You champion everyone but yourself. Not because you can't. Because no one ever taught you to translate your own impact into words that get heard.

I know because I lived it.

I walked into my first corporate role after 15 years in oncology.

I'd done this before.

Deep expertise in leading teams through impossible situations.
A track record of holding people together when it mattered most.
Genuine care that got results.

For years, I delivered.
Quietly. Consistently. The way I always had.

But the people work was invisible.

The trust that made results happen.
The care that kept people delivering.

None of it fit their "definition".
So none of it existed.

The environment made it clear: the problem was me.

That I needed to toughen up.
Perform.
Become someone else to be recognized.

And it finally broke me.

At that point I held on to what I knew.
My oncology roots.

I had already been taught not just to see, but deliver this work as impact.

Corporate had not trained it out of me.
It just had no mechanism to see it.

So I built one.

I've helped over 100 human-first leaders in traditional corporate do what I learned to do - build an executive-ready Impact Portfolio.

So you can advocate for scope, promotion, or compensation:

→ Translate - Name and own your impact in language that lands
→ Advocate - Know exactly what to ask for, with the words to get it
→ Decide - Have a plan: what, by when, and what you'll do if it doesn't happen

Without becoming someone you're not.

Oncology-trained. Corporate-tested.

DM me "CLARITY" to start.

Titles get taken away.  
How you led doesn’t.

I think about this constantly.

Your title will change.  
Your rank will shift.  
Someone else will eventually sit in your seat.

But the people you steadied during a crisis?

The ones who found their voice because you made room for it?

The team that stayed when it would’ve been easier to leave?

That impact doesn’t vanish when your email signature changes.

The reality:
  
Human-first leadership rarely shows up in metrics.

So it becomes easy to miss. Especially at promotion time.

But it doesn’t have to stay invisible.


So how do you make it show up when it counts?  
Three small ways, daily:

→ Describe the outcome you drove, not the activity you did  

“I coached a direct report through their first board presentation” lands harder than “supported team development.”


→ Track what changed after your support  

Did they take on a stretch role? Improve performance? Stay when they were ready to quit?

Capture the context: what you did, what they did, what shifted.


→ Ask this in your next 1:1  

“What’s different for you because we work together?”

Write down the answer.


Too simple, I know.

But the gap between overlooked and undeniable isn't about working harder.

It starts here:  
Acknowledging your work first - then translating it into language others recognize.

That quote’s right. The way you made people feel, and what you helped unlock, stays.


Your job is to make sure it's also recognized.

What's one way you've described your leadership impact that actually landed?


♻️ If this resonates, repost to support others in your network.  

🔔 Follow Laurie Banfi for more on human-first leadership.

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Valued in words but invisible in decisions? | For human-first leaders in traditional corporate | Oncology-trained. Corporate-tested | DM me “CLARITY”

High-EQ leaders don't dominate rooms.
They change what happens after they leave.


There's a specific feeling I've always had walking out of certain meetings.

Not because the problem was solved.

Because one person made the room steadier.

They didn't perform calm.
They created it. 
Through their pace, their questions, their presence.


I saw this in oncology, over and over.

In rooms full of uncertainty, one grounded person could stop the spiral and give everyone back their footing.

What changes when that person is in the room:

→ The spiral slows
→ The next step gets clearer
→ "I can't do this" becomes "I've got this"


That's the multiplier.

Not "I need them to decide."
But "I trust myself more now."


What I took from those rooms and still use today in corporate:

Regulate yourself first
- your nervous system sets the tempo

Speak last 
- let others' thinking land before your solution does

Ask before you tell 
- "What do you think?" gives ownership back

Name the tension 
- "This is hard" beats pretending it isn't

Stay in the discomfort 
- don't rush to fix the silence


For me:

The loudest leaders fill the room…
Then leave it empty.

The best ones build confidence - and capacity.
By being human.


Who helped you trust yourself more and what did they do?

♻️ If this resonated, repost to help a leader who needs this today.
➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on human-first leadership.

Championing others has a cost.

Never championing yourself.

This was my story:

I did everything they said I had to.
Still passed over.

Working harder didn't change it.

Waiting to be noticed didn't either.


Here's what changed everything:

I already knew how to advocate.

I did it constantly. For my team. My peers. My direct reports. 

Translated their impact into language that got heard and moved the needle forward.

The skill wasn't missing.
It was pointed in every direction but my own.

This isn't a deficit. It's a redirect.

Here are the 5 steps I take:

1. Name one win you'd champion if it were theirs
2. Write the case you'd make for them
3. Read it back as if it's yours
4. Notice your own resistance
5. Acknowledge it all.

Because if you can't see what you've done,
why should anyone else?


I learnt from experience:

Keep pointing it outward and nothing changes. 

Another year of being valued in words and invisible in decisions (including your own).


Redirect it at yourself and watch what shifts:

Your impact gets heard by who matters - yourself first.
You advocate from that acknowledgment
You choose what's next from clarity, not exhaustion.

Same skill. Finally pointed at you.


What win did you downplay this week?


