Latest / The Promotion Memo with Fexingo: Getting Visibility, Sponsors, and Executive Presence / How a Career Visibility Map Landed a Senior Manager Promotion
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's a number that's been stuck in my head all week, and it's from a study that I can't quite place, but the gist is that something like seventy percent of promotion decisions are made before you even walk into the room. It's not about the interview or the final review, it's about who's already seen you work, who's already formed an opinion about you. Luna: That's a terrifying stat if you're someone who just assumes your work speaks for itself. Lucas: Exactly. And it's the whole reason today's case matters. This is Priya, a senior analyst at a mid-sized logistics firm, and she's the person who turned that invisible reality into a promotion. She got passed over twice, and then she built something she called a career visibility map. Luna: Okay, I've heard of visibility audits — we did an episode on that a few months back. How is a map different? Lucas: Great question. A visibility audit is usually a list of places you've been seen and where you're missing. A map is more strategic. It's about plotting the people who actually control or influence promotion decisions, and then identifying which of those people have never seen your best work. Priya's map had three columns: decision-makers, influencers, and blind spots. Luna: So it's not just about being visible, it's about being visible to the right people. Lucas: Right. For Priya, the decision-makers were the VP of operations, the director of analytics — her direct boss — and the head of HR. But when she mapped it out, she realized the VP had never once seen her present. She'd been in the room for quarterly reviews, but she was always behind the scenes, sending data to her boss who then presented it. Luna: So she was doing the work, but someone else was getting the face time. That's a classic blind spot. Lucas: Classic. And she also found that the head of HR only knew her from her annual self-assessment, which she'd been writing in a very modest, almost apologetic tone. She'd write things like 'contributed to the Q3 analysis' instead of 'led the development of a new forecasting model that saved the company four hundred thousand dollars a year.' Luna: Ouch. That's a visibility gap that has nothing to do with being in the room and everything to do with how you frame your work. Lucas: Exactly. So Priya didn't just try to be more visible in general. She used her map to target three specific moves. First, she volunteered to present the next quarter's results directly to the VP. She had to push back on her boss, who was used to doing that, but she framed it as 'I want to take on more client-facing responsibility' — which was a development goal they'd already agreed on. Luna: Clever. She tied it to an existing goal, so it didn't feel like a power grab. Lucas: Exactly. Second, she started writing a monthly one-page insight memo that she sent to the VP, the director, and the head of HR. Not a status update — like, here's a pattern I noticed in our delivery data, here's what it means, here's what I recommend. It took her about two hours a month, but it put her name in front of three decision-makers on a regular basis, with something that showed her thinking, not just her work. Luna: That's the kind of thing that builds executive presence without being a self-promoter. It's valuable, not braggy. Lucas: And the third move was the boldest. She asked to be put on a cross-functional audit that was going to report directly to the board. It was a six-week project looking at cost inefficiencies across three departments. She volunteered even though it meant extra hours. And that project gave her exposure to the CFO, who wasn't even on her original map, but who ended up being a key advocate. Luna: So the map expanded as she went. She found a new influencer she hadn't even planned for. Lucas: And that's exactly what a good map does — it's a living document, not a static list. Priya updated hers every month. But the key thing is, within nine months of building that map, she got the senior manager promotion. And when she asked for feedback after the decision, the VP specifically mentioned her presentation, her memos, and her work on the audit. Not once did he mention her day-to-day deliverables, which had been excellent for two years. Luna: Which kind of proves the point. The work was always there, but the visibility is what unlocked the promotion. Lucas: So let's take that apart a bit, because I think a lot of people hear this and think, 'Okay, I need to start presenting more, writing memos, and volunteering for stuff.' But that's not the lesson. The lesson is the map itself — you have to know who matters and where you're invisible before you start doing anything. Luna: And I think the hard part is being honest about your blind spots. It's uncomfortable to realize that your boss might be unintentionally blocking your visibility, or that HR only sees a one-line summary of your year. Lucas: Absolutely. Priya told me that the hardest moment