The Power Pair: Why Visibility and Connection Build Unstoppable Career

Caroline Esterson
Oct 19
4 min read

Most careers don’t derail because people aren’t good at their jobs. They derail because no one sees how good they are.

You can be the most talented person in the room (clever, capable, relentlessly committed), but if you’re invisible to the people who make decisions, your hard work hits a ceiling.

That’s the harsh truth most of us weren’t taught. We were raised on the myth that if you just keep your head down and do great work, someone will notice. They won’t.

The Career Flywheel and Why This Bit Gets Ignored

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know the Career Flywheel has four major Power Plays. The first two - Make It Matter and Spot & Solve are the tangible, visible parts of the job. You spot the gap, fix it and deliver results. It’s clean, direct, satisfying.

But the next two - Build Your Circle and Be Seen - are where most talented people fall off the map. They’re too busy doing the work to show the work. Too busy keeping promises to share their progress.

And that’s where careers quietly stall; not from lack of skill, but from lack of signal.

Hard Work Alone Doesn’t Travel

You think they’ll hear:

“Wow, they’re so committed.”What they actually hear is:“Busy. Tired. Still not adding visible value.”

Effort doesn’t scale on its own. It needs amplification. Reputation and relationships are the engines that carry your work further than you can alone.

And before you roll your eyes at the word networking — let’s redefine it.

Networking Isn’t Collecting Contacts; It’s Curating Trust

Many people shudder at the word networking. They go to a conference, listen to some speakers, take a few pics (and avid notes), then rush around the exhibition determined not to make eye contact. They might start to follow a few of the speakers and perhaps they bump into someone over coffee and connect on LinkedIn. That’s not building a network. It's avoiding it.

Find out your Networking Style with our quiz

Real connection is built through trust, reciprocity, and visibility over time. It’s what happens when people see you show up, follow through, and deliver consistently.

You don’t need hundreds of contacts. You need the right three types of people around you:

Amplifiers: the ones who mention your name in rooms you’re not in.
Challengers: the ones who push you when you’re shrinking yourself.
Anchors: the ones who keep you grounded when imposter syndrome hits.

These three create your circle of credibility. They help you stretch, stay steady, and stay seen.

Visibility Isn’t Vanity; It’s Clarity

This one triggers people. Visibility has been unfairly branded as showing off, self-promotion, or ego.

But visibility, done right, is simply accuracy.

It’s helping people see your impact so they can value it. Because no matter how good your work is, people make decisions based on what’s visible, not what’s assumed.

Research from McKinsey and LeanIn.org shows that women are 43% less likely to be recognised for their ideas, even when contributing equally. That’s not a competence gap; it’s a visibility gap. And it’s not just women. Plenty of men were brought up to believe that doing a good job was enough; that visibility was arrogance. It’s not. It’s context. Work doesn’t speak. People do. So if you’re not shaping your own narrative, someone else is doing it for you; and probably not as well.

Small Move, Big Impact: The Friday Reflection

One of the simplest visibility habits is what I call the Friday Reflection. End your week with a short note to a key stakeholder - not a brag, a briefing.

one thing you achieved,
one insight you gained,
one challenge you’re working on and how you plan to tackle it.

It’s professional transparency and it keeps you visible, relevant, and trusted.

Connection Without Cringe: Practical Ways to Build Depth

Want to build your circle without feeling like a schmoozer? Try this:

Comment with substance, not emojis.
Send a “Saw this and thought of you” message - no strings, just value.
Follow up after a good conversation, even if it’s just, “Loved that chat, here’s the link I mentioned.”
Tag someone publicly when you talk about a shared idea or win - it’s visibility for both of you.
Once a month, reach out to one person in your network with curiosity: “What’s catching your attention right now?”