Growing at Work
In a hybrid team, the work you do quietly is the work nobody knows about
In an office, people notice who stays late, who helps a colleague, who is in the room when a decision is made. Remotely, much of that disappears. Good work can become invisible, and people can be passed over for reasons they never see. This session is about staying visible without self-promotion, building trust at a distance, and making hybrid arrangements work for you.
Explore this page6 sections
Out of sight is not meant to mean out of mind, but it often does.
Many managers say they judge results and not presence. In practice, people they see more often are easy to remember, to give work to and to argue for. Those who are remote or on fewer office days can find that opportunities go to whoever is physically around, without anybody deciding it should.
Visibility is not the same as noise. The aim is for the people who need to know what you do to know it, in a way that costs you little and helps them. How this works depends on the employer, the team and the work, so the session offers options rather than a single method.
What the session covers
28 topics across 6 areas. Six parts, from what visibility means to the practical routines. 5 apply to almost any business; the rest only in a particular case.
What Is Lost When You Are Not in the RoomNaming it makes it easier to deal with.5
- Overhearing and being overheard
- Casual conversations that carry information
- Being seen to help, or to be around when something goes wrong
- Proximity bias: favouring whoever is nearby
- Spending more time on the screen without more being noticed
Making Progress VisibleShort, regular and useful to the reader.5
The test of a good update is whether it saves the reader a question. Visibility that costs the reader time is just noise.
- A brief weekly update: done, next, blocked
- Writing so that someone can skim it
- Saying what changed because of your work
- Sharing work in progress, not only the finish
- Using the team's channels the way they were meant to be used
Meetings, Messages and ResponsivenessSmall habits that shape how you are seen.5
- Showing up prepared and contributing something specific
- Making a point in the meeting rather than afterwards
- Responding within the time your team expects, and agreeing what that is
- Choosing the right channel: message, call or document
- Writing clearly enough to avoid a follow-up
Relationships at a DistanceTrust is built in small, repeated interactions.5
- Short one-to-one conversations with colleagues across the team
- Helping someone and letting them know
- Knowing the people your work depends on
- Introducing yourself to people in other teams
- Making the effort to be warm in writing
Using Office Days WellIf your team has them.4
- Saving the conversations that are hard to have remotely
- Meeting people you work with but rarely see
- Agreeing the days with your team, not guessing
- Not spending the day on calls you could have taken from home
Agreeing Expectations and Protecting YourselfIf it appliesWhere remote work can blur into always-on.4
If you think you are being treated worse because of working remotely, raise it with your manager first and then, if needed, HR. Check your contract and company policy for what applies to remote work.
- Agreeing hours and availability with your manager
- Not replacing visibility with constant availability
- Checking your terms for remote, hybrid and overtime rules
- What to do if you are being overlooked and cannot tell why
A weekly routine to try
- Send a short update to your manager on a fixed day
- Speak once in each team meeting, on something specific
- Have one short conversation with a colleague you rarely talk to
- Share one thing you learned or finished
- Ask what your manager would like to see more of
What this session is not
- Not a guide to self-promotion
- Not a case for or against remote work
- Not advice on a specific employer's policy
- Not a way to be online all hours
- Not legal advice on working arrangements
How the session runs
A professional experienced in leading hybrid or remote teams describes what changes for visibility and trust, then participants draft a short weekly update for their own work and a plan for two relationships to build. Small-group discussion shares what has worked. Sessions can run online, which is a sensible fit for the topic, or in person.
What your students leave with
- A simple routine for making progress visible to their manager and team
- Ways to build and maintain relationships without being in the same room
- Awareness of proximity bias, and what to do about it
- Better habits for written updates, meetings and messages
- A way to agree expectations about hours and responsiveness
- Ideas for using in-office days well, if their team has them
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Good work that nobody can see is hard to reward. Make it easy to see.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.