Working flexibly shouldn’t mean being seen less or progressing more slowly.
Yet we know that a substantial number of women, over 65% according to our own Future of Work Report, have experienced reduced visibility, alongside concerns about progression, access to opportunity, and how their availability is perceived when working flexibly.*
This article challenges the idea that flexible working must come at a visibility cost. Instead, we will take a practical approach, showing you how to take back control of your visibility, however flexibly you work.
Whether flexible working shows up as part-time roles, remote or hybrid work, adjusted hours, or a mix of all three, it was introduced as a step forward in modern working – designed to support more sustainable careers, especially for women balancing multiple demands.
Yes, flexibility can change how and when we work – but it shouldn’t shift how our contribution is seen. So, seeing through a different lens, what you really need next is simply a new, more strategic and intentional approach to staying visible.
Redefine What Visibility Actually Means
Despite an increased number of return-to-office mandates , evidence ** continues to challenge the idea that being seen in the office, working fixed hours, or attending every in-person meeting is a reliable measure of productivity or commitment – outdated assumptions that keep fueling women’s struggle with visibility.
Layered onto this, many of us have also absorbed cultural messages that talking about impact feels like self-promotion, or that visibility requires a particular way of showing up. Together, these beliefs can quietly discourage even the most capable professionals from making their work visible in ways that actually support progression.
As working cultures evolve, so must our understanding of visibility, which can take different forms but is not synonymous with physical presence.
Visibility today should be about recognition for contribution, impact, and progress. It’s whether the right people know what you’re working on, how it connects to wider priorities, where you’re adding value, and what progress looks like.
This mindset shift matters. Without it, the actions below can feel performative. With it, they become a natural part of how you work.
5 Ways To Take Back Control of Your Visibility
1. Shout About Your Contributions
In flexible setups, much of the context behind your contribution can get lost. Hitting a tight deadline, carefully prioritising competing demands, unblocking others, or quietly keeping things running smoothly are all real forms of impact. When that work happens in silence, people often only see the final outcome, not the thinking, problem-solving, or collaboration that made it possible.
Before you move on from a piece of work, pause and think about how it will land with others. Who actually needs to know about this (a manager, stakeholder, project lead, or wider team) and if it can be of benefit. Remember, the benefit can just be them realising you have done the work.
It is important you think about when it makes sense to share; a good time might be at the end of a meeting, in a regular check-in, or as part of a weekly update.
It’s also useful to ask yourself what you’d want someone to remember about your contribution if they were summarising it later, and lead with that. Use this approach consistently, this habit stops good work from disappearing once it’s delivered.
2. Learn to Love LinkedIn as a Visibility Tool
Yes, the thought of LinkedIn might raise some mixed feelings in you, certainly it isn’t everyone’s favourite social media platform. If you dig a little deeper into why you struggle though, perhaps it’s to do with a lack of familiarity, or feeling a bit exposed.
The thing is, LinkedIn has become one of the main places where professional visibility now lives, especially for those working flexibly.
Think of this platform as a live record of your professional interests, your expertise, and contribution – a means for colleagues, leaders, recruiters, and potential sponsors to get to know and – crucially – connect with you.
You don’t need to dive in headfirst. Regular posting can be something you work towards, but LinkedIn can still help you build visibility in ways that feel comfortable and sustainable. Here are some useful routes in.
- Start with comments. These are low stakes, and don’t require much effort either. Start with a weekly target – say one or two comments per week.
- Next, try the power (and ease) of resharing. Find posts that resonate with your interests, your areas of expertise, where you are heading professionally, then consider. Reshares are powerful because you are also connecting with the creator, giving them more visibility, which will likely pay dividends in time when they might do the same for you.
- Once resharing feels comfortable, experiment with posting original content. Again, it doesn’t need to be profound. It could be a lesson learned from a project, a question you’re thinking through, or a brief insight from your day-to-day work. Remember, consistency matters far more than volume.
Hopefully, seen this way, LinkedIn won’t feel so daunting. Rather it becomes more about participating in professional conversations in a way that reflects who you are and what you care about, and crucially that amplify your visibility.
3. Be Strategic with Check-Ins
When you work flexibly, visibility doesn’t happen by proximity. It happens in moments where your work is contextualised.
We’ve already talked about how your existing check-ins (1:1s, project updates, regular reviews) can act as visibility anchors. They’re where your contributions can be framed, remembered, and linked to wider priorities. Used intentionally, these touch points do far more than track progress. They’re often where future opportunities quietly surface.
Which begs the question: should we be adding more meetings? Not necessarily. Rather it means making sure you are really leveraging the ones you already have in the diary. That can be as simple as sharing a sentence or two about how you moved a project forward, what you prioritised and why, what key outcomes you achieved.
Sometimes, the most powerful check-in isn’t a status update at all. Simply asking, “What do you need from me right now?”, and then following through, builds trust quickly. Asking a thoughtful question like this can be just as visible as sharing an opinion. Summarising a key point, connecting ideas, or reflecting back a decision all demonstrate contribution without dominating airtime.
4. Secure a Sponsor
Research shows women are disproportionately over-mentored and under-sponsored. This lack of advocacy is one reason we are more likely to stall our progression despite strong performance.
So, securing someone who speaks your name when you’re not in the room can really enhance your visibility in professional settings. If you are unclear what a sponsor actually does, think of them as someone who advocates for your advancement – putting your name forward for promotions, stretch assignments, or greater responsibilities. All of which naturally builds visibility too.
Securing a sponsor doesn’t have to feel dramatic or transactional. In most cases, this type of relationship grows between you and trusting working colleagues and seniors who understand your value and are confident backing you.
A good place to start is with your manager. Also look at senior stakeholder you work closely with. Focus on being reliable, clear, and helpful in areas that matter to them, and most importantly share your professional aspirations. If you don’t tell them where you want to be, or what you want to be doing, they’ll have no sense of how to support you.
5. Get Involved in Work Fun
Work and fun can go together. Informal moments at work, the chats before a meeting starts, the shared laugh in a team session, the social event that has nothing to do with delivery, these can all be moments were visibility grows. How? Because they foster organic networking, build stronger professional relationships, and allow you to showcase your personality and skills outside of your more formal, task-oriented role.
That said, this isn’t about forcing yourself into every after-work drink or social event. Try joining a team lunch once a month, dropping into a virtual quiz or wellbeing session, contributing to a shared interest group, or attending a social event when possible. This is how you can surface informal information, strengthen relationships, and build the kind of social capital that feeds into opportunity.
In short, visibility is a matter of daily habits based on intentionality: how you attend the next meeting, the touchpoints you establish with your colleagues, the social media media posts representing your work and ideas, the in-person events choose to be present at.
This is exactly why spaces that are designed for connection matter. Our monthly Connect event exists to do just that: bring members together to share stories, compare experiences, and build relationships in a way that feels human and unforced. No pitching. No proving. Just conversation, perspective, and community.
Because visibility isn’t only about being seen at work. It’s also about being known, supported, and connected beyond it.
