Little Moves, Big Careers
Little Moves, Big Careers is the podcast for people who want to build high-performing careers in a messy, fast-moving world.
Hosted by Caroline Esterson, career strategist and co-founder of www.inspireyourgenius.com, this show reveals the unspoken rules of modern work and teaches you the small, smart moves that make a big difference.
From visibility and confidence to self-leadership and influence, every episode mixes bold insights, cheeky truths, and practical takeaways that actually work inside real organisations.
No corporate waffle; just unapologetically honest career talk for people who want to perform, progress, and stand out for all the right reasons.
Sign up for your Genius Files weekly - your backstage pass to the unspoken rules of high-performance careers. Smart shifts that make you say, “Oh damn, that’s exactly what I needed.” https://inspire-your-genius.kit.com/a162791a94
Little Moves, Big Careers
Episode 21: The Power Pair - Why Visibility and Connection Build Unstoppable Careers
In this episode, Caroline expands the conversation on the career flywheel, turning focus to two critical and often overlooked power moves: Find Your Friends and Be Seen. While many professionals focus on the tangible aspects of work like spotting problems, solving them, and delivering results, careers rarely accelerate without visibility and connection.
Caroline explores why hard work alone doesn’t travel, the psychology behind recognition gaps, and how reputation and relationships carry your impact further. Drawing on research from McKinsey, LeanIn.org, and Harvard, she unpacks the hidden dynamics of trust, credibility, and informal influence and offers practical steps to turn quiet effort into visible impact.
TAKEAWAYS
- Most careers don’t stall from lack of skill, but from lack of visibility and connection.
- Networking isn’t about collecting contacts; it’s about building trust.
- People can’t value what they can’t see.
- Women are 43% less likely to be recognised for their ideas, even when contributing equally - a visibility gap, not a capability gap. Many men experience this too, especially those conditioned to believe their work “speaks for itself.”
- The strongest networks are built on Amplifiers, Anchors, and Challengers - people who mention your name in rooms you’re not in, ground you when doubt hits, and push you to play bigger.
- Consistent visibility habits (from sharing progress updates to amplifying others) turn effort into evidence and contacts into champions.
- Quiet credibility becomes unstoppable when it’s seen, shared, and supported.
SOUND BITES
- “Hard work doesn’t travel, reputation does.”
- “Networking isn’t collecting contacts; it’s curating trust.”
- “Visibility isn’t vanity. It’s clarity.”
- “If people can’t see what you bring, they can’t value it.”
- “Turn effort into evidence, and contacts into champions.”
- “Quiet brilliance doesn’t get noticed, visible impact does.”
RESOURCES
What's Your Networking Style? Quiz
Connect with Caroline here
Sign up for the Genius Files - your weekly backstage pass to the unspoken rules of high-performance careers. Smart shifts that make you say, “Oh damn, that’s exactly what I needed.”
Ready to make your next bold move? Grab the free Bold Move Audit and join the insider crew.
Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at caroline@inspireyourgenius.com - I read them all.
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