October 8, 2025 • 28 mins
Why does high-impact work so often go unnoticed?
In this solo episode, we explore the visibility gap—that frustrating space between the value you deliver and the recognition, resources, or trust you receive in return. Especially in PMOs, governance, and behind-the-scenes roles, quiet success can look like “nothing happened”... even when everything went right.
We unpack the real reasons why great work gets missed: prevention is hard to measure, executives optimise for urgency and KPIs, and teams don’t always know how to communicate impact in a way that sticks.
But it doesn’t have to stay that way.
You’ll learn practical ways to turn silent wins into recognised outcomes—through storytelling with purpose, data that connects to real KPIs and avoided costs, and stakeholder strategies that ensure the right message lands with the right audience.
We also share real-world examples: a “quiet quarter” that turned out to be a governance win, how proactive risk closure protected a multimillion-dollar delivery window, and how changing language and cadence shifted executive attention from noise to insight.
Whether you're leading a PMO, working in operations, finance, HR, or product delivery—this episode offers simple, actionable steps to make your work visible, meaningful, and valued.
🎧 Tune in and try this: rewrite a status update through a “so what?” lens, tie a report to a key executive metric, or pre-brief a stakeholder to align before the conversation begins.
Quiet excellence deserves daylight. Let’s make it visible.
In this episode, I cover:
0:22 Defining Invisible Work
3:17 When Success Hides The Work
6:30 Why Leaders Don't See It
12:19 Closing the Gap: Storytelling
16:23 Data With Meaning, Not Noise
18:23 Stakeholder Strategy That Lands
21:48 Make Value Visible Across Roles
26:26 Reflection, next Steps, Closing
And more...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
FatimahAbbouchi (00:00):
You're listening to Agile Ideas the
Podcast, hosted by FatimahAbbouchi.
For anyone listening out therenot having a good day, please
know there is help out there.
Hi everyone and welcome back toanother episode of Agile Ideas.
I'm Fatimah, CEO at AMO, MentalHealth Ambassador and your
(00:22):
host.
On today's episode, I'm goingto be talking all things the
visibility gap.
This is all about why your workisn't getting noticed and what
you can do about it.
We're going to explore thistopic because I think it's
something that manyprofessionals face.
And unfortunately, it's afrustrating reality when you're
(00:43):
doing great work, making a bigimpact, but somehow it goes
unnoticed.
Nobody seems to see the effort,the value, or the results until
something goes wrong.
And that's entirely evident,particularly in roles like the
project management office space,which is a place that I spend a
lot of time in.
And so I thought it would be agood opportunity to talk about
(01:27):
that in today's episode.
So if you've ever wondered whyis my work not getting noticed,
then this episode is for you.
So let's get started.
The first component of today'sconversation, I wanted to cover
the concept and the idea ofinvisible work because
(01:48):
fundamentally that's what it is.
And I spend a lot of time inthe project management,
governance, PMO world.
That's sort of really where Isee this uh time and time again.
Personally, I've been involvedin the corporate world as a
professional for over 20 years,and unfortunately, as
(02:11):
frustrating as it is, it happenstime and time again.
As I mentioned, when if youthink about the project
management office as just oneexample, when it's working well,
or in fact, when anything thatyou're running or managing is
working well, people don'tnotice it.
People usually corral around anissue or if there are risks or
(02:37):
when things get heated orthere's noise, but ultimately
nobody walks out of a meetingand says, Wow, governance saved
us today.
But if something is goingwrong, that's when people will
pay attention, that's whenpeople will take notice.
And so suddenly, in situationswhere there is an issue or a
(03:01):
risk has evolved further and hasbecome greater of a
consequence, then everybodynotices.
I remember working on a largetransformation where for months
and months everything lookedcalm on the surface.
But deadlines themselves,although they were being met and
meetings were running well,leadership thought everything
(03:24):
was going well, what they didn'tsee was hundreds of risks and
dependencies, stakeholder issuesthat was quietly being managed
behind the scenes.
Ultimately, when you're workingin a complex environment, be it
projects and programs or evenin a big business, ultimately it
is fundamentally challengingsometimes to bring to the
(03:50):
surface everything that's goingon and also trying to manage it
so that it doesn't bubble up.
In this large transformationprogram that I was managing,
there were so many thingshappening at any one time across
numerous stakeholder groups.
There wasn't enough time toreally communicate every risk
(04:12):
and every issue and everydependency and every stakeholder
nuance that was going on.
It was only when one of thoseissues, one of those small
issues, would had, well, inparticular, this example had
almost escalated, leadershipsuddenly realized how much
invisible work had been keepingthe program stable.
(04:32):
Because when you're working ina corporate environment, and
this is something you learn overtime as you become more and
more politically savvy, you haveto balance when to when to
surface things and when not.
