Elevating Complexity (How do you build a reputation?)

The old school way to build a reputation was to "let your good work speak for itself". And for some that worked, for many it did not

So some tried self promotion which could take a variety of shapes: The empty vessel - someone making a great deal of noise but essentially full of air and nothing else. The achiever who undermined their results with a "look at me" attitude

Smarter self promoters focused on sharing the value they were bringing to the organization. They shared updates on projects they had worked on, the results and impact they had. These could be communicated through status emails, end of program reports etc. But pretty soon many found out that communicating the work that's done and the impact of the work isn't only way to solve for positioning yourself as an SME.

And as growing a reputation all the above is readily classified as Doing. Your. Job.

So what do you do?

People need to understand your value and your impact. But what else? Stretch assignments are one way - good visibility, lots of learning but they can burn through your hours and leave you with little life outside work

So recently I was coaching a client on how to gain visibility and, avoid working even more hours than they already were, and they came up with an idea

elevating complexity

This approach has a few facets to it. First it can sound like, "Hey, here's a problem I encountered. And here's how I solved it." It's not necessarily about the impact, but it's more about the approach you took. This shows your learning in a practical setting

Additionally elevating complexity recognizes that sometimes issues or problems can't be solved at your level. By recognizing you can't fix it and sharing the issue with your boss or the next level up in the hierarchy, you're setting up the conversation, "Hey? I've noticed this. I think this requires leadership attention. Is that something worth exploring?"

And that is promotion material - spotting the issues, bringing them up and making suggestions

What other ways would you suggest to build a reputation?