☠️ The Career Risk No One Warned You About: Status
You Don't Have to Chase It, But You Can't Ignore It
👋 Happy Saturday, my dear UX friends, Marina here!
A mentee said something recently that stuck with me:
“I’ve hit every goal. I lead initiatives. I get great feedback. People always say they love working with me. They also say I’m thoughtful and collaborative. But that doesn’t seem to translate into actual influence. I still feel... invisible when it counts….”
I gave her a few practical suggestions, but the question lingered.
Later that night, I realized it was actually stirring up something deeper for me.
For years, I said:
“I don’t care about status.”
I prided myself on not playing those games.
And I quietly judged people who did.
But here’s what I wish I’d realized earlier:
Status happens whether you care about it or not.
I quietly shrugged at people who seemed obsessed with "positioning" or "influence."
I didn’t want any part of that.
I wanted to focus on real, meaningful work.
But here’s what I learned the hard way:
Status happens whether you care about it or not.
It’s not political.
It’s not manipulative.
It’s human.
Every group - every team, every leadership circle - unconsciously ranks:
Whose opinions shape the conversation?
Who gets invited early?
Who is merely informed after decisions are made?
If you don't intentionally influence where you’re placed,
someone else places you.
And they might put you a lot lower than you deserve.
What Status Actually Is (And Isn’t)
Before we go further, let’s be very clear.
When I say status, I don’t mean:
❌ Self-esteem (how you see yourself)
❌ Branding (how you present yourself)
❌ Perception (how others describe you)
Status = where OTHERS mentally rank your importance in decision-making.
It’s not about how much they like you.
It’s not about how skilled you are.
It’s about where your voice lands in the system of influence.
And here's the part most UXers miss:
You can’t directly control your status.
You can only influence it—through the patterns you create, the way you show up, and the way your voice lands.
Ignoring it doesn’t make you noble.
It just means you're allowing your role to be quietly diminished.
How Status Quietly Shapes Your Career
Status determines:
Who gets consulted early
Who shapes the problem vs. executes the solution
Who’s seen as a leader vs. a reliable contributor
Whose insights are acted on—and whose are praised but sidelined
Many skilled UXers stall because they focus on being excellent contributors—
without realizing they’re still being mentally ranked as support rather than drivers.
How to Tell Where You Actually Stand:
The 4 Real Signals of Your Status
Here’s what truly reveals your status inside an organization:
1. How Fast People Act on Your Input
High-status people don’t have to fight for their ideas to be taken seriously.
Their suggestions create movement—or serious consideration.
If your ideas are praised but parked? You’re liked, but low-status.
✅ Shift it: Frame insights as decisions, not observations. Tie your input directly to business impact.
2. Who Defers to You in Meetings
Watch the room when you speak.
High-status individuals cause others to pause, reconsider, and adapt.
If you’re acknowledged politely but the conversation rolls on, you’re not seen as pivotal yet.
✅ Shift it: Speak in terms of trade-offs, risks, and outcomes. Make stakes visible, not just points.
3. How Early Your Name Comes Up Around Decisions
Status shows in timing.
Are you consulted when shaping strategy, or after direction is already set?
If you’re always looped in late, you’re not seen as an essential voice.
✅ Shift it: Volunteer to frame new initiatives, not just react to them. Be present before decisions harden.
4. Who Uses Your Name to Strengthen Their Case
When others cite you to make their arguments stronger -
"[Name] recommended..." "After speaking with [Name]..." -
you’re operating from status.
If no one ever uses you as a credibility anchor, you’re being treated as supportive, not foundational.
✅ Shift it: Share strategic frames and decisions that are easy for others to repeat—and make them look smart doing it.
How to Build Your Status Without Playing Games
If you want to change how others rank your importance -
you have to operate differently than a contributor.
Not louder. Not fancier.
Just more unmistakably essential.
Here’s how:
➔ Speak to Decisions, Not Deliverables
When you talk, make it about what moves decisions forward:
"The risk we’re accepting here is…"
"The trade-off between X and Y is…"
"To hit [goal], the most critical design leverage point is…"
Why it builds status:
Decision-focused language signals that you're operating at the level leadership cares about, not just outputs.
➔ Plant Repeatable Strategic Frames
High-status ideas spread because they’re easy to repeat.
Create clean, strong one-liners that people want to borrow:
"This design buys us time without locking us in."
"Fast, cheap, or good, pick two."
Why it builds status:
When people repeat your thinking to sound smarter themselves, you’re quietly rising in their mental ranking.
➔ Tie Your Input to Organizational Stakes
Frame your contributions explicitly around business or user risk:
"If we delay validation, we’re risking rework costs at scale."
"Prioritizing simplicity here improves onboarding time by 20%."
Why it builds status:
You’re seen as someone protecting outcomes, not just polishing deliverables.
➔ Stop Softening Your Authority
Status is partly shaped by how confidently you position yourself.
Drop minimizing phrases:
Not: “Just a thought”
Instead: “Here’s a strategic angle to consider”
Not: “I can help with that”
Instead: “I’ll lead this portion and propose options.”
Why it builds status:
Clear, confident language teaches others to treat you as decisive—not optional.
Final Thought
You don’t need to seek status for its own sake.
You don’t need to become political or manipulative.
But you do need to stop pretending status doesn’t exist.
Because status is the silent force deciding whether your best ideas ever get a chance to matter.
It’s not about protecting your ego.
It’s about protecting your impact.
And your impact deserves to travel farther.
See you next Saturday!
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Tying your input to organisational stakes is the highest-ROI move here. It’s the difference between being seen as helpful and being seen as indispensable to outcomes.