Be Very Visible

In this lesson, we focus on the importance of visibility in the IC–manager relationship by making sure our EM always knows what we’re doing, where we’re succeeding, and where we need help.

• We emphasize assuming our EM has no idea what we’re working on; their schedule is chaotic, especially for high-performing managers, so visibility must come from us.
• We recommend over-communicating: CCing them on major updates, posting milestones publicly, and adding them as optional attendees to key meetings so they can see our impact firsthand.
• We note that joining high-stakes meetings (like SEV investigations) gives managers direct visibility into our leadership, problem-solving, and alignment skills.
• We highlight that 1:1s are the most valuable channel for surfacing wins, blockers, and complex problems that require “manager API powers.”
• We reinforce that visibility builds organizational reputation and that one of the traits managers value most is strong communication, where bad news early is fine, but surprising bad news is not.