There are so many ways to create visibility for yourself, but what if you have a colleague who also wants more visibility? Then you might want to choose the visibility partnership approach! This partnership is created when you and your colleague find opportunities to share wins, results, and accomplishments about each other with key stakeholders, decision makers, influencers, and with your online network. Both of the people in the partnership advocate for the other to gain visibility.
Of course, it is always important to create your own visibility but when others share things about you, it is even better. It shows that this person believes in you and is lending credibility to you. They build up your reputation and you are doing the same for them. This on-going reciprocity between two partners is not just a one-time opportunity but can continue as long as you want. You can also extend this same approach to a larger group of people that will support each other’s visibility. I have seen this work so effectively with groups of people who have implemented it!
There are various ways to partner with each other, but here are some ideas for you to try today:
In Meetings
The goal is to look for opportunities to help each other speak up or to highlight what the other person is doing. Here is an example of how it works: Tom and Wendy are in a meeting together and have agreed to help each other with their visibility. Tom shares his presentation with the leadership team and knows that Wendy has something great to contribute to the conversation. He asks Wendy to share her thoughts on the topic which gives her an opportunity to stand out too. This approach allowed both Tom and Wendy to share their thoughts with the group and show their value.
Social Media/Online Posts
The goal is to highlight something that a colleague is doing with your audience and network. Your colleague will now think about doing the same for you! For example, a friend of mine just launched her podcast so I made a post (click to see what it looked like) to support her launch. You can also tag people when you want them to be able to add to the conversation. You can even tag someone in an article that you share online and ask them to share their thoughts.
Connection/Networking Opportunity
The goal is to add value and find ways to talk about what you and your visibility partner are doing that will help you both be seen. During the conversation, if they mention a problem they have, you can ask them if there is anything that you can do to support or help them. Is there an opportunity to connect them with your visibility partner or someone else in your network? Are they looking to expand their network and you have some people that they should meet? You can send a message to both people sharing why you think it would be great for them to meet each other and let them connect from there.
Job Recommendation/Informational Interview
The goal is to help someone by making an introduction to a connection for a potential role or informational interview. Do you have a friend who needs a new job and you know someone who is hiring? Do you know a potential candidate who wants to work at a company, and you know someone at that company who could share their experience? Send a note to make the introduction and share why you think they would have a great conversation.
Hallway Conversation
The goal is to be prepared with talking points to share about you, your team and your visibility partner when you have hallway interactions. When you run into a colleague, you could say hi and move on or you could take the time to share how things are going for you. This could be an update on a project or sharing something great about your team. Some great conversations can happen when you are just walking down the hall…assuming you are in the office. Having a conversation opens up an opportunity to share updates about yourself, your colleagues and your team.
1:1 with a Senior Leader
The goal is to prepare 2-3 things that you want them to know to discuss in the conversation. Listen for opportunities to add value first. Ask how you could help them with a challenge or share an idea that you have to support them on a problem. You may be able to make a connection or share a recommendation that will help them be more productive. Find ways to weave in the results that you, your team, or a colleague are getting during the conversation. Senior leaders may not always have visibility to everyone in the organization so this helps them learn about the good things that people are doing. It also helps you show the thought leadership you have on the talent in the organization.