Not to suggest that you hidethings, but you don't want to
flag risks and issues when maybethe consequence isn't that
(04:56):
great, or perhaps when when itcomes, excuse me, when it comes
to issues, it might be somethingthat can be solved for in 30
minutes.
So why involve your managementteam when the consequence is not
that great, or it's somethingthat can be easily resolved?
And it is a fine line becausesomething that over the time
(05:20):
that I've seen it in the last 20years, there was times early in
my career, and I'm sure thishappens to you as well, where
you might not really know untilyou have some of that skill and
experience behind you when toescalate and when not to
escalate.
And so it really is a case ofwhen things are going well, work
(05:43):
is invisible, and when it'snot, that's when people pay
attention.
Now, even though I'm using theexample of the PMO or project
management office, in everyprofession, some of the most
important work we do isinvisible.
And planning, risk management,change change management, team
alignment, there are all thesesorts of things that don't
(06:04):
typically show up in a KPIdashboard, but they're glue that
holds everything together.
And so it really does sometimesrequire you to make sure that
your work gets noticed, andwe'll talk about that in just a
moment.
So let's delve into why leadersdon't see it.
(06:25):
Now, why is there such a gap?
Well, from my 20 years ofcorporate experience and also in
consulting and as anentrepreneur and a CEO, I've
seen three main reasons.
And although there's probablylots of others, these are three
of the main reasons that I wouldprobably categorize as the most
(06:46):
common, at least for mepersonally, and also for those
that I've spent time discussingthese sorts of issues with.
Because it isn't an isolatedthing, it probably happens to
you just like it's happened tome.
And look, it does happen moreand more early on in your
career, but even as you evolve,it can continue to happen.
(07:06):
So let's delve into three mainreasons.
First and foremost, invisiblework isn't easily measured.
So, yes, you can measuredeadlines, costs, sales,
revenues, marketing targets,etc.
etc.
But how do you measurepreventing a crisis that never
actually happened?
(07:26):
Now that's really hard.
Now, unless you can identifythe opportunity cost, or you can
identify how much you wouldhave saved if a particular uh,
let's say there was a compliancebreach and you prevented it, or
something along those lines,it's really, really hard to
(07:49):
measure invisible work.
I, as an example, once had toexplain to a CFO why our quiet
quarter, as part of ourquarterly reporting, was
actually a huge success.
The reason it was quiet wasbecause our governance processes
prevented multiple issues frombecoming financial risks.
(08:10):
That story in that time, Iremember, changed how they
looked at our role, how theylooked at the governance role
and how they looked at thereporting that they were seeing
from that quarter onwards.
So invisible work isn't easilymeasured.
The second gap, and the secondmain reason, is that leaders
(08:31):
focus on KPIs or problems.
Executives are naturally drivenby outcomes that are linked to
their goals.
And most executives, if not allexecutives, typically have some
sort of key performanceindicator or KPI for short, that
is linked to them receivingtheir bonuses.
And ultimately, with everythingthat they've got on the table
(08:53):
that they need to manage anddeliver, where work doesn't
touch one of those KPIs and oreverything looks fine, it may
not register, it may notregister on their radar, it may
not register their interest.
Ultimately, if it's not linkedto a KPI, it's very difficult to
(09:14):
give it any oxygen.
So that's another reason andanother common one.
And I think really I find as aparticularly as a consultant
over the last 10 years inconsulting that the only way to
get the executive's attention isto make sure that what you are
uh what you are proposingdirectly links to, if not their
(09:36):
immediate personal KPI, thestrategic KPIs with the team,
the department, or the company,because the KPIs generally all
roll together.
Otherwise, what are we doinghere?
So that's the reason, secondmain reason, and then the third
main reason, which is somethingI think is a missed opportunity,
is around teams not alwayscommunicating their value.
(09:59):
Now, whether it's an individualteam, whether it's your team,
or maybe even as an individualyourself, when I think about it,
change management, themanagement of change and
communications and theunderlying principles that
(10:20):
underpin good solid changemanagement and communications is
not something that's easilyrecognizable or taught.
Um, and it's something thateven as a project professional
early on in my career wasn'treally something that I had
learned um early enough.
So I think when people aren'tgiven the right tools and the
(10:42):
right methods and processes anddon't have the skills or haven't
honed their communicationskills, they struggle to
communicate their value.
So sometimes the work might bevisible, but maybe it's not
shared in the right way at theright time with the right
people.
And not communicating the rightthings in the right way at the
(11:03):
right time to the right peopleis a challenge and can, in fact,
make your work appearinvisible.
Thinking about another programof work recently, there was a
need to communicate differentthings at different stages to
different people.
And early alignment with thosestakeholder groups was
(11:26):
imperative because stakeholdersalways want to be engaged
differently.
So applying the samecommunication and the same style
to all stakeholders might bethe convenient thing to do and
less work, but ultimately itdoesn't really help to meet the
objectives that they have intheir mind of how they like to
(11:48):
be engaged.
