"You need to become more visible!"
A phrase that many women in management positions hear - but what does it actually mean?
"Selling" your own successes? Getting more involved in meetings? Do more self-marketing?
Or is there more to it than that?
Visibility is not just a question of presence, but of impact.
Many people confuse visibility with mere presence. However, it is not about "being there" or "showing yourself", but about how you are perceived.
- Visibility means being recognized for your own personality and individual strengths.
- Visibility does not arise by chance, but in an environment with certain rules.
What factors influence visibility in the company?
- Hierarchies - influence and recognition are often linked to position.
- Networks & informal structures - Who has access to the relevant decision-making spaces?
- Unconscious patterns of perception - Who is considered a "natural leader"?
Visibility is also a question of structures - but not only.
In addition to hierarchies and formal structures, informal dynamics play a decisive role. And above all: your own conscious positioning.
Who am I? What do I stand for? How do I want to be perceived?
And this is exactly where it gets difficult for many women.
Many women are excellent at what they do. But they do not recognize their strengths and individuality clearly enough. At crucial moments, they hesitate and hold back. They believe they have to be much better before they can show themselves. At the same time, they struggle with inner convictions: Visibility should not come across as staged self-marketing.
Visibility arises in an interplay between individual positioning and the structures of a company - i.e. hierarchies, informal dynamics and unconscious patterns of perception
- The crucial question is therefore not: "Am I visible?"
- Rather: "Am I as a personality visible to the right people - in the right way?"
How do the invisible rules of visibility work - and what do they mean for me?