♻️ Repost to help someone acknowledge their own impact

➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the recognition gap as a human-first leader.

Exhausted from effort that no one sees? DM me CLARITY - harder isn't the answer.

Laurie Banfi

Most leaders have had their idea taken.
The difference is what they said next.

You’re in a meeting.
Someone presents your idea like it originated with them.
Again.

And the mental spiral starts:
→ Do I say something?
→ Will I look petty?
→ Maybe I’m overreacting…
→ What’s the political fallout if I phrase it wrong?

Then it’s over.
Moment gone.

If you’re a human-first leader, it hits harder.
Not because you lack courage.
Because you’re calculating the cost.

Here’s what I learned the hard way:
The problem isn’t courage. 
It’s prep.


5 ways to speak up when someone takes your idea

1) Timestamp it
"I shared this in my April update. Great to see it gaining traction."
↳ Claims origin without accusation.

2) Name the collaboration
"Building on what I brought to Sarah last month..."
↳ Asserts ownership while staying collegial.

3) Stay in the work
"Since this came from my analysis on X, I’d love to stay involved as we execute."
↳ Ownership and continued value.

4) Narrate the origin
"When I first proposed this to the team..."
↳ States the record. Calmly.

5) Document early
Send it before the meeting: "Sharing my thinking ahead of Tuesday’s discussion."
↳ Protection before you need it.


The shift:
Don’t wait for credit to arrive.
Narrate your contribution in real time.

Which line would you use first?


♻️ If this was useful, repost it for a leader who needs the words.

➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more practical scripts you can use in the moment.

Your next opportunity won’t find you.
Someone has to say your name.

Often in a 10-minute calibration you never hear about.

You can deliver results and lead with integrity.

But if nobody can summarize your value out loud, you’re easy to skip.


Here’s what I’ve learned about advocacy:

Public praise isn’t the same as private backing.

The person who claps for you isn’t always the person who defends your work when it’s questioned.

Advocates aren’t created by likability.

They’re created by proximity to the hard stuff.


Choosing people who’ll say your name is just one thing.

Which is why I started thinking in “borrowable sentences.”


Three small moments where advocacy is built:

1. When someone tries to summarize your value

Give them a sentence they can borrow.

Bridge (now):
“If it helps to summarize my role: I’ve been focused on ___, so we can ___.”

Step-forward (next):
“My contribution here is ___, and it enabled ___.”


2. When your best work is invisible by default

Name what your work protected: time, risk, client trust, rework avoided. Clearer. Not louder.

Bridge (now):
“So it doesn’t get missed: this protected ___ and prevented ___.”

Step-forward (next):
“This protected ___ and prevented ___.”


One of the fastest ways I found to build advocates is to model how impact gets described well.


3. When you’re watching someone else do something excellent. Use recognition that travels.

Bridge (now):
“I want to name something specific: ___ did ___, which protected ___.”

Step-forward (next):
“In summarizing this project, please include ___’s contribution: ___, which enabled ___.”


Your reputation isn’t what you say about yourself.

It’s what someone can confidently say when you leave the room.


Which one would you actually use this week - Bridge or Step-forward?


♻️ If this made you think of someone, send it to them - or repost to help others in your network too.
 
➕ If you want more human-first leadership frameworks, follow me, Laurie Banfi

Strategic doesn’t mean less kind.
It means kind AND heard.

If your a human-first leader,
you’re already doing the work.

The gap isn’t effort. 

It’s visibility - as you are.

Kind leaders:
✓ Listen deeply
✓ Lead with empathy
✓ Support their people
✓ Do the invisible work
✓ Share credit generously
✓ Absorb pressure for others
✓ Create space for others to speak
✓ Deliver high-quality work consistently

Kind + heard leaders do all of that.

And they also:
✅ Name what they’re doing
✅ Make invisible work visible
✅ Advocate before they’re asked
✅ Listen, then state their position
✅ Negotiate timelines that honor quality
✅ Translate care into business outcomes
✅ Acknowledge their part and share credit
✅ Speak up when it moves the work forward

I’ve learned this:

Kindness is the foundation.
Voice is the addition.

I know now:

You don’t need to become someone else.
You need to be heard as who you already are.

What would you add to the list?

♻️ Repost to support the kind leaders in your network.
➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the recognition gap.

Culture isn't a mural on a wall.

It's who gets seen and heard.

Every company has the poster:

The values in the lobby.
The "people first" statement.
The culture week cupcakes.


And then the meetings happen.

The one where ideas get credited to the loudest voice.

Where "collaboration" means your work, their name.

Where "we value our people" ends when someone pushes back.


Here's what I've learned over 25 years:

Culture isn't what gets painted.
It's what gets rewarded.

Who gets credit - publicly.
Who gets promoted - quietly.
Whose voice changes the room.

If your company celebrates culture week but misses your contributions, that's not a mural problem.

That's a recognition problem.

A quick culture test:
Who gets praised for outcomes - and who did the work?


What does culture actually look like where you work?


♻️ Repost for a leader whose work lives behind the poster.

🔔 Follow Laurie Banfi for ways to close the recognition gap.

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