So making sure that you areable to communicate your value
better is very important, andwe'll talk about that in just a
moment.
So let me recap the three leasethree reasons.
One, invisible work isn'teasily measured, two, leaders
focus on KPIs or problems, andthree, teams don't always
(12:13):
communicate their value.
So there is good news, andthere is things we can do about
it.
So let's talk about closing thegap.
So I spend a lot of timetalking about the execution gap,
and this is just one example ofan execution gap.
There is an ability to dosomething about it, and the
secret, I believe, is learningthe art of storytelling and
(12:37):
stakeholder management.
So, storytelling is somethingthat, well, if I go back really
early on, I remember in my earlyprimary school years and then
subsequently in my secondaryschool years, I just loved an
activity called dictation.
And it was the opportunityeither to take a story and apply
(13:01):
a bit of a twist to it to takeyour stakeholders, in that case,
students or teachers, throughthe story in a different way,
and then provide pairing it withvisuals to help articulate the
story so that you can almost geta sense of what the story was
by looking at the visual, evenif you never read the words.
(13:22):
And that's a really importantway sometimes for those that
like to learn differently.
And so I really believestrongly in the art of
storytelling, and I also thinkjust in general, we're not very
creative, I think, sometimeswhen we're trying to get our
messages across, particularly ingovernance where it can be
quite boring, talking about riskand compliance and governance,
(13:44):
it can be very dry.
So the secret, I believe, isall about storytelling and how
to better engage ourstakeholders.
Now, storytelling is importantto do with context.
So, in this situation, what Iwould recommend is don't just
share what you did.
You need to explain why itmattered, perhaps what risks
(14:08):
were avoided and how it actuallyenabled success.
So, as an example, I'll oftentell my teams don't just say
you've closed 10 actions as oneexample.
Explain what those 10 actionsunlocked for the business.
Or don't just say we've reducedthe program risks from seven to
(14:29):
five.
What did you actually providemitigate or resolve by closing
two additional risks that day,that week, that quarter?
Think about the way toarticulate why something matters
and use the information thatyou have at hand to paint the
(14:49):
picture to help someone tovisualize it.
I like to take people,particularly when I'm presenting
a report, like a steeringcommittee or similar, through
effectively like a story.
Um, I like to share thebackground, I like to share the
context of the journey and letthem follow along.
(15:09):
And then through that processto help share information that I
know would be relevant for thembased on early conversations
with what the stakeholders'needs and requirements are.
So explaining why things matterand storytelling and using that
context is really somethingpowerful.
It's about demonstrating asmuch as possible using stories
(15:34):
and doing so in a way thatreally can help to not just tell
people what you did, but sharewhy it matters.
So next time you're preparing areport or an update or a pitch
pack or a brief or a submissionfor a talk, whatever it might
be, think about not justexplaining, sorry, not just
(15:57):
sharing, but explaining whysomething matters.
Explain what the outcomes arefor the audience, for the
executives, for thestakeholders, how what you have
done or are doing enablessuccess, how you have helped to
mitigate risks, articulate thatin a bit more detail and
leverage the storytellingtechnique because I think that
(16:19):
will go a long way to help youin closing the gap.
The second one I would talk toas a good example is to use
data, but use data in ameaningful way.
So this links very well tostorytelling, where you may use
(16:40):
graphs and data and numbers andall of those sorts of things,
but do it in a way that helps toarticulate that story that
you're trying to present.
So I think again, when we talkabout governance and projects
and programs, and generally in aday-to-day, depending on what
(17:01):
we're doing, there is so manydata points we can use that help
to articulate what is necessaryfor stakeholders to know.
As I mentioned earlier, whenyou use data associated with
their KPIs, you're more likelygoing to get their attention.
So rather than talking about weclosed 12 risks today or this
(17:23):
month or this quarter, thinkabout saying things like closing
these 12 risks resulted in a $2million delay.
Sorry, preventing a $2 milliondelay.
Or as another example, oneprogram I worked on, we had
almost two-thirds of an entiredepartment who voluntarily got
(17:44):
involved in a piece of work.
And as a result of this pieceof work and this engagement over
a six to 12 month period, wefound that there was an uplift
in employee engagement by 15% onthe year prior.
So you can see how I'm usingdata in a way that actually
builds meaning.
It's not just numbers fornumbers' sake, and pairing that
(18:05):
with some really nice graphicsalways goes a long way.
But when you're not able to usevisuals, making sure you
explain it in a way that helpspeople to understand what the
benefits were for them, andyou're always using factual data
to help to tell the story.
And then the third one is backto stakeholder management, which
(18:27):
is imperative.
So this is really somethingthat you learn over your career,
and as you evolve yourexperience over time, it does
get easier.
I assure you, the way that Icommunicate now 20 years in,
compared to the way that I wascommunicating five or 10 years
ago, is completely evolved.
(18:49):
It's important to adapt yourstakeholder communications to
the stakeholders you are dealingwith.
