How to Be Seen at Work (Even When You’re the One Doing All the Work)

You deliver. You support everyone else. You stay humble.

And somehow, you're still the one being overlooked.

You’re not imagining it.

Let’s talk about why this keeps happening, and how to change it.

How to Be Seen at Work When You’re Doing Everything Right

You’re showing up, delivering results, backing your team, and going the extra mile. But when the recognition, the opportunities, or the promotions come around, it’s like you disappear. You’ve probably wondered how to be seen at work without constantly having to prove yourself or fight for attention.

You may be:

• Downplaying your wins or staying quiet about your accomplishments.

• Holding back in meetings, afraid to say the wrong thing.

• Struggling to take up space or speak with confidence.

• Believing that if you just keep your head down and do the work, someone will eventually notice.

Recognition doesn’t come from effort alone. It comes from how you show up.

People respond to energy before they respond to achievements. If your energy says, “I’m not sure I belong,” others will unconsciously agree.

Why others get noticed and you don’t

The people getting ahead often aren’t the most qualified. They’re the ones who believe they deserve to be seen.

They speak clearly, advocate for their ideas, and carry themselves like they belong. And because they do, others follow that lead.

If you’re holding back, hoping to be noticed, or trying to earn visibility by staying quiet and reliable, you’re unintentionally telling people to look past you.

It’s not your fault. But it is your responsibility to change it.

Confidence isn’t loud. It’s grounded.

Before anyone else can see your value, you need to own it internally. This isn’t about pretending or performing.

It’s about cultivating a stable relationship with yourself: one that holds firm even in rooms where you might once have shrunk or hidden in the corner, hoping not to be seen.

That kind of energy doesn’t shout. It doesn’t hustle.

It just holds, and people feel it the moment you walk into a room.

Metta meditation: Rebuilding your sense of worth

One of the most powerful ways to develop confidence from within is through Metta meditation, or loving-kindness practice.

This isn’t positive thinking. It’s a way to anchor into self-respect and calm presence by creating space for compassion, especially when confidence is low.

Here’s how to practise:

Set aside ten minutes. Sit upright in a chair or on a cushion. Let your spine be tall but relaxed. Hands resting in your lap. Close your eyes.

Begin by noticing your breath. Let your shoulders soften. Release tension in the face and jaw. Let go of effort.

Bring your attention to the centre of your chest. As you breathe in, imagine this space gently opening. With each breath, visualise self-love radiating outwards, filling your whole being. You might picture a white or golden light, or anything that feels warm and supportive.

Then begin repeating these four phrases silently and slowly:

• May I be happy - may I find contentment in who I am.

• May I be well - may I be strong in body and mind.

• May I be safe - may I feel protected and supported.

• May I be peaceful and at ease - may I move through the world with clarity and calm.

  
  

Repeat for several minutes. If your mind drifts (and it will), just return to the phrases without judgement.

You are not trying to feel a certain way. You’re creating the space to relate to yourself with kindness, instead of criticism. This practice is more than 2500 years old and is still with us today because it has been proven to have profound positive benefits for millions of people through the generations. Give it a go now. But don't expect immediate results. Working with this meditation is a journey. It's something you need to keep working with every day.

That shift in energy due to this meditation is what changes how others experience you.

A real story: One client, one practice, everything changed

A coaching client of mine in Austria was in complete chaos. Her marriage was falling apart. She didn’t know where to live. Her possessions were locked in storage. Her cat was being cared for by relatives in the US. She was torn between returning to Australia to patch things up with her ex-husband, going to Kuwait to be with her mother, or staying in Austria with no real plan and struggling to build a new life for herself with no clear direction.

She felt stuck. Lost. Unanchored.

And the only thing I gave her was the Metta meditation.

Because the root of her paralysis wasn’t indecision. It was a lack of self-love, clarity, and trust in herself.

Within two months of daily practice, everything changed.

She made grounded decisions. She brought her cat home. She moved into her own place. She retrieved her belongings. And she began building a life that felt truly hers. Now she is extremely happy, settled, and building a meaningful life for herself.

She stopped waiting for someone else to give her direction. She became someone who could lead herself.

You can try the same meditation she used by downloading the guided audio here:stevegooch.co/book-meditations Scroll down to meditation number 7.

Reiki: Clearing what holds you back

Sometimes, no matter how much inner work you do, the patterns will continue to loop. You still shrink. You still hesitate. You still second-guess.

That’s where Reiki comes in.

Reiki helps release the deeper energetic imprints that keep you in fear, self-doubt, or hiding. It clears space so your natural presence can come forward, without trying.

Reiki can help you:

• Let go of the fear of being judged or dismissed.

• Stop apologising for your voice or ideas.

• Show up with a calm, confident presence that does not need permission.

  
  

Reiki is a powerful energetic practice that will help to amplify your natural, inner radiance. Others WILL notice your presence once you incorporate Reiki into your daily life!

This isn’t about pushing. It’s about clearing what’s in the way of your natural authority.

What it all comes down to

To recap:

• Recognition starts with how you see yourself.

• Confidence isn’t volume, it’s energetic clarity.

• Practices like Metta meditation and Reiki help you shift from invisible to undeniable.

  
  

Final thoughts: Are you still waiting to be seen?

If you want to be taken seriously, you must first take yourself seriously.

You teach people how to see you by how you show up in your own energy.

You don’t need to shout. But you do need to be rooted.

And when you are, people listen differently.

What would change if you stopped waiting to be seen and started seeing yourself first?

If this speaks to you, The Power Within programme is where we take this work deeper. Learn how to develop unshakeable confidence, presence, and authority without performing or pretending.https://www.stevegooch.co/subtle-energy-mastery

For regular insights on leadership presence, energy alignment, and personal growth, sign up for my newsletter:https://stevegooch.beehiiv.com/subscribe

All the best,

Steve