The HBR way to Make Your Leadership Impact Visible

 As you become more senior in an organization, visibility isn’t optional—it’s expected. But when your team is doing the hands-on work, how do you talk about your role without taking undue credit or sounding vague? Here’s how to own your contributions with clarity and credibility. 

Use “we-then-me” structure. Acknowledge the team first, then describe your own role. This signals collaboration while making your input clear. It’s more credible than leading with “I,” especially when your work involves guiding others. 

Speak to scale. Always contextualize the scope of your work, including budget, audience, or timeline. Instead of “I led the campaign,” say “I directed a campaign that reached 2 million customers.” Use leadership verbs like oversaw, guided, or secured buy-in. 

Show your strategic thinking. Anyone can explain what happened. Your competitive advantage is explaining why it happened. Highlight key decisions, tradeoffs, and risks you managed. This demonstrates executive judgment and reinforces your business impact. 

Name the invisible work. Bring the behind-the-scenes effort to the foreground. Relationship-building, alignment, and conflict resolution often go unnoticed unless you call them out. 

Highlight your stewardship. Frame how you advanced values, built talent, or reinforced the mission. These are critical indicators of senior-level success. 

From https://hbr.org/

Lead Through Chaos by Sticking to Your Values -- As suggested by HBR

When disruption is constant, leadership requires the ability to adapt quickly while staying grounded in your purpose. To navigate complexity with clarity, make pivoting a daily habit that’s rooted in values. Here’s how.  Start by facing hard truths. Don’t waste energy defending outdated strategies. Acknowledge what’s no longer working and challenge assumptions that may be holding you back. Clarity—no matter how uncomfortable it makes you feel—is the first step of a purposeful pivot.  Recommit to your values. External pressure can push you to compromise your stated purpose, but consistency builds trust. When tough leadership decisions align with your values, you protect credibility and avoid internal drift.  Adapt strategy, not identity. Agility is critical, but only when it’s tethered to what matters most. Let your values inform your response to disruption or change. That way, you can move quickly without losing alignment and integrity.  Empower your team. Don’t solve every problem alone. The best ideas often come from those closest to the frontline work. Invite creative solutions and delegate decision-making authority to accelerate execution.  Go on offense. Defensive moves are tempting in uncertain times. But well-timed, proactive investments in innovation, talent, or business models can set you apart from the competition.  Interested to know more? Read the complete article at: https://hbr.org/2025/12/5-ways-organizations-can-pivot-with-purpose