In most of the engagements Ideliver with clients, I
typically bundle my stakeholdersinto three groups.
The program project level.
These are your projectmanagers, your program managers,
(19:10):
and all the stakeholders withinthat group.
So those that may report to it,to them, the governance, the
change, the comm's, the SMEs,etc.
And then my second level ismore at the steering committee
level.
And this is typically yourheads of, um, your senior
managers, that level ofstakeholders.
And then your level one, whichis the top level, is usually
(19:34):
your C level executives, yourCFO, your CEO, your managing
directors.
Um, and sometimes in reallylarge organizations, that
actually might be the GM layer,and there may be a level above
or below that.
And so with the differentstakeholder groups, it's
important that you're notoversharing everything to
everyone all at the same time.
(19:54):
It's about knowing who needs tohear what and when, and then
communicate in a language thatmatters to your audience.
Now we're all we're allspeaking the same language if
we're aligned upfront and earlyon the taxonomy that we're going
to use, a glossary of termsthat we're going to use, and the
(20:16):
fundamental communicationstrategy that we're going to use
in our project, our program, orum in our transformation.
And even in our business, wehave different communication
protocols for differentstakeholders and even different
terminologies.
As an example, in our business,we use the word initiatives
(20:36):
that infer internal projects.
And then when we're dealingwith clients, we call them
projects.
So we can differentiate thetwo.
So as you can see, it's aboutknowing who needs to hear what
and when, and then communicatingwhat matters to them and
understand that differentstakeholder needs will evolve
over time.
(20:57):
At the beginning of a projector a program, you might be in
the planning stages, and this iswhere you're really trying to
understand the requirements thateach stakeholder group has.
But then during execution,certain groups might evolve
further, and there may be moreor less time spent with some.
And then as you ramp down, youmight be doing what I'm doing at
(21:17):
the moment and seeking outinsights as part of a program in
post-implementation review.
So you want to make sure thatyou are able to close the gap.
And there are three of the mostcommon ways that I would do it.
So to reiterate, it'sstorytelling with context, data
with meaning, and stakeholdermanagement.
(21:37):
So as I sort of wrap up, let'sthink about universally how all
of this can apply.
I know I've spent a bit of timetalking about PMOs, governance
teams, etc., but ultimately itdoesn't matter if you're in
finance, IT, HR, operations, anyrole whatsoever that sits
(22:00):
behind the scenes, behind thescenes, rather, the same rules
will apply.
So doing great work isn'tenough.
You need to make it visible inthe right ways to the right
people at the right time.
In my own entrepreneurialjourney over the years, I've
seen this play out.
Running AMO, some of our bestwork, has helped clients quietly
avoid massive compliance issuesor unplug massive gaps.
(22:25):
For example, finding $2 millionin the first month of working
with one client just by helpingthem to align better between
finance and projects.
Or as another example, helpingto play the conduit between a
third-party consultancy and alocal city council.
(22:46):
And helping them to understandand support what their goals
are, what their objectives arein a way that helps them feel
ready.
It gives clients, and I find alot of the time clients do want
(23:07):
that spotlight.
And ultimately, the more youcan help your peers and your
(24:19):
clients to really be the star oftheir show, and doing that in a
way that leverages visibility,effectively, visibility, but not
just for visibility's sake, itreally can go a long way because
(24:44):
if you don't have thatvisibility, no one will ever
know the role that you'veplayed, and I think it's
important for our own personaljourneys as professionals, as
business owners, asstakeholders, as customers, as
colleagues, to get thatrecognition because it's
(25:07):
ammunition to do even better forthe next project or the next
engagement or to support yourteam members or to support
clients better.
And so it's really important, Ithink, for us to help ourselves
to be more visible and doing soin a way that really enables
(25:32):
you to evolve it over time andtest out different approaches.
It's really easy to have yourwork and maybe your presence not
noticed, and sometimes,particularly those of us that
are more quiet, it may be harderto get our voices heard or our
(25:52):
opinions shared or even feelconfident enough to raise these
things.
But I promise you that as yougo through the journey of trying
to make yourself more visibleand your impact and your
involvement, it will really helpto continue to evolve your own
(26:13):
experience and you'll get betterat it.
As I said, it is not a simplething.
Sometimes our work isinvisible, and sometimes the
wrong people are payingattention, and maybe sometimes
the people we want to payattention don't.
But if you take a moment toreflect on your own personal
journey and where you are rightnow, think about where in your
(26:36):
work might there be a visibilitygap.
And then thinking about all thethings we've covered today,
what's one thing you could dothis week to bridge that gap?
Is it maybe honing your story?
Uh, as an entrepreneur, thatmight be your pitch pack and how
you articulate that.
It may be uh as a leader, howyou hone your storytelling with
(27:03):
your team.
As a project manager, it mightbe how you share data up the
line to executives, or as a teammember, it may be how you
manage key stakeholderconversations.
