How to Stand Out in a Large Organisation

Research & Sources / Corporate Professional Growth

Look at a big city at night from a hill. Thousands of windows glow, and from far away they all look the same. Now imagine one window with a bright, warm lantern that someone keeps lit in the same place every evening. After a while, you start to notice it. Standing out in a large organisation is less about shining brighter for a moment and more about being consistently, recognisably useful.

Why hard work is not enough

In large companies, many people work hard. Hard work makes you one of thousands of glowing windows. It is necessary, but it rarely makes you visible to the people who decide on promotions, projects and opportunities.

Be known for something

People who stand out are usually known for something specific: the person who can fix any customer escalation, the one who explains complex data simply, the one who gets cross-team projects done. Gallup found that people who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged.¹ Building your reputation around a real strength is both more effective and more energising.

Work on what matters to the organisation

Being excellent at something nobody cares about doesn’t help much. Find out what your leaders worry about most, what the company’s top priorities are, and where your strengths connect to them. Donald Sull and colleagues found that many managers cannot name their company’s top priorities.² Simply knowing them, and working on them, already sets you apart.

Build relationships across the organisation

Large organisations run on relationships. People who are known and trusted across departments hear about opportunities earlier and get support more easily. Robert Cialdini’s research on influence shows that people are more willing to say yes to people they know and like, and to people who have helped them before.³

Make your work visible, without bragging

• Share results, not effort: “The new process cut response times by half” beats “I worked all weekend”.
• Share credit generously. It makes you more trusted, not less visible.
• Offer to present your team’s work in larger meetings.
• Write short summaries of what you learned from projects and share them.

Manage your relationship with your boss

John Gabarro and John Kotter argued that a good relationship with your boss is a shared responsibility: understand their goals and pressures, and make sure they understand yours.⁴ Your boss is often your most important channel to visibility.

What this means for you this week

• Write down what you want to be known for, in one sentence.
• Find out your organisation’s top three priorities and check how your work connects.
• Have coffee with someone from another department.
• Share one result with your manager in a short, clear message.

Keep your lantern lit in the same window. People will start to look for it.

Sources

1. Sorenson, S. How Employees’ Strengths Make Your Company Stronger. Gallup. gallup.comPeople who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged on the job.
2. Sull, D., Homkes, R. & Sull, C. (2015). Why Strategy Execution Unravels and What to Do About It. Harvard Business Review, March 2015. hbr.orgSurvey of nearly 8,000 managers in more than 250 companies: execution fails less from poor alignment than from weak coordination, and communication is not the same as understanding.
3. Cialdini, R. B. (2001). Harnessing the Science of Persuasion. Harvard Business Review. hbr.orgSix principles of influence: liking, reciprocity, social proof, consistency, authority and scarcity.
4. Gabarro, J. J. & Kotter, J. P. (2005, originally 1980). Managing Your Boss. Harvard Business Review. hbr.orgA good relationship with your boss is a two-way responsibility: understand their goals and pressures, and make yours clear.