Top 14 'Executive Visibility' Habits to Develop for Remote Workers Proving Their Impact for a 2025 Promotion
The remote work revolution is here to stay, but it comes with a silent, career-stalling challenge: "out of sight, out of mind." When you're not physically present in the office, bumping into senior leaders in the hallway or having a spontaneous coffee chat, how do you ensure your hard work and impact are actually seen? How do you move from being a diligent doer to a recognized leader?
The answer lies in mastering 'executive visibility.' This isn't about being the loudest person in a Zoom meeting or spamming the company-wide Slack channel. It’s about the strategic, intentional practice of making your value, your insights, and your leadership potential undeniable to the people who make promotion decisions. It's about ensuring your contributions are not just completed, but communicated and connected to the bigger picture.
If you're eyeing a promotion in 2025, now is the time to start building the habits that get you noticed for the right reasons. Proving your impact from a home office requires a different playbook. Here are the 14 essential executive visibility habits that will help you bridge the digital divide and position yourself as an indispensable leader.
1. Master the Art of the "Impact Update"
In a remote setting, no one sees you staying late to finish a project. They only see the outcome. That's why shifting your communication from "what I did" to "why it mattered" is the single most powerful habit you can develop. An impact update connects your daily tasks to tangible business results.
Leaders are measured by outcomes, not activity. When your updates reflect this, you start speaking their language. It shows you understand the business, think strategically, and are focused on moving the needle—not just checking off a to-do list. This is how you transform from a task-doer into a value-creator in their eyes.
Try This:
- Before: "I finished the monthly social media report."
- After: "I completed the monthly social media report, which revealed our engagement on LinkedIn is up 25% due to the new video strategy. This has led to a 10% increase in demo requests from the platform, directly impacting the sales pipeline."
- Action Step: At the end of each week, write down your top three accomplishments and frame each one using the "I did X, which resulted in Y outcome" formula. Share the most relevant one in your team channel or with your manager.
2. Become a Strategic Meeting Participant
Simply showing up to a virtual meeting and having your camera on is the bare minimum. To build visibility, you need to be an active, strategic contributor. This means preparing beforehand, engaging thoughtfully during the call, and taking ownership of actions afterward.
Strategic participation signals engagement, critical thinking, and a willingness to drive things forward. When you ask insightful questions, you show you've done your homework. When you summarize a complex discussion, you demonstrate clarity of thought. When you volunteer for a follow-up action, you prove you're reliable and proactive. This is how you become known as someone who adds value, not just a silent attendee.
Try This:
- Before the meeting: Review the agenda and prepare one thoughtful question or a relevant data point to share.
- During the meeting: Look for a moment to concisely summarize the discussion or offer a potential solution to a problem being discussed.
- After the meeting: If there's an unassigned action item you can handle, volunteer for it in the chat or a follow-up email. Say, "I can take the lead on drafting the project brief for that and will share a version by EOD tomorrow."
3. Actively Own a High-Visibility Project
Not all projects are created equal. Some are quiet, operational tasks, while others are strategic initiatives that have the attention of leadership. Actively seeking out and taking ownership of a high-visibility project is a direct route to getting on the executive radar.
These projects often solve a major company pain point, involve cross-functional collaboration, or are tied to a key company OKR (Objective and Key Result). Leading one gives you a legitimate reason to interact with directors and VPs, present your findings to a wider audience, and demonstrate your project management and leadership skills on a significant scale.
Try This:
- Identify Opportunities: In your next 1:1 with your manager, ask, "What are the biggest priorities for our department and the company right now? I'm eager to take on a challenge that would have a significant impact."
- Start Small: If you can't lead a huge project, volunteer to own a critical part of one. Offer to lead the research phase, coordinate the cross-departmental communications, or build the results dashboard.
4. Become the Go-To Subject Matter Expert
What is the one topic or skill that people on your team, or even in other departments, should automatically associate with your name? Developing a niche and becoming the go-to expert is a powerful way to build a reputation that precedes you.
When you're the acknowledged expert on a specific tool, process, or area of knowledge, people seek you out. This creates organic opportunities for visibility. You'll be invited to meetings to offer your opinion, asked to train others, and consulted on important decisions related to your expertise. It's a form of influence that grows naturally from your competence.
Try This:
- Identify Your Niche: Look at your team's needs and your personal interests. Is it a new software the company adopted? A specific type of data analysis? A particular market segment?
- Share Your Knowledge: Don't keep it to yourself. Create a short "how-to" guide, host an informal 30-minute lunch-and-learn session, or simply offer helpful, detailed answers when people ask questions about your topic in public Slack channels.