So have a think through andtake some time to reflect on
what visibility gaps might existin your environment.
(27:26):
Because at the end of the day,your work, like all of us,
deserves to be seen.
So hopefully, this has helpedyou, and if it has, please share
some feedback.
I do read all of it.
On that note, thank you so muchfor listening to Agile Ideas.
(27:48):
And if this episode resonatedwith you, I'd love for you to
share it, subscribe, or leave areview.
And as always, let's keepclosing the gaps between
strategy, delivery, andoutcomes.
Thank you so much for listeningto this podcast.
Please share this with someoneor rate it if you enjoyed it.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and to stay up to
(28:11):
date with all things AgileIdeas.
Go to our websitewww.agilemanagemoffice.com.
I hope you've been able tolearn, feel, or be inspired
today.
Until next time, what's youragile idea?
You're listening to Agile Ideas the
Podcast, hosted by FatimahAbbouchi.
For anyone listening out therenot having a good day, please
know there is help out there.
Hi everyone and welcome back toanother episode of Agile Ideas.
I'm Fatimah, CEO at AMO, MentalHealth Ambassador and your
(00:22):
host.
On today's episode, I'm goingto be talking all things the
visibility gap.
This is all about why your workisn't getting noticed and what
you can do about it.
We're going to explore thistopic because I think it's
something that manyprofessionals face.
And unfortunately, it's afrustrating reality when you're
(00:43):
doing great work, making a bigimpact, but somehow it goes
unnoticed.
Nobody seems to see the effort,the value, or the results until
something goes wrong.
And that's entirely evident,particularly in roles like the
project management office space,which is a place that I spend a
lot of time in.
And so I thought it would be agood opportunity to talk about
(01:27):
that in today's episode.
So if you've ever wondered whyis my work not getting noticed,
then this episode is for you.
So let's get started.
The first component of today'sconversation, I wanted to cover
the concept and the idea ofinvisible work because
(01:48):
fundamentally that's what it is.
And I spend a lot of time inthe project management,
governance, PMO world.
That's sort of really where Isee this uh time and time again.
Personally, I've been involvedin the corporate world as a
professional for over 20 years,and unfortunately, as
(02:11):
frustrating as it is, it happenstime and time again.
As I mentioned, when if youthink about the project
management office as just oneexample, when it's working well,
or in fact, when anything thatyou're running or managing is
working well, people don'tnotice it.
People usually corral around anissue or if there are risks or
(02:37):
when things get heated orthere's noise, but ultimately
nobody walks out of a meetingand says, Wow, governance saved
us today.
But if something is goingwrong, that's when people will
pay attention, that's whenpeople will take notice.
And so suddenly, in situationswhere there is an issue or a
(03:01):
risk has evolved further and hasbecome greater of a
consequence, then everybodynotices.
I remember working on a largetransformation where for months
and months everything lookedcalm on the surface.
But deadlines themselves,although they were being met and
meetings were running well,leadership thought everything
(03:24):
was going well, what they didn'tsee was hundreds of risks and
dependencies, stakeholder issuesthat was quietly being managed
behind the scenes.
Ultimately, when you're workingin a complex environment, be it
projects and programs or evenin a big business, ultimately it
is fundamentally challengingsometimes to bring to the
(03:50):
surface everything that's goingon and also trying to manage it
so that it doesn't bubble up.
In this large transformationprogram that I was managing,
there were so many thingshappening at any one time across
numerous stakeholder groups.
There wasn't enough time toreally communicate every risk
(04:12):
and every issue and everydependency and every stakeholder
nuance that was going on.
It was only when one of thoseissues, one of those small
issues, would had, well, inparticular, this example had
almost escalated, leadershipsuddenly realized how much
invisible work had been keepingthe program stable.
(04:32):
Because when you're working ina corporate environment, and
this is something you learn overtime as you become more and
more politically savvy, you haveto balance when to when to
surface things and when not.
Not to suggest that you hidethings, but you don't want to
flag risks and issues when maybethe consequence isn't that
(04:56):
great, or perhaps when when itcomes, excuse me, when it comes
to issues, it might be somethingthat can be solved for in 30
minutes.
So why involve your managementteam when the consequence is not
that great, or it's somethingthat can be easily resolved?
And it is a fine line becausesomething that over the time
(05:20):
that I've seen it in the last 20years, there was times early in
my career, and I'm sure thishappens to you as well, where
you might not really know untilyou have some of that skill and
experience behind you when toescalate and when not to
escalate.
And so it really is a case ofwhen things are going well, work
(05:43):
is invisible, and when it'snot, that's when people pay
attention.
Now, even though I'm using theexample of the PMO or project
management office, in everyprofession, some of the most
important work we do isinvisible.
And planning, risk management,change change management, team
alignment, there are all thesesorts of things that don't
(06:04):
typically show up in a KPIdashboard, but they're glue that
holds everything together.
