Are you waiting for your work to speak for itself, while others are making sure their voices are heard? What would change if you stopped shrinking and started taking up space professionally? Could the story you tell about your work be the key to being seen, known, and valued?
In this podcast episode, Jennifer Froemel speaks about control, your professional narrative, and how to stop the “invisible woman syndrome.”
In This Podcast:
- How control helps stop invisible woman syndrome
- Strategies for being seen, known, and understood professionally
- Challenge your self-limiting beliefs and habits
- Five steps to making yourself visible
How control helps stop invisible woman syndrome
The invisible woman syndrome, especially in professional settings, can lead to far too many women being overlooked for promotions and progress for the work that they do.
When a woman is deliberate, instead of hopeful, she is more likely to carve out a place for herself in the room, at the table, and in the conversation.
Women in the workplace often default to putting their heads down, doing the work, and assuming their results will speak for them … We’re recognizing that this behavior inadvertently makes them invisible, leading to missed promotions, stalled careers, and the like. But the power of control, in this context, is about deliberate intention, not micromanagement.
Jennifer Froemel
Strategies for being seen, known, and understood professionally
1 – Use the SOARR framework, where you can use stories to package your wins. You briefly explain the:
- Situation
- Obstacle
- Action
- Results
- Relevant impact on the organization
When you learn how to package your work in a story, you increase your microvisibility. Make yourself and your work seen, known, and understood.
2 – Use the number strategy and explain exactly what you have to say.
You want to use a number strategy. You want to prevent this idea of being interrupted. You want to stop being interrupted; you want to state what your ideas are: “I have three thoughts on this.” This often signals that you are organized and that you encourage others to wait for you to finish.
Jennifer Froemel
3 – Command your communication by speaking from your natural center of gravity. End your sentences with a firm tone instead of an upturned inflection, and eliminate unnecessary apologies.
In terms of your professional narrative, what’s important is that you are using that number strategy and you are commanding your communication.
Jennifer Froemel
4 – Take up physical space, stand tall, maintain eye contact, and don’t keep your head down.
Challenge your self-limiting beliefs and habits
You must challenge your self-limiting beliefs and habits because, most of the time, they are completely learned. You may have been directly or indirectly taught to shrink, become invisible, or make yourself small to stay safe, accepted, or welcomed.
These beliefs and habits are not true and do not reflect your current environment.
We have such a challenge in our brains of going to the negative, so self-limiting habits, we really need to challenge those. Shrinking is often a learned response to avoid backlash or perceived arrogance, and that’s why I keep circling back to “It’s not bragging [to showcase your progress].”
Jennifer Froemel
When these limiting beliefs come up, you must notice them and do your best to unlearn them, whether in community or with the help of a professional, because they are holding you back when you need to be changing your life for the better and moving forward freely.
Five steps to making yourself visible
1 – Be your own best PR.
2 – Put up your hand, and don’t wait to be called on.
3 – Be okay with saying, “No,” and even hearing, “No.”
4 – Speak with authority and stop ending your sentences with a question.
5 – Take a risk and make yourself heard!
RESOURCES MENTIONED AND USEFUL LINKS
Donate to Jennifer Froemel’s Lifesaving Work in Nepal
Practice of the Practice Network
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CONNECT WITH ME
Visit The Innovative Counselling Partners Practice Website and connect on Facebook.
ABOUT THE FEAR OF CHANGE PODCAST
Change can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. The Fear of Change podcast is all about helping you embrace change and live a more fulfilling life. Hosted by Jennifer Froemel, LCPC, a therapist with nearly 30 years of experience, we cover topics like mental wellness, holistic health, and improving relationships.
Jennifer’s down-to-earth approach makes it easy to understand why we fear change and how to move past those fears. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, relationship issues, or just feeling stuck, there’s something here for you.
