The One Thing Costing You a Seat at the Table

How to Reclaim Your Voice and Visibility in Leadership, The Wake-up Call

You know the feeling,you just found out a major decision was made, without you, no invitation to the meeting and no chance to ask questions or contribute. No seat at the table and it stings.

In your mind, you’ve been working hard, delivering results, and still you are being left out of the conversations that count. The first thought is to swirl and blame, your boss is overlooking you, office politics at their worst, or maybe they just don’t value your voice. Don’t do that, blame keeps you stuck, ownership moves you forward. This is your moment to say, give me my seat back, and then go get it.

It’s easy to believe you are being excluded because of office politics, but often the reason is more subtle, leaders do not see you as essential to the discussion. That can be hard to hear, but this isn’t about shame, it is about owning your power. 

Ask yourself:

• Do I bring strategic value to every conversation?
• Do I consistently speak up with ideas and insights?
• Do I see the bigger picture?
• Have I dropped excuses and blame from my vocabulary?
• Do I act like the leader I want to be seen as?

Because, you may have given up your seat without realizing it. Maybe it was holding back, playing small or maybe it was the constant push back on new initiatives. Reclaiming your seat starts with radical ownership. You can’t change what you don’t own. Taking ownership is not blame and shame, it is retaining your power. 

Here is how to start:

1. Acknowledge where you have been silent. Be honest with yourself about the moments you stayed quiet to keep the peace or avoid judgment. Leadership requires a voice and taking intentional risk.
2. Get clear on your unique value. What problems do you solve? What perspective do you bring? Own your unique strength and lean into that. 
3. Drop blame and excuses from your vocabulary. This doesn’t mean that problems won’t happen, but it does mean that you own them and you drive the solution. Every time you make an excuse or allow someone else to solve your problem, you are giving away your power and possibly your seat. 
4. Lead from where you are today. You don’t need a VP title to think like one. Take initiative and influence outcomes. Be seen as a leader, regardless of your title.

Visualize that seat and then claim it. Picture yourself at the table;

• What are you contributing?
• How are you showing up?
• How do others respond to your presence?

Now, act in alignment with that vision.

• Prepare for meetings like you are leading them.
• Speak with clarity and purpose, not apology.
• Present ideas that move the business forward.
• Speak in future tense, this prevents inadvertent excuses and blame.

You are not waiting to be seen, you are making yourself impossible to ignore. Showing that you belong looks like; bringing forward thinking solutions, not just highlighting problems, owning outcomes, both wins and losses, and asking strategic, business-focused questions. These are the actions that build credibility, trust and influence. 

Your leadership doesn’t begin when others recognize it. Your leadership begins the moment  you decide, I am showing up as the leader I am meant to be.