Your manager already has you in a mental bucket: rockstar, reliable role player, or benchwarmer. The truth is, these impressions are sticky.
If you fall in the bottom buckets, you need to act fast to shift their perception before it becomes permanent.
Here are the two critical adjustments that can move you up the ladder.
Table of Contents
Weekly Updates
Send a short weekly update every Thursday afternoon (giving yourself a Friday buffer) with exactly 4 bullet points:
- What you accomplished this week
- What’s coming next
- Risks/blockers you are managing
- End with an ask: “What’s one thing I can help you with?”
This simple framework keeps you visible and demonstrates proactive thinking. It shows you’re not just executing tasks—you’re managing outcomes and looking ahead.
But visibility without reliability is worthless. That’s where the second adjustment becomes crucial:
No Surprises
Avoid nasty surprises at all costs. No manager likes surprises, particularly bad news. This ties directly to the point above: raise risks early and always come with a proposed solution.
You’ll get one of two responses: “Yes, go ahead” or “Thanks for surfacing, here’s what to consider and look into.” Either way, you get a helpful response that moves things forward.
The combination of these two strategies—proactive communication and early risk management—creates a powerful perception shift. But timing matters:
Conclusion
Impressions are sticky, so work hard early to get on a positive note.
The mental bucket your manager puts you in during your first few months will likely stick for your entire tenure.
Don’t wait for your next performance review to make these changes. Make these two adjustments immediately if you want to climb out of the benchwarmer category and into rockstar territory.