Sarah Hassanein, PhD

Participate in Learning Opportunities Company-wide training events, such as seminars or "lunch and learn" sessions, provide great opportunities for you to become better known within your organization. When you attend them, make an effort to contribute to discussions, and partner with people you don't already know in "break out" sessions, so that you can build your network. Demonstrate Your Expertise When you're seen as an expert in your organization, you'll develop a reputation as someone who others can come to for help. This type of expert power can lead to interesting work projects and opportunities coming your way, which can increase your visibility.

Volunteer to Represent Your Team If your team sends a representative to cross-departmental meetings, ask your boss if you can attend. You could also volunteer to speak at project or committee meetings, or at company town hall meetings. Start by giving presentations to colleagues or in small team meetings. As you develop your skills, and your confidence grows, increase the size of your audience. With planning and practice, you'll grow in confidence and your public speaking skills will improve dramatically.

If you have a good relationship with your mentors and professionals, they can be a valuable ally in improving your visibility. In your next meeting or one-on-one, let your manager know that you want to increase your visibility. Use the time to discuss what's going well, ask for suggestions on how you can add more value to the team, and find out about opportunities to raise your profile.

Speak up in Meetings Do you feel comfortable sharing your ideas in meetings, or do you feel shy, because you're worried about how others will react? Meetings are a great opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and increase your visibility within your team or department. If you don't speak up currently, work on developing your self-confidence, so that you feel more at ease being the center of attention. Also, learn how to be a more engaging speaker, so you make an impact that's memorable for the right reasons, and push yourself to say more. To plan what you could say in a meeting, read the agenda beforehand and think about the questions you want to ask or the points you want to make and will give you the confidence to speak up.

Your identity will become a mirror of the perception you create amongst your colleagues, leaders and your team. If you want to be seen as a leader, you have to see yourself as one first and move accordingly. One of the best ways to improve spend visibility is to automate as much of the data gathering and analysis process as possible. This will minimize the amount of time spent manually gathering and sorting information, allowing you to focus on more important tasks.

Listens to hear, not to respond. They listen to help you do your best thinking. Supports you to make decisions, not tells you how to make them. Asks you great questions to help guide your thinking, rather than just telling you what to think. Provides clear, direct, and timely feedback to help you grow, not just to criticize and knock you down. Uses values to guide their actions rather than just goals and bottom-lines. Celebrates and embraces diversity and different ways of seeing and thinking about the world and our work. Intentionally creates spaces in which people feel safe and valued. Helps people to acknowledge and learn from their failures.