Dear reader,
I have always believed that if you do good work, the right people will notice.
I still believe that. But I’ve realized it is not the whole picture.
Most people around us are busy. They have their own deadlines, their own problems, their own things to figure out. They are not and cannot watch everything we do. So when it comes time to evaluate who is doing well and who is not, they go by what they have seen (or were shown).
Which means if you are doing great work but you're doing it quietly, you are mostly invisible.
This is not a flaw in the people around you. It is how things work. Visibility is not the same as self-promotion. Keeping the right people in the loop is not the same as bragging. It is just making sure that the work you are doing is actually seen. Sometimes this could also make you aware that your time and energy could be better spent solving a different problem.
I've yet to internalize this entirely. Doing the work has never been the problem for me. But letting people know that I had done it has been.
I am still working on this. But I think the first step is just accepting that doing good work and making sure it is noticed are two separate skills, and both matter in a lot of workplaces. So recognize what kind of workplace you're in and be flexible on your approach.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
See you next week.
Warmly,
Suraj