Hello, world.
Kicking off the Project Failure Files substack.
That phrase feels both cliché and oddly appropriate. Project Failure Files has been running for about a year and a half now, and somehow this is the first time I’m sitting down to write about the conversations Sharon and I have every Monday morning in a casual, conversational format instead of a quick summary for the blog. If you’re new to the series, PFF is all about management and leadership development, approached from the perspective of what NOT to do.
This newsletter is my attempt to slow things down just enough to reflect, connect dots, and share a few of the things that don’t always make it cleanly into a live conversation.
So welcome. If you’ve been watching the show for a while, think of this as the behind-the-scenes commentary. If you’re new, this is a good place to start.
This week’s episode is called Hiding in Plain Sight, and it landed close to home for me. Not because it’s abstract or theoretical, but because I’ve seen this pattern repeat itself over and over again in teams, in organizations, and honestly, in my own career.
The core idea is simple: hiding in plain sight is the belief that good work will automatically be noticed. And sometimes it is. But in most organizations, visibility doesn’t come from merit alone. It comes from context, communication, and helping other people understand the impact you’re making.
That’s where things get uncomfortable.
There’s a real tension between humility and invisibility. A lot of capable, thoughtful people stay quiet because they don’t want to come across as boastful. They assume their work speaks for itself. The problem is that in busy, fast-moving environments, leaders are reacting to what they can see, not what’s quietly happening in the background. When no one connects the dots, even excellent work becomes easy to overlook.
One of the things Sharon and I talked about in the episode is what happens next. When strong contributors go unnoticed, frustration builds quietly. People stop raising their hands. They stop stretching. Eventually, they stop caring. The work still gets done, but the energy behind it fades. From an organizational perspective, this creates distorted visibility. Leadership ends up rewarding who they see, not who is actually creating value. That leads to bad decisions, missed talent, and long-term disengagement.
And yes, career stagnation shows up here too. One of the biggest risks of hiding in plain sight is not that you aren’t capable, but that decision-makers don’t have a clear picture of your impact. Silence often gets mistaken for lack of ambition. When recognition consistently goes elsewhere, people start asking, “Why bother?” That question is dangerous. It’s how high performers quietly check out or quietly leave.
I’ve lived this from multiple angles. I’ve worked with incredibly effective people who were genuinely shocked to hear leadership say, “We didn’t know you were interested.” The work was solid. The commitment was there. But the story was never told, so the opportunity never came. I’ve also seen careers change simply because someone started sharing outcomes more clearly. Not louder. Not more aggressively. Just clearer. Visibility didn’t create value. It revealed value that already existed.
That distinction matters.
One of my biggest takeaways from this episode is a mindset shift I wish more people embraced earlier in their careers: visibility isn’t about self-promotion. It’s about service. When you share progress and results, you help leaders make better decisions. You help teams understand how their work connects to the bigger picture. Subtle self-promotion is really just good communication. Talk about outcomes. Talk about lessons learned. Talk about team wins. If you frame it around impact instead of ego, it stops feeling awkward and it doesn’t sound arrogant.
The most effective visibility is also incredibly boring. Small, regular updates beat dramatic end-of-project reveals every time. Leaders don’t like surprises, especially when it comes to results. One of the smartest things you can do is ask how your work is perceived. If your manager can’t easily articulate your impact, that’s not a failure. It’s a signal that the story needs to be clearer.
As a marketing guy, I always have a Call to Action (CTA). If you want a simple place to start, here’s what I’d suggest. This week, your CTA is to share one win. Just one. Keep it short, factual, and outcome-focused. You’re not bragging. You’re connecting dots for people who don’t see your day-to-day work. Then step into one moment where your expertise adds value. Present a demo. Lead a discussion. Speak up in a meeting where you can help. Visibility isn’t about being louder. It’s about being intentional.
That’s the heart of this episode, and it’s the kind of conversation we’ll keep unpacking here.
Every Monday at 9:00am Pacific, Sharon and I go live with a new episode of Project Failure Files, exploring management and leadership topics through the lens of what not to do. This newsletter is where I’ll add context, reflections, and occasionally challenge or expand on what we talked about that week.
We have already published 75+ episode, so I’ll also backtrack from time to time and write about past episodes that are still very much relevant.
If this kind of content resonates with you, I’d love for you to subscribe here…and join us on Monday mornings.
Quiet excellence deserves better stories. Let’s start telling them.
Watch the latest episode here: