You assume a good manager will see your work eventually. So you do strong work, keep your head down, and wait.
How long have you been waiting?
That instinct is understandable. Making yourself more visible can feel like angling, one step from toadying to the boss.
When I was newly assigned a secretary, she asked me in our first week for my “user manual”: how I liked to work, what I wanted to see, when to interrupt me. The relief was immediate. I trusted her faster, and she worked better, because neither of us was guessing.
In markets, a company with transparent disclosure trades at a smaller discount. The less investors have to guess, the closer to fair value they will mark it.
Managers work the same way. I once managed an analyst who sat with a portfolio team but reported to me. His work went to them, in emails and meetings I was never in. When his name came up in reviews, I wanted to advocate for him and had almost nothing to carry into the room.
My secretary could ask me for my manual. Most people can’t ask their manager for theirs, so the move runs the other way: you offer your own, before anyone asks.
The market discounts what it cannot see. So does your manager.
This week’s ROE Letter is about handing over the manual to your own work.
https://substack.com/@charmianlong
If your manager could finally read you, what would they hand you that they can’t today?
#ReturnOnEnergy #HighPerformance #ExecutiveCoaching #InvestmentLeadership #CareerStrategy #Leadership