5. Leverage Asynchronous Communication for Storytelling
In a remote world, much of your communication happens asynchronously (think Slack, Teams, email, or project management tools). Many people see this as purely transactional, but it's a golden opportunity for visibility. Well-crafted written updates are your chance to control the narrative and share your impact with a wide audience, including leaders who can't attend every meeting.
A clear, concise, and outcome-focused project update in a public channel can be more powerful than a 10-minute presentation. It allows leaders to catch up on their own time and see a documented record of your progress and strategic thinking. As career expert Goh Ling Yong often advises, you must learn to communicate your value in the formats that leadership actually consumes.
Try This:
- Structure your updates: Use clear headings, bullet points, and bold text to make your updates easily scannable.
- Follow the "What, So What, Now What" framework:
- What? Here is the update and the key data. (e.g., "The user testing for the new feature is complete.")
- So What? Here is the key insight or impact. (e.g., "The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with an 85% success rate on the primary task, validating our design hypothesis.")
- Now What? Here is the recommended next step. (e.g., "Based on this, we are on track for the planned launch next Tuesday.")
6. Solve Problems Proactively (and Make it Known)
Anyone can flag a problem. A future leader identifies a potential problem, analyzes it, and comes to the table with a proposed solution. This proactive stance is one of the clearest differentiators between a junior and senior contributor.
When you bring a solution instead of just a problem to your manager or team, you demonstrate ownership, critical thinking, and a commitment to progress. It saves everyone time and mental energy, positioning you as a reliable, forward-thinking member of the team. Documenting this—"I noticed a potential risk with X, so I've drafted a plan Y to mitigate it"—is a powerful visibility play.
Try This:
- Mindset Shift: When you encounter a frustration or a roadblock, pause. Before you escalate it, ask yourself: "What would a potential solution look like?"
- Present It Clearly: In your message or during a meeting, frame it like this: "Heads up team, I've identified a potential bottleneck in our Q4 content pipeline. I’ve put together a small proposal with two possible solutions to get ahead of it. Can I walk you through it?"
7. Build Your Virtual Network Intentionally
You can't rely on chance encounters to build relationships when you work remotely. You have to be intentional about it. Building a network beyond your immediate team is crucial for visibility, as it exposes your work and reputation to a wider circle of influence.
Schedule virtual coffee chats (15-20 minutes is all you need) with colleagues in other departments. Request a skip-level 1:1 with your manager's boss once or twice a year to discuss your career goals and get their perspective on the business. These conversations build rapport and give you insights into other parts of the company, making you a more well-rounded and connected employee.
Try This:
- The Simple Invite: Send a message like, "Hi [Name], I've really been impressed with the work your team is doing on [Project X]. As I'm looking to better understand how our work connects, would you be open to a quick 15-minute virtual coffee chat sometime next week?"
- Come Prepared: Have one or two questions ready about their role, their team's priorities, or their career path. This isn't an interrogation; it's a conversation.
8. Mentor and Amplify Others
True leadership isn't just about your own success; it's about lifting others up. When you take the time to mentor a junior colleague or publicly praise a teammate for their great work, you demonstrate leadership maturity. This behavior gets noticed by executives.
Amplifying others shows you're a team player, confident in your own abilities, and invested in the collective success of the group. In a remote setting, this can be as simple as giving a specific, public shout-out in a team channel or tagging someone's manager on a post where you praise their contribution. It costs you nothing and builds immense social capital.
Try This:
- Be Specific in Your Praise: Instead of "Great job, Sarah!", try "Huge shout-out to Sarah for catching that critical bug in the code before it went to production. Her attention to detail saved us a major headache!"
- Offer Your Help: Reach out to a new hire and say, "Welcome to the team! I know it can be a lot at first. Feel free to book some time on my calendar if you have any questions as you get settled."
9. Present with Confidence and Clarity
In the remote workplace, your primary stage is the virtual presentation. Whether it's a team update, a project demo, or a quarterly review, your ability to present information clearly and confidently is a direct reflection of your credibility.
A well-structured, visually clean presentation delivered with energy and clarity can leave a lasting impression. Mumbling through a cluttered slide deck has the opposite effect. Invest time in honing your virtual presentation skills. It’s a force multiplier for your ideas and your professional brand.
Try This:
- The 10/20/30 Rule (adapted for virtual): Aim for no more than 10 slides, last no longer than 20 minutes, and use a font size of at least 30 points.
- Practice Out Loud: Record yourself with your webcam on to check your pacing, tone, and body language. Do you look engaged? Are you speaking clearly?
- Start with the "Why": Open your presentation by immediately telling the audience why they should care. "Today, I'm going to show you how we can reduce customer churn by 5% in the next quarter."
10. Document Your Wins (and Learn to Share Them)
Your manager is busy. They won't remember every single one of your accomplishments. It's your job to keep a record of your impact. This is often called a "brag document" or "impact log," and it's your secret weapon for performance reviews and promotion conversations.
