Real visibility: How to get ahead without losing yourself

Before Arizona State University, May Busch led a 24-year career at Morgan Stanley spanning two continents, nine roles — from entry-level to the C-suite — and countless lessons in leadership, investment banking, firm management and capital markets.

Yet what she enjoyed most about her time in the corporate sector was mentoring others.

"I liked helping people," says Busch, now senior advisor for leadership within ASU's Office of the President. "I was someone who others came to for advice about their career struggles."

By 2007, while serving as managing director and chief operating officer of Morgan Stanley Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Busch felt her chapter there had come to an end. She left to pursue her true passion: using her career lessons to help others find fulfillment and success at work.

When Busch struck out on her own, she faced a choice: work for one of the many established organizations that support professional mentorship, or build something of her own. The transition prompted her to found two companies — May Busch & Associates Ltd. and Career Mastery — dedicated to helping professionals unlock their full potential through online training, group programs and one-on-one coaching. She also assists corporations with organizational strategy, leadership development and client effectiveness, giving her the freedom to coach clients in ways that are ethical, authentic and aligned with their values.

"There’s so much career advice about 'playing the game,' but I wanted to help the good people — hardworking, sincere people who care about others and don’t want to game the system," she says. "Those are the people I want to serve."

Busch initially began sharing her experiences through coaching and writing blogs and articles. In 2016, she adapted her blog into her first book, "Accelerate: 9 Capabilities to Achieve Success at Any Career Stage."

Today, she serves the ASU community in several ways, in addition to her role in the president's office. These include being a W. P. Carey professor of practice and a member of the steering committees for ASU’s SUNlite coaching program, the Leadership Academy and the Advanced Leadership Initiative. 

Busch's most recent book, "Visible: How to Advance Your Career without Playing Politics, Selling Your Soul, or Working Yourself into the Ground," published Oct. 16, expands on her mission to help people advance their careers in actionable ways without compromising their values.

"I wrote this book because I care about helping good people be successful in their careers and lives, because the world needs all of us — all the people who are good, sincere and who care about each other. Those people need to be able to advance and make their mark," she says. "I have focused on careers because that's where we spend more than half our waking hours, and I don't want people to be miserable for more than half their waking hours. Let's bring joy back into our work and our lives."

Busch's advice applies to professionals in every stage of their career, including recent ASU graduates and current students interested in learning how to stay true to their values while becoming their best selves.

In celebration of National Business Women's Week, Busch shares details about her career journey, leadership and coaching philosophies, career advice for young professionals, and how people of all ages can thrive in the workplace through authentic visibility.

Question: What is the greatest challenge you've faced as you've advanced through your career?

Answer: I can be a harsh judge of myself, which is a trait that isn't helpful in a work environment where so many people and circumstances are impacting you. At the beginning of my career, I had a strong sense of self, but I had to overcome a lot of negative self-talk and was, at times, my worst enemy. That was a big challenge because it permeated everything.

Q: What skills did you learn early on in your career that you still rely on today?

A: I write about nine different key skills in "Visible," but if I had to choose, self-awareness and the ability to self-manage are the most important because they are foundational skills that help professionals in every single way.

It's also important to read the room and understand the context in which you are operating to communicate effectively. It's about understanding the psychology of the people you're talking to, knowing what's going on in their minds and adapting to get the best possible outcomes.

Q: How has your experience as a woman in leadership shaped your perspective on career advancement?

A: I'm sure it shaped my perspective a tremendous amount, but it wasn't the lens that I looked through for most of my career. I think of these things as labels; we stereotype others and make snap judgments because that's how our brains work. Over time, I realized that many labels could be attached to me: being a woman, being Chinese, being short, being from the U.S. I’ve always strived to be seen as a person — not a label.

When you understand the assumptions people make about you, you can identify which ones work in your favor and which to dispel. I try not to define myself by any single group, because I'm all of those things. A label isn't inherently an advantage or disadvantage; it simply is what it is, and there are upsides and downsides to every one of them.

Q: Your new book, "Visible: How to Advance Your Career without Playing Politics, Selling Your Soul, or Working Yourself into the Ground," is a great resource for young people who want to advance their careers while staying grounded in their values. How do you recommend recent graduates stay true to themselves while navigating career growth, office politics and corporate pressure?

A: The first is to have a strong sense of self and an understanding of your values. Early on, when I got frustrated that I wasn't learning piano fast enough, my teacher once told me that I was "being and also becoming." We are always learning and growing in who we are and what we value. While some values are timeless, others will shift throughout our lives.

The second is having trusted people around you, both in and outside the organization that you join. Some might be in your close circle of friends or family, while others could be senior mentors. Having a supportive community reminds you of your best self and helps you connect and network with others.

Third is the ability to continue learning, a point that President Crow discusses and ASU emphasizes. There's not one skill anymore that you can learn that will be bankable for the rest of your career, so it's important to be constantly learning and growing. Just think: A huge portion of jobs didn't even exist five years ago, and there are some that we will lose to technological developments.

Finally, interpersonal skills. As AI becomes more prevalent, there will still be people involved, and people promote people; algorithms don’t promote people. Being able to communicate well to influence and understand what people are thinking so you can come up with the most effective response is important.

Q: What misconceptions do people have about visibility at work?

A: There are two misconceptions. The first point is that being visible is about self-promotion, which people often find icky and uncomfortable — but it doesn't have to be. For most of us, being visible requires adjustment here and there. It could mean talking to more than one person about what you're working on, such as letting your manager or skip-level manager know you closed a project and the impact it's having. It doesn't need to be bragging about your accomplishments. Instead, it can be about updating or informing someone about your work in a way that feels natural, helping you achieve visibility.

The second misconception is that visibility is only about others seeing you. In reality, it’s also about you seeing the bigger picture and understanding what’s happening across the organizations, from the company's strategic direction to initiatives outside your role or expertise. This awareness is crucial because it automatically elevates you to a different category of professional, positions you as someone who thinks strategically and, in turn, helps you become more visible to others.

Q: As we look toward the future, what trends do you see shaping the careers of today's students and new graduates?

A: The future of work is going to continue to change rapidly, and the degree of certainty about work, which has diminished over the years, is likely to continue. In the 1950s, you could join IBM, work there your whole career, get a gold watch and retire. That career trajectory hasn't been true for several decades now, and it's only going to get less stable in that sense.

Whether it's due to AI, geopolitical dynamics or the economy, what matters most is a person's ability to understand their value and what their values are, enabling them to figure out how to create work. It's also important to keep learning from whoever you can, because one downside of not being able to get into a big organization right away is that you don't have somebody to learn from. So find those people, and get innovative in identifying creative opportunities to gain experience under your belt.