Five presence signals to confirm you're visible before anyone notices you're not.

Your career isn't being managed by your performance. It's being managed by what someone remembers about you in a room you're not in. Run this every Monday morning. Five minutes.

The 5 Presence Signals

Check each signal you're actively maintaining right now.

Snapshot Management. I know what my skip-level's current mental model of me is.

Pre-brief Positioning. I'm in conversations before they become calendar invites.

Skip-level Visibility. I've sent a direct update one level above my manager in the last 90 days.

Sponsor Coverage. Someone in the key rooms knows my full picture, not just my label.

Hybrid Entry Points. I'm present at informal touchpoints where real decisions happen.

Weekly Monday Audit

Five minutes. Yes or no. No hedging.

Can my skip-level describe my current impact in two sentences right now?

Did my work reach anyone above my direct manager last week?

Am I present at any informal touchpoints this week where real decisions happen?

Does my sponsor know what I'm currently working on?

If my name came up in a room today, who would tell my full story?

Quarterly Action

One direct skip-level update per quarter. Not a status report. Three sentences.

Send one skip-level snapshot update this quarter.

Template

"Quick update: [what I delivered and what it enabled]. Currently focused on [current initiative and why it matters to the org]. One thing to have on your radar: [what I need you to be aware of]."

The 2-Minute Snapshot Test

Finish this sentence about your skip-level:

"They would describe my current impact as ___________."

If you hesitate, that's your visibility gap. That's where the invisible version of you lives. The work is current. The reputation isn't.

Run this every Monday morning before the week starts. You're not building a personal brand. You're maintaining an accurate record of yourself in the minds of the people who decide what happens next in your career.

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