The Hidden Power of Recognition and Advocacy: How Small Acts Create Lasting Impact

If I look back at my career, I see a path paved by other people’s generosity. I did not build it alone. I did the work, yes. I put in the hours. But at every turn, someone spoke my name when I wasn’t there to hear it. Someone recommended me, advocated for me, lifted me up, made sure I was seen.

Advocacy

I have never been the loudest voice in the room. I have never been the best networker. I don’t belong to professional associations, I don’t sit on boards, and for most of my career, I never had the representation of a speakers bureau. And yet, I have spoken to nearly 500 organizations across 29 countries. Each invitation was not the result of self-promotion or strategy but because someone believed my work was worth sharing. My name traveled through conversations I was not a part of, carried forward by people who had nothing to gain.

Beyond those organizations, my work has reached more than 200 law firms. When the largest of those call, I already know how the conversation will start: Kent Zimmermann recommended you. His name is the one I hear most often, but he is not alone. There are many others, people I barely know, people I may never meet, who have spoken on my behalf. They have done this not because they had to, not because they owed me anything, but because something inside them told them to.

I wonder sometimes why people take that risk. When you advocate for someone, you tie yourself to them. If they fail, a part of that failure reflects on you. If they rise, you rise with them. It is a form of generosity, but it is also something deeper than that. Maybe they remember what it was like to be given a chance. Maybe they understand that no one gets anywhere alone. Or maybe, in some way, they just believe the world should work like this—people lifting people, one name at a time.

Recognition

Then there is recognition. A different kind of generosity. Not an opportunity, not an introduction, just a moment where someone says: I see you. A note after a talk. A message on LinkedIn. A passing comment that stays with you longer than the person who said it ever intended. It does not change careers. It does not open doors. But it keeps people going. Because work, when unrecognized, has a way of making itself smaller. The longer it goes unseen, the harder it is to believe it was ever meant to be seen at all.

I have been guilty of silence. I have read things that moved me, heard things that stayed with me, watched people do work that deserved acknowledgment—and I have said nothing. Not because I didn’t care, but because I assumed they already knew. But what if they didn’t? What if that one sentence, that small gesture, was the thing that kept them going?

Consider the people who have spoken on your behalf when you weren’t in the room. Those who have opened doors, made connections, or championed your efforts. Recall the moments when someone acknowledged your contributions, when their words reshaped your day, your week—maybe even the course of your life.

Now ask yourself: When was the last time you did that for someone else?

We all have that ability—to lift others up, to make them seen, to share their work in ways they may never know. Not out of obligation. Not for personal gain. But simply because we understand the impact of being recognized.

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P.S. I have been the beneficiary of this kind of advocacy and generosity more times than I can count. And so, in gratitude, I will be using this space (on Tuesdays) in the coming weeks to recognize and advocate for those whose work deserves to be seen. I invite you to do the same. Because if I have learned anything, it is this: A single voice, at the right moment, can change the course of a life and career.