Why some of the most important contributions at work remain unseen—and what research tells us about changing that.
🔦 The Problem We’re Trying to Solve
Across hybrid teams, knowledge work, and even frontline roles, one pattern keeps surfacing: some of the most valuable work is also the most invisible.
It’s the teammate who keeps morale high.
The analyst who flags a flaw before it ships.
The project manager who stops silos before they start.
These acts rarely get logged in dashboards or named in all-hands. But they shape outcomes just as much—if not more—than formally recognized deliverables.
At Libra, we’ve been asking:
How do you make great work visible—without reducing it to metrics that miss the point?
As we shift our focus toward research and advisory work, here’s what the field already knows.
🧠 1. Non-promotable work
Most recognition systems are tied to deliverables—things with clear ownership and deadlines. But a vast body of research reminds us that organizations run on a lot more than that.
- Extra-role Behaviors
These include helping, mentoring, and advocating—often voluntary acts that don’t show up in KPIs but improve team effectiveness (Organ, 1988; Bolino et al., 2002). - Relational Climate
These encompass the energy exchanges, trust-building moments, and emotional contagion that shape team climate—intangible qualities that emerge from group interactions. Teams with positive relational energy report higher engagement and performance (Owens et al., 2016), yet these dynamics typically go unmeasured and unrecognized. - Counterproductive Behaviors
These include knowledge hiding, credit stealing, and undermining—strategic acts that protect individual advantage while harming collective performance. High performers sometimes withhold insights to retain advantage (Connelly et al., 2012), yet these behaviors often go undetected in traditional evaluations.
🔍 2. Visibility Is Not Evenly Distributed
Visibility isn’t just about merit. It’s shaped by who speaks up, who gets heard, and what kinds of work are legible to leadership.
- Voice and Silence:
Psychological safety (Edmondson, 1999) predicts whether employees feel safe to raise concerns or share insights. Silence can be protective, especially in hierarchical or politically charged settings. - Impression Management:
People often walk a line between doing good work and being seen doing good work. Visibility often favors those comfortable with self-promotion (Bolino et al., 2016)—a dynamic that intersects with gender, culture, and personality. - Role Crafting & Identity:
Employees shape their roles to align with values and meaning (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001). But when this doesn’t fit managerial templates, it can lead to under-recognition.
💬 3. Attribution Systems Are Flawed
Even when work is visible, credit doesn’t always land in the right place.
- Attribution Biases:
People over-credit those in formal authority or high-visibility roles (Ross et al., 1977). Meanwhile, invisible labor supporting the outcome is overlooked. - Narrative Construction:
Ibarra & Barbulescu (2010) showed how people construct narratives to make sense of their work identity. Those who frame their work well are more likely to get credit—regardless of actual impact.
📏 4. Measurement Systems Lag Behind
Organizations try to quantify performance—but many systems fall short of capturing the whole picture.
- 360-Feedback has promise but suffers from low response rates, political dynamics, and inconsistent follow-through.
- Algorithmic Performance Reviews may increase objectivity, but often lack context, nuance, or capture of emotional labor (Kellogg et al., 2020).
🧭 Where the Research Falls Short
Despite rich insights, most existing studies:
- Focus on individual constructs (e.g., voice, impression management) without capturing how they interrelate in teams.
- Don’t translate well into organizational design tools or scalable interventions.
- Struggle to bridge behavioral theory and system design—leaving a gap between what we know and what we build.
💡 Where We’re Headed Next
At Libra, we’re committed to:
- Translating this body of research into practical frameworks for teams and managers.
- Exploring how emerging AI tools (e.g., voice journaling, network mapping) can surface invisible work ethically and meaningfully.
- Partnering with organizations to run pilots, conduct field research, and co-develop new practices.
If your team is wrestling with what visibility should look like in a hybrid world—we’d love to talk.
Because making great work visible is more than a tech problem.
It’s a human one.