And so it really does sometimesrequire you to make sure that
your work gets noticed, andwe'll talk about that in just a
moment.
So let's delve into why leadersdon't see it.
(06:25):
Now, why is there such a gap?
Well, from my 20 years ofcorporate experience and also in
consulting and as anentrepreneur and a CEO, I've
seen three main reasons.
And although there's probablylots of others, these are three
of the main reasons that I wouldprobably categorize as the most
(06:46):
common, at least for mepersonally, and also for those
that I've spent time discussingthese sorts of issues with.
Because it isn't an isolatedthing, it probably happens to
you just like it's happened tome.
And look, it does happen moreand more early on in your
career, but even as you evolve,it can continue to happen.
(07:06):
So let's delve into three mainreasons.
First and foremost, invisiblework isn't easily measured.
So, yes, you can measuredeadlines, costs, sales,
revenues, marketing targets,etc.
etc.
But how do you measurepreventing a crisis that never
actually happened?
(07:26):
Now that's really hard.
Now, unless you can identifythe opportunity cost, or you can
identify how much you wouldhave saved if a particular uh,
let's say there was a compliancebreach and you prevented it, or
something along those lines,it's really, really hard to
(07:49):
measure invisible work.
I, as an example, once had toexplain to a CFO why our quiet
quarter, as part of ourquarterly reporting, was
actually a huge success.
The reason it was quiet wasbecause our governance processes
prevented multiple issues frombecoming financial risks.
(08:10):
That story in that time, Iremember, changed how they
looked at our role, how theylooked at the governance role
and how they looked at thereporting that they were seeing
from that quarter onwards.
So invisible work isn't easilymeasured.
The second gap, and the secondmain reason, is that leaders
(08:31):
focus on KPIs or problems.
Executives are naturally drivenby outcomes that are linked to
their goals.
And most executives, if not allexecutives, typically have some
sort of key performanceindicator or KPI for short, that
is linked to them receivingtheir bonuses.
And ultimately, with everythingthat they've got on the table
(08:53):
that they need to manage anddeliver, where work doesn't
touch one of those KPIs and oreverything looks fine, it may
not register, it may notregister on their radar, it may
not register their interest.
Ultimately, if it's not linkedto a KPI, it's very difficult to
(09:14):
give it any oxygen.
So that's another reason andanother common one.
And I think really I find as aparticularly as a consultant
over the last 10 years inconsulting that the only way to
get the executive's attention isto make sure that what you are
uh what you are proposingdirectly links to, if not their
(09:36):
immediate personal KPI, thestrategic KPIs with the team,
the department, or the company,because the KPIs generally all
roll together.
Otherwise, what are we doinghere?
So that's the reason, secondmain reason, and then the third
main reason, which is somethingI think is a missed opportunity,
is around teams not alwayscommunicating their value.
(09:59):
Now, whether it's an individualteam, whether it's your team,
or maybe even as an individualyourself, when I think about it,
change management, themanagement of change and
communications and theunderlying principles that
(10:20):
underpin good solid changemanagement and communications is
not something that's easilyrecognizable or taught.
Um, and it's something thateven as a project professional
early on in my career wasn'treally something that I had
learned um early enough.
So I think when people aren'tgiven the right tools and the
(10:42):
right methods and processes anddon't have the skills or haven't
honed their communicationskills, they struggle to
communicate their value.
So sometimes the work might bevisible, but maybe it's not
shared in the right way at theright time with the right
people.
And not communicating the rightthings in the right way at the
(11:03):
right time to the right peopleis a challenge and can, in fact,
make your work appearinvisible.
Thinking about another programof work recently, there was a
need to communicate differentthings at different stages to
different people.
And early alignment with thosestakeholder groups was
(11:26):
imperative because stakeholdersalways want to be engaged
differently.
So applying the samecommunication and the same style
to all stakeholders might bethe convenient thing to do and
less work, but ultimately itdoesn't really help to meet the
objectives that they have intheir mind of how they like to
(11:48):
be engaged.
So making sure that you areable to communicate your value
better is very important, andwe'll talk about that in just a
moment.
So let me recap the three leasethree reasons.
One, invisible work isn'teasily measured, two, leaders
focus on KPIs or problems, andthree, teams don't always
(12:13):
communicate their value.
So there is good news, andthere is things we can do about
it.
So let's talk about closing thegap.
So I spend a lot of timetalking about the execution gap,
and this is just one example ofan execution gap.
There is an ability to dosomething about it, and the
secret, I believe, is learningthe art of storytelling and
(12:37):
stakeholder management.
So, storytelling is somethingthat, well, if I go back really
early on, I remember in my earlyprimary school years and then
subsequently in my secondaryschool years, I just loved an
activity called dictation.
