INVISIBLE

I work for a national staffing company supporting corporate operations. I sometimes feel that I have a big challenge in being visible to my organization. In fact, I feel somewhat INvisible sometimes. A lot of my ‘voice’ comes from the work I produce – and is often seen as background information, not as a key impact role in decision making, yet I am told all the time how important data is to leadership in making decisions.  I am told it is critical, in fact. 

When it comes to external career recognition – I find that many others are publicly recognized but the recognition I receive is most often in private, direct to me only - and then I forward it to my direct supervisor and his up line, where I am thanked for my contributions - privately.  It makes me wonder if it is me, or the fact that I am a woman, or just a cultural norm within the corporate world I work in.

I would like to encourage this organization's leaders to treat praise and recognition among all of us equally – not just in certain departments. It’s great to see it happen to others – I applaud those that deserve the recognition for their work, but the silent majority that are 'unsung heroes' of the corporate world often feel left out because they know they are doing things that are just as impactful as the ones that are recognized.

I personally have chosen to tackle this feeling in many tangle ways.  I give thought leadership in whatever issue that I'm invited to speak to – provide unsolicited insights as well as solicited ones, offer recommendations and insights whenever the opportunity arises.  I find ways to raise my voice whenever the opportunity comes.

I look for leadership roles within the context of my role in the organization – and on a personal level. I am involved in community leadership roles and in my church as a women’s group leader.

I examine my insecurities and make sure I am not putting untruthful filters on the circumstances. I don’t think that I am finding insecurity is an issue because I am quick to speak up for myself.

I examine my behaviors - is there anything I'm doing to push people away? I am consulted by other teams on a regular basis, and I do well with my individual work reviews, so I have no real evidence that it is ME - or my own behavior as an obstacle in my path.

I think I am restless. The feeling keeps haunting me that I have no real career path here or that I have nowhere to go up (and by "up" I do not mean the ladder of management). Being unsatisfied with the status quo of a mid-career level corporate position is not the end of the world to me. In fact, maybe it is the catalyst with which I will choose to accelerate some of my life-long goals and reach beyond the corporate existence and for the greater good.

Happy travels and keep dreaming big!