your visibility sets the expectation for the rest of the team, because you have to be present and visible at the place where the action and the work is happening."
Two leaders raised something that's easy to overlook. Visibility isn't a thing you switch on for certain occasions. People are reading you in the moments you'd never think to count, and the story they tell about you gets built out of all of them.
Steve: "We need to realize as leaders that stories get generated about us, whether we like it or not. Just based on our position in the organization, so being visible in the right way helps us shape that story in a way that can be positive, that can give us more influence on that story that gets shaped around the organization."
Allen: "The one thing we have to remind ourselves of is that we're visible, even when we're not trying to be visible. We are visible to the people we lead at all times. So the consistency of that visibility is key. If I'm upbeat in a meeting and excited about the topic, the next interaction I have with that person is in the hallway where I'm rushed, I'm angry about something, that creates an impact for that individual and that interaction."
We asked you the same question in the previous module. Here are a few of the replies you shared.
Much of what these leaders described shows up in the lessons ahead. Visible Leadership covers what it actually looks like in practice. Staying Grounded Under Pressure covers what happens when the demands on you rise and your team needs more from you at the same time. Respect Through Transparency covers how being open with people is what respect really requires. Let's get started!