And it was the opportunityeither to take a story and apply
(13:01):
a bit of a twist to it to takeyour stakeholders, in that case,
students or teachers, throughthe story in a different way,
and then provide pairing it withvisuals to help articulate the
story so that you can almost geta sense of what the story was
by looking at the visual, evenif you never read the words.
(13:22):
And that's a really importantway sometimes for those that
like to learn differently.
And so I really believestrongly in the art of
storytelling, and I also thinkjust in general, we're not very
creative, I think, sometimeswhen we're trying to get our
messages across, particularly ingovernance where it can be
quite boring, talking about riskand compliance and governance,
(13:44):
it can be very dry.
So the secret, I believe, isall about storytelling and how
to better engage ourstakeholders.
Now, storytelling is importantto do with context.
So, in this situation, what Iwould recommend is don't just
share what you did.
You need to explain why itmattered, perhaps what risks
(14:08):
were avoided and how it actuallyenabled success.
So, as an example, I'll oftentell my teams don't just say
you've closed 10 actions as oneexample.
Explain what those 10 actionsunlocked for the business.
Or don't just say we've reducedthe program risks from seven to
(14:29):
five.
What did you actually providemitigate or resolve by closing
two additional risks that day,that week, that quarter?
Think about the way toarticulate why something matters
and use the information thatyou have at hand to paint the
(14:49):
picture to help someone tovisualize it.
I like to take people,particularly when I'm presenting
a report, like a steeringcommittee or similar, through
effectively like a story.
Um, I like to share thebackground, I like to share the
context of the journey and letthem follow along.
(15:09):
And then through that processto help share information that I
know would be relevant for thembased on early conversations
with what the stakeholders'needs and requirements are.
So explaining why things matterand storytelling and using that
context is really somethingpowerful.
It's about demonstrating asmuch as possible using stories
(15:34):
and doing so in a way thatreally can help to not just tell
people what you did, but sharewhy it matters.
So next time you're preparing areport or an update or a pitch
pack or a brief or a submissionfor a talk, whatever it might
be, think about not justexplaining, sorry, not just
(15:57):
sharing, but explaining whysomething matters.
Explain what the outcomes arefor the audience, for the
executives, for thestakeholders, how what you have
done or are doing enablessuccess, how you have helped to
mitigate risks, articulate thatin a bit more detail and
leverage the storytellingtechnique because I think that
(16:19):
will go a long way to help youin closing the gap.
The second one I would talk toas a good example is to use
data, but use data in ameaningful way.
So this links very well tostorytelling, where you may use
(16:40):
graphs and data and numbers andall of those sorts of things,
but do it in a way that helps toarticulate that story that
you're trying to present.
So I think again, when we talkabout governance and projects
and programs, and generally in aday-to-day, depending on what
(17:01):
we're doing, there is so manydata points we can use that help
to articulate what is necessaryfor stakeholders to know.
As I mentioned earlier, whenyou use data associated with
their KPIs, you're more likelygoing to get their attention.
So rather than talking about weclosed 12 risks today or this
(17:23):
month or this quarter, thinkabout saying things like closing
these 12 risks resulted in a $2million delay.
Sorry, preventing a $2 milliondelay.
Or as another example, oneprogram I worked on, we had
almost two-thirds of an entiredepartment who voluntarily got
(17:44):
involved in a piece of work.
And as a result of this pieceof work and this engagement over
a six to 12 month period, wefound that there was an uplift
in employee engagement by 15% onthe year prior.
So you can see how I'm usingdata in a way that actually
builds meaning.
It's not just numbers fornumbers' sake, and pairing that
(18:05):
with some really nice graphicsalways goes a long way.
But when you're not able to usevisuals, making sure you
explain it in a way that helpspeople to understand what the
benefits were for them, andyou're always using factual data
to help to tell the story.
And then the third one is backto stakeholder management, which
(18:27):
is imperative.
So this is really somethingthat you learn over your career,
and as you evolve yourexperience over time, it does
get easier.
I assure you, the way that Icommunicate now 20 years in,
compared to the way that I wascommunicating five or 10 years
ago, is completely evolved.
(18:49):
It's important to adapt yourstakeholder communications to
the stakeholders you are dealingwith.
In most of the engagements Ideliver with clients, I
typically bundle my stakeholdersinto three groups.
The program project level.
These are your projectmanagers, your program managers,
(19:10):
and all the stakeholders withinthat group.
So those that may report to it,to them, the governance, the
change, the comm's, the SMEs,etc.
And then my second level ismore at the steering committee
level.
And this is typically yourheads of, um, your senior
managers, that level ofstakeholders.
And then your level one, whichis the top level, is usually
(19:34):
your C level executives, yourCFO, your CEO, your managing
directors.
Um, and sometimes in reallylarge organizations, that
actually might be the GM layer,and there may be a level above
or below that.
And so with the differentstakeholder groups, it's
important that you're notoversharing everything to
everyone all at the same time.
(19:54):
It's about knowing who needs tohear what and when, and then
communicate in a language thatmatters to your audience.
