I'm a good coder and also give myself a lot of visibility. I regularly try to give visibility to others that do well. This is important on many fronts:
- Visibility means opportunity. You're good at something and if people know that when opportunities arise if you're visible then your name might enter the list of candidates for that opportunity. This really should not be underplayed. It is a very important aspect of visibility and it is a key to rising up in your career by being given new bigger responsibilities.
- Good work deserves recognition by others. Like it or not this is a meritocracy at the end of the day and if you're not being exposed you're probably not getting merit. That part ties in with the above point however it is also important for setting benchmarks.
- It sets an example to others of good work and good thinking.
- Respect. It helps to streamline interactions if people take you seriously and know what you are capable off. They can't take you on face value.
Doesn't focusing on gaining visibility lead to politics and end up polluting the work environment?
It can. For me it is easy; as a top developer, I act on people's behalf and give them visibility where it is due. I can also counter false visibility. This is accurate and reasonably reliable. However acting on others behalf is a burden so for this reason I often try to motivate them to give themselves visibility which can be scary and intimidating for a lot of people. However it is worthwhile. You have a lot of people with real potential that would happily work quietly and be passed over for promotion again and again while big mouths shout their way up the ladder. Eventually many of them will move on so this will potentially be an important skill for them in the next workplace where there might not be someone like me around.