Episode 87: Executive-Level Visibility

The Career Clinic Podcast

Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart

Episode Overview

Welcome to Week Three of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series.

In Episode 87, we continue this week's focus on voice, visibility, and connection by going deeper into what Ronnie calls Executive-Level Visibility — the kind of visibility that creates provision, optionality, and stability in an increasingly uncertain and shifting professional landscape.

This episode reframes visibility as more than posting online or being "seen." Ronnie explores visibility as a strategic asset — one that ensures your name is in the room (even when you aren't), your value is understood by decision-makers, and your career currency remains spendable through transitions, restructures, and market shifts.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ Why your work has never truly "spoken for itself" — and what actually does ✔️ The difference between default visibility and designed visibility ✔️ Why visibility is a form of career provision and protection ✔️ How internal and external visibility work together ✔️ What career currency is — and how visibility makes it usable ✔️ The real reasons high-performing leaders avoid visibility ✔️ Practical steps to intentionally curate executive-level visibility

The Core Truth: Visibility Creates Provision

Ronnie introduces a powerful reframe: visibility is not about attention — it's about access.

Access to:

• Opportunities you didn't know existed

• Advocacy when you're not in the room

• Agency to choose what's next instead of waiting to be chosen

• Protection during restructures, freezes, or leadership compression

In today's hybrid, distributed, and increasingly parasocial work environment, decisions about your career are often made by people who don't interact with you regularly — if at all. Visibility ensures your impact is understood beyond proximity.

Default vs. Designed Visibility

This episode introduces a critical distinction:

Default Visibility

• Based on title, tenure, company brand, or proximity

• Passive and circumstantial

• Fragile during disruption

Designed Visibility

• Intentional, strategic, and aligned with your goals

• Curated by you

• Sustainable through change, transition, and market shifts

Ronnie challenges listeners to ask honestly: Am I visible by default — or am I designing my visibility?

Internal Visibility: The Often-Missed Lever

Many leaders assume internal visibility will "take care of itself." This episode names why that's risky.

Internal visibility includes:

• Being known by skip-level and senior leaders

• Cross-functional partners understanding your strategic value

• Decision-makers being able to articulate why your work matters

Ronnie explains how leaders can be beloved by their teams yet invisible three levels up — and why that gap often shows up during promotions, restructures, and succession conversations.

External Visibility: Creating Options Beyond Your Role

External visibility ensures opportunity is not dependent on your current employer.

This includes:

• Industry reputation

• Recruiters, boards, and partners knowing your name

• Being associated with a point of view or expertise

• Creating mobility, leverage, and choice

The magic isn't either/or — it's both internal and external visibility working together.

Career Currency & Why Visibility Makes It Spendable

Ronnie introduces the concept of career currency — the trust, expertise, results, relationships, and impact you've been building for years.

The key insight: Currency only has value if people know you have it.

Without visibility:

• Your expertise can't be converted

• Your impact remains invisible

• Your receipts go unused

Visibility is what makes your currency spendable.

Why Visibility Feels Hard (and How to Reframe It)

Ronnie names the most common blockers:

• It feels self-promotional

• You're too busy doing the work to talk about the work

• You don't know where to start or what to say

• Social platforms feel performative or inauthentic

The reframe: visibility isn't about ego — it's about stewardship. Stewardship of your work, your people, your ideas, and your future.

A Practical Visibility Framework 📝

1. Audit Your Current Visibility Who knows you? Who knows what you do? Where are the gaps?

2. Define What Visibility Needs to Get You Promotion? Mobility? Protection? Options? Clarity here drives strategy.

3. Build Internal Visibility Intentionally

• Get in front of decision-makers

• Translate work into business impact

• Cultivate skip-level relationships

• Use internal channels thoughtfully

• Document and share wins strategically

4. Build External Visibility Selectively Choose a reach/frequency model that fits your goals and capacity. One platform. One practice. Consistency over volume.

5. Make Visibility Routine, Not a Project Small, weekly actions compound. Systems create sustainability.

This Week's Invitation

Choose one:

• Connect with one internal stakeholder

• Share one insight publicly

• Raise your hand for one opportunity

Do not overthink it. Do not wait for perfect timing.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow's episode continues Week Three with a conversation on Networking vs. Not Working — and why many leaders unintentionally limit opportunity through how they network.

Links & Resources 🤎

📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Submit questions on visibility, networking, or leadership for future episodes: 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT

📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly insights, tools, and grounded leadership guidance. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com

🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com

📬 Contact: [email protected]

Final Thought ✨

Visibility isn't about being louder. It's about ensuring your impact is known, valued, and protected.

You've earned your currency. Now make it usable.

I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