Now we're all we're allspeaking the same language if
we're aligned upfront and earlyon the taxonomy that we're going
to use, a glossary of termsthat we're going to use, and the
(20:16):
fundamental communicationstrategy that we're going to use
in our project, our program, orum in our transformation.
And even in our business, wehave different communication
protocols for differentstakeholders and even different
terminologies.
As an example, in our business,we use the word initiatives
(20:36):
that infer internal projects.
And then when we're dealingwith clients, we call them
projects.
So we can differentiate thetwo.
So as you can see, it's aboutknowing who needs to hear what
and when, and then communicatingwhat matters to them and
understand that differentstakeholder needs will evolve
over time.
(20:57):
At the beginning of a projector a program, you might be in
the planning stages, and this iswhere you're really trying to
understand the requirements thateach stakeholder group has.
But then during execution,certain groups might evolve
further, and there may be moreor less time spent with some.
And then as you ramp down, youmight be doing what I'm doing at
(21:17):
the moment and seeking outinsights as part of a program in
post-implementation review.
So you want to make sure thatyou are able to close the gap.
And there are three of the mostcommon ways that I would do it.
So to reiterate, it'sstorytelling with context, data
with meaning, and stakeholdermanagement.
(21:37):
So as I sort of wrap up, let'sthink about universally how all
of this can apply.
I know I've spent a bit of timetalking about PMOs, governance
teams, etc., but ultimately itdoesn't matter if you're in
finance, IT, HR, operations, anyrole whatsoever that sits
(22:00):
behind the scenes, behind thescenes, rather, the same rules
will apply.
So doing great work isn'tenough.
You need to make it visible inthe right ways to the right
people at the right time.
In my own entrepreneurialjourney over the years, I've
seen this play out.
Running AMO, some of our bestwork, has helped clients quietly
avoid massive compliance issuesor unplug massive gaps.
(22:25):
For example, finding $2 millionin the first month of working
with one client just by helpingthem to align better between
finance and projects.
Or as another example, helpingto play the conduit between a
third-party consultancy and alocal city council.
(22:46):
And helping them to understandand support what their goals
are, what their objectives arein a way that helps them feel
ready.
It gives clients, and I find alot of the time clients do want
(23:07):
that spotlight.
And ultimately, the more youcan help your peers and your
(24:19):
clients to really be the star oftheir show, and doing that in a
way that leverages visibility,effectively, visibility, but not
just for visibility's sake, itreally can go a long way because
(24:44):
if you don't have thatvisibility, no one will ever
know the role that you'veplayed, and I think it's
important for our own personaljourneys as professionals, as
business owners, asstakeholders, as customers, as
colleagues, to get thatrecognition because it's
(25:07):
ammunition to do even better forthe next project or the next
engagement or to support yourteam members or to support
clients better.
And so it's really important, Ithink, for us to help ourselves
to be more visible and doing soin a way that really enables
(25:32):
you to evolve it over time andtest out different approaches.
It's really easy to have yourwork and maybe your presence not
noticed, and sometimes,particularly those of us that
are more quiet, it may be harderto get our voices heard or our
(25:52):
opinions shared or even feelconfident enough to raise these
things.
But I promise you that as yougo through the journey of trying
to make yourself more visibleand your impact and your
involvement, it will really helpto continue to evolve your own
(26:13):
experience and you'll get betterat it.
As I said, it is not a simplething.
Sometimes our work isinvisible, and sometimes the
wrong people are payingattention, and maybe sometimes
the people we want to payattention don't.
But if you take a moment toreflect on your own personal
journey and where you are rightnow, think about where in your
(26:36):
work might there be a visibilitygap.
And then thinking about all thethings we've covered today,
what's one thing you could dothis week to bridge that gap?
Is it maybe honing your story?
Uh, as an entrepreneur, thatmight be your pitch pack and how
you articulate that.
It may be uh as a leader, howyou hone your storytelling with
(27:03):
your team.
As a project manager, it mightbe how you share data up the
line to executives, or as a teammember, it may be how you
manage key stakeholderconversations.
So have a think through andtake some time to reflect on
what visibility gaps might existin your environment.
(27:26):
Because at the end of the day,your work, like all of us,
deserves to be seen.
So hopefully, this has helpedyou, and if it has, please share
some feedback.
I do read all of it.
On that note, thank you so muchfor listening to Agile Ideas.
(27:48):
And if this episode resonatedwith you, I'd love for you to
share it, subscribe, or leave areview.
And as always, let's keepclosing the gaps between
strategy, delivery, andoutcomes.
Thank you so much for listeningto this podcast.
Please share this with someoneor rate it if you enjoyed it.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and to stay up to
(28:11):
date with all things AgileIdeas.
Go to our websitewww.agilemanagemoffice.com.
I hope you've been able tolearn, feel, or be inspired
today.
Until next time, what's youragile idea?
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