was writing down 'VP has never seen me present' and 'HR thinks I'm just a data analyst.' She said it felt like admitting she'd been invisible for two years. But that honesty is what made the map actionable. Luna: So how would someone actually start building their own map? Is it as simple as drawing three columns? Lucas: Pretty much. Start by listing the people who are in the room when promotion decisions get made. That's usually your boss, your boss's boss, maybe HR, and anyone who leads a related function. Then for each person, ask yourself: have they ever seen me deliver something directly? Have they ever read something I wrote? Have they ever heard me speak in a meeting where they were the audience? That last one is the most important. Luna: And if the answer is no for a few of them, that's your blind spot list. Lucas: Exactly. But I'd add one more nuance. The map shouldn't just be about who you're invisible to. It should also include who your advocates are — people who've seen your work and speak well of you when you're not in the room. Priya's map had a fourth column for advocates, and she found she had more than she thought, including a peer who'd always praised her in team meetings. Luna: So you're not just finding where you're weak, you're also leveraging where you're already strong. Lucas: Right. And one of the things that made Priya's map work was that she didn't try to do everything at once. She picked two or three high-impact actions and focused on them for a quarter. Then she'd reassess and see if the visibility had shifted. It's a system, not a one-time exercise. Luna: I also like that she didn't just go for the flashy stuff. Writing a monthly memo is pretty unglamorous, but it's consistent and it shows long-term thinking. Lucas: Yeah, and that consistency matters. Visibility is a function of frequency and quality. A one-off great presentation is good, but a monthly memo that's genuinely useful builds a reputation over time. Priya's VP told me he started looking forward to her memos because they were always insightful and well-structured. That's a reputation you can't fake. Luna: So what if someone works in a role where they don't have a lot of direct contact with senior leaders? Like, they're in a back-office function or a small team. Can they still build a map? Lucas: That's a great question, and the answer is yes, but it takes more creativity. For example, I know a woman who worked in internal IT and she built a map that included the heads of every department she supported. She started sending a monthly 'tech tip' email that helped them solve common problems, and she volunteered to run a training session. Within a year, she was known across the company as the person who makes tech easy. That's visibility, even if the CEO never sees her. Luna: So it's about finding the people who matter to your career trajectory, not just the top of the org chart. Lucas: Exactly. And let's be clear, this isn't about being fake or playing politics. It's about making sure your work is actually seen by the people who can affect your path. If you do great work and nobody knows, that's on you, not them. I mean, it's not fair, but it's the reality. Luna: I think that's the real lesson from Priya's story. It's not just about the map, it's about taking ownership of your own visibility. Lucas: Yeah, and that's something we hear a lot on this show. People wait for their boss to notice them, but that rarely happens. You have to create those moments. Priya didn't wait for the promotion committee to figure her out — she showed them who she was. Luna: And I think that's a good place to note, if you're listening and you've been thinking about your own visibility, maybe today is the day you start your map. It's a small effort that can pay off in a big way. Lucas: And honestly, if today's episode helped you think through that, we'd love it if you considered supporting the show. It's the kind of thing that keeps this podcast ad-free and helps us keep doing these deep dives. The link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, but every little bit counts. Luna: Yeah, and it's a nice way to say thanks if you've got value from any of our episodes, not just this one. Lucas: Right. So back to the map. One thing I want to stress is that Priya's map wasn't just about getting a promotion — it also made her better at her job. Once she knew who the decision-makers were, she could tailor her work to their priorities. For example, she started framing her analysis in terms of cost savings and risk mitigation, because that's what the VP cared about, not just technical elegance. Luna: That's a nice side effect. You're not just becoming more visible, you're becoming more strategic. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the kind of thing that stays with you even after you get the promotion. Priya is now a senior manager, and she says she still keeps a version of the map, but now it's about her team's visibility, not just her own. She wants to make sure her people don't hit the same wall she did. Luna: That's the sign of a good leader. She's taking the lesson and multiplying it.