Are you working hard but still feel invisible in your career? According to Lorraine K. Lee—LinkedIn Learning instructor, keynote speaker, and best-selling author—building a powerful career brand may be the key to getting unstuck. On this episode of The Small Business Show, we’re joined by Lee, who discusses the game-changing role of visibility in today’s workplace. Her upcoming book, Unforgettable Presence: Get Seen, Gain Influence, and Catapult Your Career, offers a guide for professionals ready to shift from being overlooked to unforgettable. With Lee’s insights, ambitious employees can start treating their careers like a business—and themselves like CEOs.
According to Lee, she stresses the importance of building a “career brand”, a concept that reframes the idea of “personal branding” to focus on how professionals are perceived in service of their career goals. “Everyone has a brand,” she says. “The question is whether you’re defining it for yourself—or letting others define it for you.”
Her book, launching April 22, offers practical tools for professionals to develop what she calls an unforgettable presence. Lee explains that while hard work can only take you so far, being seen by the right people in the right spaces is what truly accelerates career growth. Unlike the narrow idea of “executive presence,” which often focuses on how one shows up in a room, professional presence includes visibility on video calls, platforms like LinkedIn, and even in chat channels.
To help professionals elevate their presence and be seen as leaders, Lee outlines three tactical strategies:
- Use collaborative language. Referencing a Harvard Business Review study, she notes that using words like “we” and “our” is more likely to position someone as a leader than relying on “I” language.
- Elevate others. A simple note praising a colleague—especially when copying their manager—can build a leader-like reputation.
- Post on LinkedIn. Lee shares her own experience gaining visibility and new opportunities simply by showing up online consistently.
She also tackles a common challenge: public speaking anxiety. Rather than eliminating nerves, Lee encourages professionals to manage them with breathing exercises, visualization, and feedback from coaches. “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” she advises. “Use the nerves as fuel.”
When asked why many professionals plateau in middle management, Lee explains it’s often due to the gap between execution-based skills and those needed to lead strategically. “It’s a completely different set of skills—and mindset,” she says. Recognizing and proactively developing these next-level competencies is crucial for breaking through to senior leadership.
“One of the biggest [mindset shifts] is that you want to become the CEO of your own career… things should not be happening to us. We should be very proactive and going after those things.”
