𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁

One of the things I have been intentionally working on this year is becoming more visible professionally.

Not visibility in the sense of trying to be everywhere or constantly talking about myself, but in the sense of participating, asking questions, sharing what I am learning, contributing to conversations, and allowing people to actually see me grow.

For a while, I thought my challenge with visibility was simply about confidence. But the more I paid attention to what was happening in the moments when I held myself back, the more I realized there was something deeper underneath it.

I was constantly comparing myself to the people around me.

When I met people with more experience, I assumed they had more to contribute. If others understood a technical concept faster than I did, I questioned my own ability. And when I heard someone speak confidently during a discussion, I sometimes wondered whether what I wanted to add was even worth saying.

The thought running quietly in the background was often the same:

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗲.

When you repeatedly tell yourself that, it naturally changes how you show up. You hesitate before asking the question, reconsider sharing the idea, or stay quiet during a conversation because you assume everyone else already knows more than you do.

What makes this interesting for me is that I am actually an extrovert. I enjoy meeting people, being around communities, having conversations, and connecting with others, so being social itself was never really the issue.

That distinction helped me understand something important: 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

You can be an extrovert and still make yourself small in professional spaces. You can enjoy talking to people while hesitating to ask a technical question, love being part of a community while holding back during a discussion, or have an idea and convince yourself that somebody else probably has a better one.

Looking back, I think imposter syndrome affected my professional visibility far more than my personality ever did.

After I was laid off, this became one of the areas I wanted to work on intentionally.

Of course, I also wanted to continue strengthening my technical skills, practicing problem-solving, attending classes, and becoming a stronger developer. At the same time, I realized that continuously improving in private would not automatically teach me how to participate confidently in professional spaces.

I needed to practice being visible too.

For me, that meant making small decisions that challenged the habit of disappearing into the background whenever I felt like everyone else knew more than I did. I started turning my camera on during virtual classes whenever possible, participating more actively in technical communities and online spaces, asking questions even when I worried they might be obvious, sharing what I was learning, and becoming more intentional about following up with people.

One of the biggest lessons from that experience has been realizing that 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲.

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

I used to think that being visible professionally meant I needed to have something impressive to contribute. If I was going to speak, ask a question, post something, or participate in a discussion, I wanted to be sure that what I was saying was valuable enough.

That standard can make it very easy to stay quiet.

The more I participate, however, the more I realize that professional spaces are not filled with people who already know everything. They include people at different stages of learning, asking questions, experimenting, making mistakes, and figuring things out as they go.

Sometimes visibility simply means allowing yourself to be part of that process.

It can mean asking a question you genuinely do not understand instead of pretending that you do, sharing something you recently learned without positioning yourself as an expert, or contributing your perspective without waiting until you have the perfect answer.

The goal is not to prove that you are the smartest person in the room. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

One of the most useful changes for me was moving away from thoughts like, “I need to become more confident,” because confidence can feel abstract and difficult to measure.

Instead, I started focusing on behaviors and asking a much more practical question:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱?

Some days, that might mean turning my camera on during class and being fully present. Another day, it could be asking a question even though part of me worries that everyone else already knows the answer, contributing to a discussion, attending another meetup, following up with someone I met, volunteering to help with an event, or eventually accepting an opportunity that feels bigger than what I believe I am ready for.

Those actions may seem small individually, but repeating them begins to change how you see yourself.

You start collecting evidence that you can participate. A question you were nervous to ask leads to a useful conversation. An idea you almost kept to yourself turns out to be valuable. You meet people you once assumed had everything figured out and realize that they are learning too. You take on an opportunity and discover that you are capable of more than you initially believed.

Slowly, the thought that 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗲 begins to lose some of its power.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳

Being involved in communities has also taught me that visibility does not always come from doing something extraordinary. Sometimes it comes from continuing to show up long enough for relationships, confidence, and familiarity to develop naturally.

This month marks one year since I started attending 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 (𝗚𝗗𝗚) events, and when I look at everything that has happened during that year, I can see how much those small acts of participation added up.

Through community, I was introduced to other communities, met people I would not have met otherwise, found new opportunities to learn, became more involved, continued developing my communication skills, and eventually found myself preparing to speak at my first tech conference.

When I first started showing up, I could not have predicted any of that.

There was also no single day when I suddenly stopped questioning myself and became completely confident. The change happened through many ordinary moments when I chose to participate anyway.

That might be one of the most important things I have learned about visibility.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.

𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂

If you constantly walk into professional spaces believing everyone else is smarter, more experienced, or more qualified, that belief begins shaping your behavior before anyone even gets the opportunity to know you.

You might stay quiet despite having a good question, avoid contributing because you assume another idea will be better, or wait until you know more, achieve more, or feel more confident before allowing yourself to take up space.

There will always be moments when you are surrounded by people who seem more experienced, more knowledgeable, or more confident than you. Instead of treating that as proof that you have less to contribute, I am learning to see it differently.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲, 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

Professional growth does not have to be a comparison of who knows more. It can also be an opportunity to learn, contribute, and grow together.

I am still learning this myself, but I am much more intentional now about not allowing the thought that everyone else is better than me to decide how visible I allow myself to be.

Because visibility is not about pretending you know everything.

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.