Course of Action

So, you’ve worked your butt off, and now you’re getting invited to meetings you weren’t privy to before. That’s a good sign. Getting a seat at the table is half the battle to moving up. Now, may I ask where you choose to sit in these meetings? And what are you doing at these gatherings to get noticed? Er, did I just hear you say you’re staying quiet at the back of the room? Please don’t waste these opportunities. The only thing that is mo' better than being invited to the table is using the invitation to gain more visibility. Visibility matters.

Even when you think no one is watching, someone is paying attention to every single thing you do.

If there was one thing I learned throughout my years in corporate America it was this: even when you think no one is watching, someone is paying attention to every single thing you do. These silent observations could be impacting you during HiPo meetings.

HiPo is the abbreviation for High Potential. And HiPo meetings are meetings where managers get together to discuss and evaluate which high potential employees should be given stretch assignments, shadowing opportunities, professional development or leadership development courses, and even those who are ready to be promoted. These meetings are quite common in Corporate America and happen quarterly or twice a year in the spring and fall (so...right about NOW).

In these meetings, managers come prepared to support their case for promoting their strongest direct reports, replete with supporting documentation to prove their HiPos are ready to level up.

Do you know one place managers can pull examples from? Your contribution at meetings. But if you’re sitting against the wall, not speaking up, and not raising items that add value to the conversation, your name may not be raised in these important discussions. If that’s you right now, we have some work to do. Here are three ways to maximize your visibility via meetings.

#1 Do choose your seat at meetings wisely.

Sitting within the spotlight sends the message that you want to be there and involved.

I always advise my clients to position themselves strategically in meetings. Sit at the table, toward the front of the room, or within the sight line of the CEO. Yes, this is the equivalent of sitting at the front of the room when you were in school. When you sit in these positions, it benefits you in a few ways.

First, it’s hard to be distracted by anything but the meeting when the CEO’s eyes are on you. You aren’t tempted to check your cell phone or write out your grocery list when you know your actions are being more closely observed. Second, these seats give you a chance to be involved in what’s going on even if it’s just active listening (i.e., making direct eye contact and nodding along). You and the leaders running the meeting are in the sight lines of others who are sitting further back in the room. I don’t have any solid researched evidence that you’ll be more highly thought of when you’re associated with the leaders of the company, but let’s act as if that is the case.

Finally, sitting within the spotlight sends the message that you want to be there and involved. And side note, there’s no shame in planning out something to add to the meeting before it happens so that when you are sitting at the conference room table or in the front row of the global town hall meeting, you have something of substance to say. Don’t hesitate to raise your hand. Pay attention to the quality of your questions, and be sure you’re asking a question! There’s nothing worse than having someone raise their hand who promptly proceeds to ramble on about something that isn’t relevant to the majority of those in the room. Use your time wisely.

Remember, people are watching you. Active listening, confidence to sit with the movers and shakers, and appearing like you want to be involved are all great characteristics of a future leader, as well as behaviors you want management to associate with you.

#2 Do advance planning to ensure your meetings go well.

We need to have a meetin’ before the meetin’ to make sure we’re all singing from the same hymn book.

I once was surprised that a colleague’s meeting had gone more smoothly than I had expected it to. Sometimes, ideas pitched in meetings are met with crickets, while other times, ideas that are no better seem to have everyone’s buy in and support. That was the kind of meeting I had left. And I was pondering out loud (okay, a little incredulously) to a Black male co-worker how our white colleague had managed to garner so much support. His answer startled me … “Those m$#@)!ers aren’t ever showing up to any meeting unless they’ve thrown their ideas against the wall first with one of their own.”

I later heard this same message again, but without the swear words, from the head of my company’s African American External Advisory Council who happened to be a very savvy minister. He called and requested I set up a meeting a week before the formal council meeting, saying, “Please get all of the council members’ availability. We need to have a meetin’ before the meetin’ to make sure we’re all singing from the same hymn book.”

The point is this: If you want management to notice you as someone with great ideas or great points, have a meeting before the meeting so that when you raise an issue, you know that there's at least one advocate in the room with you who's going to say, “That's a great idea” or “My team would love to collaborate with you on this.” These pre-meetings are also helpful for identifying and practicing overcoming objections with sound solutions. It highlights how you’ve proactively thought through all possible roadblocks and obstacles. Proactively make a list of those invited to the meeting and schedule time to talk with individuals you feel confident you can sway or help advance your agenda. Be prepared however, the same may be expected of you in the future.

#3 Use internal chat boards.

Your same influencer skills can help you professionally when applied to your company's internal intranets and chat platforms.

This option is a fun and fairly seamless way to gain exposure if social media interaction comes easily for you in your personal life. Your same influencer skills can help you professionally when applied to your company's internal intranets and chat platforms. Interaction on these sites are a great way to raise your visibility with internal audiences you may not work with every day, especially your global co-workers. These platforms can be monitored on employees’ own time zones and the ensuing engagement can increase productivity and even morale among employees and managers alike. Being visible, joining these conversations – or better yet initiating the conversations, polls or general dialogue – is an excellent way to garner respect and support from cohorts. You can share industry-relevant posts or articles or best practices you think your cohorts might find interesting on these platforms. Positioning yourself as the “go-to” subject matter expert can help increase your visibility and demonstrate you’re interested in engaging the thoughts and opinions of others and getting to know them both on and off the clock. It might also highlight how smart you are and that you know what you’re doing.

Of course, these three tactics in and of themselves won’t ensure you get a mention at the next HiPo meeting. Serving up excellence doing what you were hired to do, should be the norm. But when coupled with consistent high performance, these tactics can improve your chances. Intentionality is one of my favorite words. You have to be intentional to get ahead, and that includes planning to get noticed internally.

Level Up with Grace is a weekly newsletter designed to equip Black women (and others) who want to unapologetically create a stellar career with the strategies, insights, and techniques needed to excel in corporate America. Executive coach Cheryl Grace shares a curation of thoughts, articles, profiles, trends, and tactics that can help women advance to their next professional level, wherever they are on their career journey. Weekly emphasis on Confidence, Curiosity, Case Studies (Personal Profiles), Connection (Networking), or Course of Action (What to DO). Please subscribe and/or share!

Our whip-smart writing and research team includes Lisa A. Alleyne, Peppur Chambers, and Anthony Tone Payton.

Graphics: Shutterstock Stock Images illustrated by the fabulously talented Natalia Hubbert.

Powerful Penny LLC is an executive coaching, consulting, and lifestyle firm founded by veteran corporate executive Cheryl Grace. We work with corporations seeking to promote, retain, and support diverse talent, as well as diverse professionals seeking to advance to their next level of career success. Our professional development services, coaching programs, and speaking/workshop series are fully customizable. Discover how we can help you achieve your desired long-term results!