This document should list your projects, the specific actions you took, and the quantifiable results. This isn't about arrogance; it's about data. When it's time for a review, you can share this document with your manager, making it incredibly easy for them to build a strong case for your promotion.
Try This:
- Create a Simple Document: It can be a Google Doc, a note in Notion, or even just a running email draft to yourself.
- Use the STAR Method: For each win, document the Situation, Task, Action you took, and the Result (with metrics!).
- Share Strategically: In your 1:1s, you can say, "As I was prepping for our chat, I updated my impact log. One thing I was proud of this month was X, which led to Y result."
11. Explicitly Connect Your Work to Company Goals
Executives are constantly thinking about the company's high-level strategic goals. The more you can explicitly connect your day-to-day work to those big-picture objectives, the more relevant and valuable your contributions will appear.
This shows that you're not just working in a silo. It proves you understand the business strategy and are actively aligning your efforts to help the company win. It’s a simple framing technique that elevates the perceived importance of your work. As I often tell my clients at Goh Ling Yong, this is the difference between being seen as a cog in the machine and a driver of the business.
Try This:
- Know the Goals: Make sure you know what your company's top 3-5 strategic goals or OKRs are for the year.
- Use the Language: When presenting a project, use language like, "This marketing campaign directly supports our Q4 objective of expanding into the enterprise market by..." or "The process improvement I implemented will contribute to our company-wide goal of increasing operational efficiency."
12. Ask for Strategic, Forward-Looking Feedback
Don't just ask, "How am I doing?" This often elicits a vague, unhelpful response. To gain visibility and demonstrate a growth mindset, ask for specific, strategic, and forward-looking feedback, especially from your manager and trusted senior colleagues.
Asking strategic questions shows that you're thinking about your future contribution to the company, not just your past performance. It invites your manager to see you as a strategic partner in your own career growth and positions you as someone who is coachable and ambitious.
Try This:
- "Beyond my current projects, what's one area of the business you think I should learn more about to increase my impact?"
- "As I think about my goal of reaching the next level, what's the key difference you see between someone in my role and someone in the role I'm aiming for?"
- "What is a skill you think I should develop now to be ready for the team's challenges six months from now?"
13. Volunteer for "Virtual Culture" Initiatives
In a remote or hybrid company, culture doesn't just happen. It's built through intentional effort. Volunteering to help with these initiatives—like organizing a virtual social event, contributing to an Employee Resource Group (ERG), or being part of a mentorship program—is a fantastic way to gain cross-functional visibility.
This shows you're invested in the company as more than just a place to work. You're a citizen of the community. It gives you a chance to interact with colleagues from all levels and departments in a positive, non-work context, building relationships and a reputation as a proactive, engaged team member.
Try This:
- Join an ERG committee: Don't just be a member; volunteer to help plan an event or lead a discussion.
- Organize a team-building activity: Suggest and organize a simple virtual game or a "show and tell" for your team.
- Help with onboarding: Offer to be an "onboarding buddy" for new hires on your team.
14. Optimize Your Digital Professional Presence
In a remote-first world, your digital footprint is your personal brand. How you show up on platforms like Slack, Teams, and LinkedIn matters. A polished and professional digital presence creates an impression of competence and attention to detail before you even say a word.
Is your Slack photo a clear, professional headshot? Is your status message helpful and up-to-date? Is your LinkedIn profile complete and reflective of your skills and accomplishments? These small details add up, contributing to an overall image of a professional who takes their career seriously.
Try This:
- Slack/Teams Audit: Make sure you have a clear photo, a concise and descriptive title (e.g., "John Doe - Product Marketing, EMEA"), and use your status effectively to communicate your availability.
- LinkedIn Refresh: Update your headline to be more than just your job title. Make it a value proposition (e.g., "Helping B2B SaaS companies drive growth through data-driven content marketing"). Ensure your "About" section tells a compelling story about your impact.
Your Promotion is in Your Hands
Executive visibility for remote workers isn't a mysterious art form; it's a learnable set of skills. It's about being intentional with your communication, strategic about your work, and proactive in building your reputation. Your work, no matter how brilliant, cannot speak for itself through a screen. You have to be its advocate.
Don't try to implement all 14 of these habits at once. Choose two or three that resonate most with you and feel achievable in the next month. Perhaps it's mastering the "Impact Update" and scheduling one virtual coffee chat a week. Small, consistent actions are what build momentum.
By consciously practicing these habits, you'll transform from a hidden gem into a recognized leader, paving a clear path to that well-deserved promotion in 2025.
What's your biggest challenge with remote visibility? Share one habit you'll start working on this week in the comments below!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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