Influence, Visibility and Self-Advocacy: How to Be Seen, Heard and Progress Without Losing Yourself
Influence, visibility and self-advocacy are often talked about as if they’re skills you need once you reach a certain level. But, in reality, they shape your career from day one.
And these three things are often the difference between feeling stuck and moving forward at work, no matter your role, function or level.
Across the food and meat industry, we hear the same quiet frustrations from women at every career stage. I’m doing the work, but no one seems to notice. I don’t want to come across as pushy. I’ll speak up once I’m more experienced.
Influence, visibility and self-advocacy aren’t “senior leader skills” or down to 'being more confident' In fact they are brilliant career skills and the great news is that they can be learnt.
Why Visibility and Self-Promotion Matter (Even If It Feels Uncomfortable)
Research consistently shows that visibility matters. A Catalyst Research Report found that women who are proactive in making their achievements visible progress further, feel more satisfied in their careers and see greater compensation growth than those who don’t.
Yet a lot of professionals reply on hard work alone - doing more, taking on more, and they don't focus on being more visible.
Visibility isn’t about ego or being boastful. It’s about ensuring your contribution is understood, especially in busy, fast-moving environments where decisions are made quickly and often without full context.
Influence Starts Earlier Than You Think
Influence is about how your input shapes decisions, conversations and outcomes.
If you’re early in your career, influence might look like asking good questions, sharing ideas in team meetings or being known as someone who follows through. At mid-career, it often means building credibility beyond your immediate role, influencing stakeholders or shaping how work gets done across teams. At senior level, influence becomes about setting direction, role-modelling behaviour and opening doors for others.
Authentic Influence Starts With Knowing Yourself
One of the most powerful messages from Michelle Redfern’s Masterclass on self-promotion is that influence starts with authenticity.
“To be authentic, you have to be fully aware of what makes you great.”
That means taking time to understand yourself before trying to communicate your value to others.
Michelle encourages starting with two practical steps:
1. Recognise your attributes
Ask yourself: what are you known for? It might be being credible, collaborative, decisive, calm under pressure or a brilliant listener. These attributes form part of your professional DNA.
2. Identify your strengths
These are the skills you’ve built over time, such as people leadership, strategic thinking, problem-solving, technical expertise or relationship-building. Tools like Gallup StrengthsFinder can help, but reflection works just as well.
A useful prompt is finishing the sentence: “I am known for my…”
If you can’t articulate this, others won’t be able to either.
Making Self-Advocacy Easier (Especially for Introverts)
Self-advocacy doesn’t have to mean big speeches or bold self-promotion. Michelle suggests creating a simple “brag book” – a private record of achievements, feedback, compliments and milestones. This might be an email folder, notes on your phone or a short document you update regularly.
This makes it much easier to answer questions like:
How’s work going? What have you been proud of recently? What should I know about your role?
This is great preparation and is so much easier to have in advance so you don't feel pressure on the spot if someone asks you!
When and Where to Self-Promote
Self-advocacy works best when it’s regular and low-key, not saved for one big moment. Opportunities show up all the time: one-to-ones, progress updates, town halls, skip-level meetings, CV updates or when you start working with a new manager.
As Michelle puts it, “Your good work is not enough if no one knows about it.”
The Bigger Picture
Michelle reassured us that (luckily) influence, visibility and self-advocacy aren’t about changing who you are, but instead are about making sure your amazing contributions don't stay hidden.
If any of these feel uncomfortable, that’s totally normal! Most of us weren’t taught how to do this, especially in practical, everyday ways. But they’re learnable skills and they’re brilliant for building confidence, progression and long-term fulfilment at work.
