Contact Us

Join Thousands of Auditors, CPAs, Executives, Managers and Their Teams Who Have Achieved Greater Professional Success

Home/Blog/Better!/How to Get Recognized at Work: Good Work Must Be Visible

How to Get Recognized at Work: Good Work Must Be Visible

We all want to get recognized at work. Receiving acknowledgment and appreciation for the effort we put into our jobs makes us feel valued. Research has shown that employee recognition is incredibly important because it leads to increased productivity, engagement, and satisfaction. And yet, many talented, hard-working, high-performing professionals struggle to be noticed. 

If this is true in your case, then it’s time to make your good work visible to those around you.

The Challenge of Getting Recognized at Work

Over the course of my career, I’ve talked with countless people who felt discouraged about not getting recognized at work. It’s a common issue. However, an interaction with a business performance client named Mary sticks out. 

During our meeting, Mary looked at me across the table. Her eyes grew distant as she said, “It’s just so frustrating. I work hard and produce solid results. I’m dependable and I never make waves. But no one seems to notice.”

Does this sound familiar?

I’m guessing if you follow along with the ideas and examples I share in my live programs and on my website, you might be feeling the same way as Mary. You do good solid work but receive minimal confirmation that anyone notices. Often, they just take your dependability for granted.

It doesn’t mean your contributions aren’t appreciated. It means they just aren’t being seen. Chances are, it’s because you’re not taking steps to stand out. 

Granted, there is certainly a delicate balance that must be struck between working quietly and blowing your own horn. But at the end of the day, your good work must be visible—even obvious to others who can influence your compensation and career advancement. Otherwise, you’ll continue to go unnoticed in your workplace. 

4 Actions to Make Good Work Visible

The good news is there are steps you can take to make your good work visible. By doing so, you can get the recognition at work you deserve. More than that, you can establish influence at your job and advance your career. 

Here are four recommended actions to consider:

  1. Strive to Do Good Work Every Day.

First, you must continue to build your foundation of solid, reliable results. In short, do good work every day. To get recognized at work, you need to keep performing at a high level. 

How?

Also, never forget to make your boss look like a hero. They’ll appreciate you for it! Plus, it will go a long toward helping you earn greater recognition. 

  1. Write Regularly to Demonstrate Your Expertise.

Second, write—and do so regularly. One overlooked opportunity to showcase our abilities is to write and share what we’ve written with others. It can be as simple as drafting brief how-to articles on the following:

Do you notice the common theme? All of these ideas and yours should focus on showing others how to do something relevant. It’s about educating people and providing them with valuable information based on your own expertise. 

After writing, publish your ideas in in-house and client newsletters, blogs, and on social media sites. You could even submit them to professional journals. 

It’s a great way to document your expertise and make your good work visible. You will both help others with your ideas and reach a wide audience of readers. And you never know where that might lead!

  1. Look for Opportunities to Speak Up.

Third, start speaking up. That’s right—speak up and make yourself heard when you have something to share. Look for both formal and informal opportunities to stand and speak. Aim to be concise, clear, and helpful. Adopt the point of view of the listener. Always ask yourself, “What’s in it for them?” Look at every business conversation, meeting, and presentation as an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise. 

That being said, don’t wing it. Make a point of practicing your message out loud in advance. I know that’s common sense, but it’s not common practice.

One of my favorite quotes on this topic is from Bill Gove. Gove was one of the pioneers of professional speaking and the first president of the National Speakers Association. He said, “Everyone sells their ideas every time they open their mouth—so why not get good at it.”

By learning how to speak well and doing it more often, you can increase your chances of getting recognized at work.

  1. Volunteer to Help Whenever You Can. 

Fourth, volunteer to help out in your workplace. Every day in our work environments, opportunities pop up to volunteer. So, take advantage of them by sharing your input or asking how you can help!

And then, pass along the ideas to your supervisor with the offer to get personally involved. You and I both know that in many situations, your offer will be declined. But you should still volunteer to help anyway.

Get Recognized at Work for Your Performance

Try the four ideas above to make your good work more visible to others. Remember to be tactful and modest in your approach. But make sure as many people as possible know you as someone with great ideas who is willing to put them into action. Get started right now, and look forward to getting recognized at work.