Make Your Leadership Impact Visible. As you become more senior in an organization, visibility isn’t optional—it’s expected. But when your team is doing the hands-on work, how do you talk about your role without taking undue credit or sounding vague? Here’s how to own your contributions with clarity and credibility. Use “we-then-me” structure. Acknowledge the team first, then describe your own role. This signals collaboration while making your input clear. It’s more credible than leading with “I,” especially when your work involves guiding others.
As you become more senior in an organization, visibility isn’t optional—it’s expected. But when your team is doing the hands-on work, how do you talk about your role without taking undue credit or sounding vague? Here’s how to own your contributions with clarity and credibility.
Use “we-then-me” structure. Acknowledge the team first, then describe your own role. This signals collaboration while making your input clear. It’s more credible than leading with “I,” especially when your work involves guiding others.
Speak to scale. Always contextualize the scope of your work, including budget, audience, or timeline. Instead of “I led the campaign,” say “I directed a campaign that reached 2 million customers.” Use leadership verbs like oversaw, guided, or secured buy-in.
Show your strategic thinking. Anyone can explain what happened. Your competitive advantage is explaining why it happened. Highlight key decisions, tradeoffs, and risks you managed. This demonstrates executive judgment and reinforces your business impact.
Name the invisible work. Bring the behind-the-scenes effort to the foreground. Relationship-building, alignment, and conflict resolution often go unnoticed unless you call them out.
Highlight your stewardship. Frame how you advanced values, built talent, or reinforced the mission. These are critical indicators of senior-level success.
