Coming soon on October 16, 2025

Visible

How to Advance Your Career Without Playing Politics, Selling Your Soul, or Working Yourself into the Ground

“VISIBLE gives you the tools to get seen, heard, and valued. If you’re tired of being overlooked, this is the shift you’ve been waiting for.”
Keith Ferrazzi
Keith Ferrazzi
#1 NYT Best Selling Author and Founder of Ferrazzi Greenlight
Visible book cover

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About the book

You’re good at your job. You work hard, deliver results, and maintain high standards. Yet, despite your dedication, career advancement feels increasingly out of reach. Traditional advice, “let your work speak for itself” or “learn to play the game,” leaves you feeling stuck between burnout and sell out.

May Busch, former COO of Morgan Stanley Europe, knows this struggle intimately. Through her own 24-year journey from entry-level analyst to C-suite executive, she discovered a better way forward.

Drawing from her experience and work coaching hundreds of ambitious professionals, May reveals the hidden capabilities that senior decision-makers look for when determining who advances and who plateaus.

This transformative guide shows you how to:

  • Navigate office politics while staying true to your values
  • Build strategic relationships without compromising your integrity
  • Develop the presence and confidence to command attention
  • Take ownership of your career progression at every stage

Whether you’re feeling overlooked for promotion, struggling with workplace dynamics, or simply ready to accelerate your career trajectory, this book provides the framework to advance on your own terms. Stop grinding harder – start working strategically.

“With sharp insight and practical tools, VISIBLE helps you shift how you show up, how you’re seen, and ultimately, who you believe yourself to be.”
Herminia Ibarra
Herminia Ibarra
Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School and author of Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader
“Read it, apply it, and you’ll discover how to step forward with confidence, earn the recognition you deserve, and lead with authenticity.”
Marshall Goldsmith
Marshall Goldsmith
Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach and New York Times bestselling author

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – The Career Advancement Roadmap

Chapter 2 – Managing Your Stakeholders

Winning Support Without Playing Politics

Chapter 3 – Leading Beyond a Title

How to Build Your Team’s Trust

Chapter 4 – From Invisible to Influential

The Communication Skills That Matter

Chapter 5 – Beyond Your Job Description

Spotting Strategic Opportunities

Chapter 6 – Decisive Leadership

The Confidence to Act When You Don’t Have All the Answers

Chapter 7 – Creating Value

Transitioning from Caretaker to Rainmaker

Chapter 8 – The Inner Game

Self-Awareness as Your Career Accelerator

Chapter 9 – Showing Up and Standing Out

Building a Presence and Profile That Feels Right

Chapter 10 – Your Community of Support

Creating a Network of Career Champions the Authentic Way

ALSO INCLUDED

Online resources to put the key lessons into action

Praise for VISIBLE

“Too often, talented professionals stay stuck in the shadows. VISIBLE is a masterclass in stepping forward confidently – without selling out or burning out.”
Dorie Clark
Dorie Clark
Executive education faculty at Columbia Business School and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Long Game
“VISIBLE is a smart, no-nonsense guide for anyone ready to step into a bigger role without selling their soul. It tackles the real challenge of leadership transitions: being seen as ready before you feel – or are – fully there. With sharp insight and practical tools, VISIBLE helps you shift how you show up, how you’re seen, and ultimately, who you believe yourself to be.”
Herminia Ibarra
Herminia Ibarra
Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School and author of Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader
“In VISIBLE, May Busch brings her life and her career experiences into one cohesive “how to” approach to achieving success in both. A model for presenting and promoting who you truly are.”
Craig Weatherup
Craig Weatherup
Former CEO of Pepsi-Cola
“VISIBLE shines a light on one of the most overlooked truths in leadership and career growth: hard work alone is not enough. With honesty, insight, and wisdom drawn from her own remarkable journey, May Busch shows professionals how to rise by showing their talent and efforts — without losing themselves. Read it, apply it, and you’ll discover how to step forward with confidence, earn the recognition you deserve, and lead with authenticity.”
Marshall Goldsmith
Marshall Goldsmith
Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach and New York Times bestselling author
“As a university president, I have seen many capable graduates stall in their careers – not from lack of effort or talent, but from lack of visibility. In VISIBLE, May Busch outlines how professionals can rise with integrity in today’s competitive workplaces by not just doing great work, but by making that work visible to the right people. If this playbook were available to more of our graduates before they leave campus, they would advance more quickly during their careers. Smart, ethical, and empowering.”
Michael Crow
Michael M. Crow
President, Arizona State University
“Irony alert! Working harder can make you easier to ignore. Here's the way to get seen.”
Michael Bungay Stanier
Michael Bungay Stanier
Bestselling author of The Coaching Habit
“Most career books tell you to hustle harder, shout louder, or play politics. VISIBLE shows you how to rise without betraying your values. Drawn from real scars and real wins, it gives you the tools to get seen, heard, and valued. If you’re tired of being overlooked, this is the shift you’ve been waiting for.”
Keith Ferrazzi
Keith Ferrazzi
#1 NYT Best Selling Author and Founder of Ferrazzi Greenlight
“In this beautiful new book, author May Busch provides a compassionate guide to career mastery. Drawing from her own firsthand business experiences, she explains the importance of visibility, people skills, and confidence – and gently guides readers on how to do great work and build career success. Her compelling stories will keep you turning the page.”
Amy Edmondson
Amy C. Edmondson
Novartis Professor of Leadership, Harvard Business School and author of Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well

About the author

May Busch

May Busch works with good people who want to advance their careers and make the difference they’re meant to make in the world – without sacrificing their values in the process.

After her own 24-year rise to Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley Europe, she discovered the hidden shift that separates those who advance from those who plateau: it’s not enough to deliver excellent performance – you also need to make your potential visible to key decision-makers.

As founder of Career Mastery™, May has developed a practical framework that helps mid-career professionals accelerate their advancement while staying authentic. Her approach has guided hundreds of professionals toward promotions, leadership roles, and greater career satisfaction.

A Harvard College and Harvard Business School graduate, May serves as Senior Advisor for Leadership at Arizona State University and provides executive coaching globally. Her work proves that good people can finish first.

Everything May shares is what she wishes she’d had during her own journey.

May Busch