Woody Allen said that eighty percent of success is just showing up. Is that sort of visibility really the foundation of a successful career pivot?
Visibility in your career pivot comes down to what Woody Allen said years ago:
“Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”
I’ll never forget sitting in a conference room in San Francisco back in the late 1980s. The speaker had just wrapped up her talk on a labor and delivery topic — I couldn’t even tell you today what it was. As I gathered my belongings, I muttered under my breath, “Wow, that was pretty shallow.”
What I didn’t realize was that the woman sitting next to me was Diony Young, then the editor of Birth Journal. She turned to me and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
So I told her: the presentation didn’t feel real-world based. Sure, the presenter cited the statistical significance, but it didn’t line up with what I had seen in hundreds of clinical experiences. As a bedside nurse, I wondered: does this reinforce the misinterpretation of statistical significance when clinical significance is clearly more compelling?
Diony Young paused, looked me straight in the eye, and asked, “Do you write?”
I laughed and said, “Oh no, I don’t write.”
Well, fast forward: she talked me into writing my very first peer-reviewed article, which published in 1991. That article launched an entirely new chapter of my career. Since then, I’ve written many more peer-reviewed articles, hundreds of blog posts, and a few books, including three with medical giant Mosby.
Here’s what that one defining moment taught me: visibility was the number one strategy in a career pivot for me. I showed up. Being polished wasn’t required; my first “showing up” was just a muttered comment. Sometimes it’s a question in a meeting. Sometimes it’s feedback on a product or an offer to help. But it’s always about showing up so others can see what you bring.
What visibility in your career pivot really looks like
People often assume visibility means social media. And yes, showing up online matters. But visibility is broader, simpler, and far more personal. It’s about putting yourself in places where your voice, skills, or perspective can be noticed.
With examples from my own life, here are three arenas where visibility shows up most clearly:
Inside your workplace
- Offering a possible answer to a tough question.
- Asking the deep or provocative question in a meeting. (That works for me every time, but only because I listen deeply and analyze before I speak.)
- Raising your hand for a project outside your usual role, or volunteering to lead a new interdisciplinary committee.
In the wider professional community
- Introducing yourself to the person who books speakers for a conference, instead of just attending quietly.
- Writing a letter to the editor about an article you disagree with or sending constructive feedback to a company whose instructions miss the mark.
- Joining the editorial review board of a journal or stepping into leadership of a professional association.
In your personal and community life
- Volunteering to help organize meals at your church and striking up a conversation with another volunteer who later connects you to a corporate wellness opportunity.
- Helping at your town’s emergency preparedness drill, where your ability to organize people under pressure gets noticed and later leads to an invitation from the Red Cross.
- Serving on the board of a small nonprofit, where your clinical insight opens the door to consulting on a community health grant.
Doing this says: I’m here. I’m thinking. I have value to add. All of these are about visibility.
The five principles of visibility
Over the years, I’ve noticed that visibility in your career pivot follows a few simple principles. These aren’t rules as much as patterns that helped me and can help you, too.
1. Show up consistently, even if imperfectly
Visibility isn’t about grand gestures. It’s about steady presence. Attending the event. Asking the question. Posting the article. None of it has to be flawless. People remember that you’re there and engaged, not that every word was perfect.
When I started posting on LinkedIn, I didn’t have a grand plan. I just showed up. Over time, that visibility built trust and, later, pointed some well-paying clients to me.
2. Offer value freely
Visibility in your career pivot grows when you give. Offer a free resource, connect two people, or ask the question that sparks better thinking. My own habit of asking the provocative questions in meetings often positioned me as someone worth listening to — not because I knew everything, but because I was willing to listen hard and push the conversation deeper.
Offering value doesn’t always mean big expertise. Sometimes it’s just saying, “I can help with that.”
3. Be proactive, not reactive
Opportunities rarely knock on their own. You create them by showing up first. That might mean walking up to this year’s speaker coordinator and saying, “I’d love to be considered for next year.” Or reading a mediocre article in a journal and following up with a letter to the editor. Or telling a training department you see gaps in their consumer instructions and could help.
I didn’t wait to be “discovered”. Neither should you. Instead, start the conversation.
4. Make visibility a habit, not a one-time push
You can’t post once, attend one conference, or raise your hand in one meeting and expect a flood of opportunities. Visibility builds momentum through repetition. When people see you consistently, they start to associate your name with contribution, insight, and reliability.
Think of visibility as a practice, not a performance.
5. Use your comfort zone as a launchpad
Everyone loves to say, “Get out of your comfort zone.” And yes, growth requires stretching. But visibility often begins where you feel comfortable. Without too much sweat I could network at a few non-healthcare meetings, spearhead the local chapter of a national membership organization (e.g., AWHONN, for me), or post on social media.
Don’t force yourself into situations that are too far outside your comfort zone. I’m fairly good at doing videos, but I simply don’t enjoy doing them. Remember that consistency — showing up in a semi-regular cadence — is what works. If what you’re doing is extraordinarily difficult for you, you probably won’t be very consistent.
It’s easier to show up for something you love, and that you feel good at. Follow your ikigai. Start where you’re comfortable, then stretch from there.
Why visibility changes your pivot
Visibility in your career pivot matters because it makes you real to the people who could open doors for you. You might be the most skilled person in the room, but if no one sees you, opportunities pass you by.
In my own career, visibility opened the door to publishing, speaking, consulting, teaching, and building businesses I never imagined existed. It wasn’t luck. It wasn’t waiting until I felt perfectly ready. It was repeatedly showing up so others could see what I was capable of contributing.
You don’t have to know everything before you open your mouth. (I didn’t, and sometimes still don’t!) Visibility is what builds confidence and credibility, not the other way around.
Your next step
If you’re in the middle of a career pivot, ask yourself this:
Where can I show up this week that makes me just a little more visible than yesterday?
Maybe it’s in a meeting. Maybe it’s online. Maybe it’s in your community. Whatever! Visibility in your career pivot isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present.
Because in the end, Woody Allen had it right: eighty percent of success really is just showing up.