Beyond the Role: Visibility, Voice, and Vision for Your Career Growth
I recently delivered a presentation and keynote at a couple national conferences for mission-driven professionals wanting to grow their influence, advance their careers, and make a greater impact. The theme of this talk was Beyond the Role — a call to stop letting job titles define us and start leading from wherever we are.
Growth doesn’t happen by accident. Root yourself by knowing your purpose. Define what’s at the end of the path we are traveling down, our final destination, our goal. When you create a clear, specific and meaningful objective, it will become your North Star. All future strategies you employ will be in service of this goal.
The you can identify possibilities that aligns with where you want to go. Invest in deepening your skills, expanding your network, and aligning your work with your purpose and possibilities. Whether you’re aiming to expand your visibility within your organization, find your voice in key conversations, or advocating for the future, three strategies can help you move forward with clarity and confidence: Visibility, Voice, and Vision.
VISIBILITY: How to Be Seen for the Value You Bring
Visibility is about creating opportunities for your work to be showcased and seen by others, strategically ensuring the right people see the value you bring. Think about your co-workers who can sing your praises to their supervisors. Or leaders in your organization who can invite you into conversations. Or your clients or constituents you directly serve advocating for the impact you orchestrate. Identify who should know about what you’re doing and identify ways for them to see or hear about your work.
Here’s how you build visibility intentionally:
Know your impact. Track both the measurable results and the stories behind your work. When you can speak to both data and narrative, your value becomes tangible.
Share strategically. Don’t wait for your annual review to communicate your wins. Share updates with your manager regularly, highlight results in one-on-one or team meetings, or offer to present outcomes at other organizational meetings where you can communicate upwards.
Build cross-functional relationships. Attend other teams’ meetings. Learn their goals. Offer support. When people across your organization know what you do and how it connects to what they do, your reputation grows as a strategist and go-to colleague for getting things done.
Say yes to stretch projects. Take on high-profile or cross-functional initiatives that get you noticed beyond your immediate team. Help decision-makers get to know you, see you in a new light and witness your skills in action.
Contribute to your industry. Think beyond your organization and share lessons learned, project milestones, or reflections on your own LinkedIn or through your organization’s communications channels (e.g., socials, newsletters, press releases, blogs). Your voice has power outside your department.
Visibility creates momentum. It opens doors to new opportunities and helps you shift from being a background contributor to a recognized leader.
VOICE: How to Speak Up with Confidence and Clarity
How do you speak up with confidence and clarity to advocate for your goal? I will start by saying: No one will care more about your goal than you do. Your voice is one of your most powerful tools. But many professionals hold back out of fear of being wrong, not being ready, or not having the "right" title (see my last article, “Fear to Fuel: Embracing Fear to Advance Your Professional Journey” for more on this topic!).
If you’re feeling stuck, just remember this one word: Practice! I’ve worked with many coaching clients that are nervous and fearful of saying something wrong in a room full of people.
Here's how to grow your voice, speak up and be heard:
Prepare with purpose. Know the goals of the meeting or conversation. think through some ideas, questions or insights you can share when the time comes that will add value.
Start small. If speaking up in large groups feels intimidating, start by contributing in one-on-one or smaller group settings. Confidence builds with practice. Ask for feedback so you can continue to refine your messaging and presence. Then challenge yourself; up the ante and start moving into larger spaces.
Speak to elevate, not just impress. Add comments that move the discussion forward, show curiosity, or advocate for others. People will remember how your contributions made the deliberation better.
Challenge ideas constructively. Being a leader means identifying gaps or blind spots, naming them with respect and clarity. This shows how you can see obstacles or pitfalls others may not and can work through how to mitigate these risks. You’ll build trust when people know you can surface hard truths and respond with recommendations and not criticism.
Use your voice beyond the organization. Write. Mentor. Present. Consult. Advocate. When you share what you know, you grow your influence and expand the impact of your ideas.
Voice is how you become known for your thinking — not just your output.
VISION: How to Look Ahead and Lead Others Towards Your Vision
Vision is about zooming out: seeing where your career, your team, and your organization could go and positioning yourself to help shape that future. Remember, you are the subject-matter expert for what you do and can offer your unique and cultivated perspective to high-level conversations and decisions. It’s time to move past the administrative role of the job and into the transformative: strategy, vision, impact.
Here's how to lead with vision:
Remember your North Star. What’s the future you’re working toward? Make sure it’s clearly defined and easily communicated so your choices align.
Know the business. This is critical and a step often skipped. Know how your organization works: its strategy, its challenges, its priorities. When your ideas align with real needs, you earn credibility.
Think BIG. What would be possible if resources weren’t a limitation? One limit today could be gone tomorrow. Speak regularly to this vision to plant the seeds for growth and expansion and share the return on investment it will bring.
Stay future-focused. The nature of work keeps evolving, whether its changes in technology, the political or environmental landscape, or the communities you serve. Speak about what’s next, not just what’s now. Adding your vision of what’s possible can help your organization adapt and lead effectively.
Mentor the next generation. Even while we are looking forward, it is good practice to also look behind. Are we preparing the next generation, those who will fill our roles as we move up? Are they ready for this next step as well? By investing in others, you build lasting impact.
Vision is what transforms you from a high performer into a strategic, innovative leader.
BOTTOM LINE:
Every professional, regardless of industry or title, has the potential to lead — not just through position, but through presence. Sometimes it can feel insurmountable or unachievable to reach our goal. We can talk ourselves out of even trying because we tell the story that our organization doesn’t see growth in this position or there’s no money for funding your vision. Don’t surrender to this limiting belief. Don’t take yourself out of the race before it begins. Even if it doesn’t happen today or tomorrow, keep working towards your goal. So when the opportunity presents itself, you are ready.
Get visible. Use your voice. Share your vision. Because when you lead with intention, you invite others to see you differently… and you open the door to new possibilities.
And if this message resonates with you, let’s connect. I’d love to hear how you’re applying Visibility, Voice, and Vision in your own work. And I’m always happy to share tools, resources, or a little encouragement along the way!