Anyone who follows me knows that Jason McCann is one of my go-to CEOs for examples of how best to approach executive visibility.
Among other things, he is very good at making his people feel seen. One of the best examples of this is a post he shared about one of his employees.
It was a simple photo: an employee at one of Vari’s facilities, cleaning the floors. She wasn’t a VP. She wasn’t on stage. She wasn’t in a leadership meeting.
She was just doing her job—likely not expecting anyone to notice.
But Jason noticed. He posted the photo, recognized her by name, and thanked her for making Vari a better place to work.
With one small gesture, he did three powerful things:
- He made her feel seen.
- He made everyone at Vari feel seen—because the post reinforced the company’s culture of gratitude and dignity.
- He strengthened his own influence—not because he tried to, but because visibility rooted in humanity builds trust.
That post captures something many leaders overlook: Being memorable as a leader starts with making people feel seen.
In a time when employees, customers, and partners are overwhelmed with messages, the leaders who stand out aren’t the loudest or the most polished—they’re the ones who show that they’re paying attention.
And that ability—to see others, to recognize people individually—has become one of the most valuable assets in executive visibility today.
Not because it’s performative. Not because it “plays well on LinkedIn.” But because it’s the foundation of trust.
And trust is the engine of influence.
Memorable Leaders Make Others Feel Seen
This is the heart of the argument:
Making others feel seen is the key to being a memorable leader—and it’s impossible to fake, outsource, or automate.
Leaders who do this well communicate more clearly, earn trust faster, and ensure their messages land when it matters most.
People remember how you made them feel long after they’ve forgotten what you said. Which is why “being seen” is not a soft skill. It’s a strategic advantage.
And the leaders who practice it consistently create:
- deeper engagement
- stronger cultures
- more resilient reputations
- higher-performing teams
- far more effective communication
But it all starts with one thing.
It Starts With Listening
Listening is the most underrated trust-building behavior in leadership—and the most time-consuming. But it’s also the most powerful. When leaders take time to:
- sit with frontline employees
- hear from volunteers
- interview customers
- meet beneficiaries in a nonprofit
- talk with partners
- hear concerns without defensiveness
…something subtle but important happens: People feel seen—not as roles, but as humans.
And when people feel seen, they open up. They share more. They surface insights that leaders never get from dashboards, reports, or surveys.
This is why listening is both a cultural multiplier, and a content multiplier.
Leaders who listen well have a constant stream of:
- real stories
- real examples
- real customer moments
- real employee wins
- real lessons
- real proof of values in action
It’s the raw material of meaningful executive visibility. But here’s where many leaders stop. They listen privately…but they don’t scale that listening publicly.
And that’s the missed opportunity.
How to Scale Feeling Seen
Making others feel seen doesn’t scale by accident. It scales when leaders do three things intentionally:
1. Collect stories
Stories are everywhere:
- an employee going above and beyond
- a customer whose experience taught your team something
- a partner who helped you pivot
- a manager who supported their team through a tough challenge
These stories rarely start as “leadership content.” They start as moments. But stories become powerful when leaders capture them.
2. Recognize individuals by name
Many executives hesitate to spotlight individuals. “What if I leave someone out?” “What if it seems like favoritism?” “I want to recognize the team, not a person.”
But recognizing individuals is not exclusion—it’s evidence you were paying attention.
And here’s the paradox: Recognizing one person publicly makes everyone feel seen. Because everyone sees the values behind the moment.
3. Share those stories broadly
The best leaders share what they see:
- on LinkedIn
- in all-hands meetings
- in internal newsletters
- in presentations
- in customer meetings
- in videos and live streams
When you share stories that elevate others, you scale the message: “People matter here.”
When leaders do this consistently, visibility stops being about ego, and becomes about service.
Why Being Seen Matters (According to the Research)
During a conversation I had with Dr. Zach Mercurio—a researcher at Colorado StateUniversity and one of the leading voices on mattering—he reinforced just how fundamental this is:
“Feeling seen, heard, valued, and understood is a primal human need. It’s as essential as eating. It’s the leading indicator of every performance outcome an organization cares about.”
According to Zach, every financial result—revenue, retention, profitability—is downstream from one thing: human energy.
And what drives human energy?
- purpose
- belonging
- mattering
- being valued
- being noticed
- being needed
Zach put it bluntly:
“Any financial metric is mediated through a human being. And if that human being doesn’t feel like they matter, nothing else matters to them.”
This is why visibility matters. This is why making others feel seen is not optional. This is why memorable leaders outperform.
When leaders make others feel valued, behaviors change:
- employees go from compliant to committed
- customers go from buyers to believers
- teams innovate more
- culture strengthens
- turnover drops
- trust compounds
This isn’t soft. It’s strategic.
Why Leaders Hesitate (and Why It Costs Them)
Despite the impact, many leaders still hold back from sharing stories about their people.
Common reasons include:
- “I don’t want to seem self-promotional.”
- “I don’t want to play favorites.”
- “I don’t think my stories are that interesting.”
- “I’m too busy doing the work.”
- “I want the attention on the team, not me.”
But here’s the truth: Visibility isn’t self-promotion. It’s confidence transfer.It helps people believe in the leader, the team, and the mission.
And when leaders disappear, three things happen:
- Messages lose impact.
- Trust decays.
- Culture drifts.
Influence doesn’t come from silence. It comes from being seen—and from making others feel the same.
The Business Impact of Making Others Feel Seen
Making others feel seen creates four major advantages:
1. It strengthens culture.
Public recognition reinforces what a company values. It also attracts people who want to work in places where contributions are noticed.
2. It protects reputation.
Avisible leader with a track record of human connection has credibility when it matters most. Trust built in calm times is insurance in a crisis.
3. It aligns and attracts.
Employees rally around leaders who see them. Customers trust leaders who show authenticity.
4. It compounds trust.
Every moment of recognition is a trust deposit. These deposits turn into resilience, loyalty, and advocacy.
If Your Budget Were Zero
If every marketing dollar vanished tomorrow, visibility rooted in humanity would still work.
Here’s how:
- Celebrate your people by name.
- Answer customer questions personally.
- Show how you live your values.
- Share your journey—wins, failures, lessons.
- Invite conversation, not just attention.
This is visibility as service, not spotlight. And it’s the mostcost-effective growth strategy left in business.
Because Memorable Leadership Starts Here
When leaders make people feel seen:
- messages land
- trust deepens
- influence grows
- culture strengthens
- customers believe
- employees stay
- reputations rise
Visibility isn’t about attention. It’s about the confidence transfer that turns leaders into people others want to follow.
One story. One moment. One person at a time.