When Recognition Moves Upstream
Last week I opened LinkedIn and saw a message waiting in my inbox.
Her name caught my eye immediately.
We’ve exchanged messages before, but she’s someone I’ve always watched from a bit of distance. She has a much larger following than I do. Her writing is thoughtful, vulnerable, and somehow manages to move past a single niche or industry. The kind of voice people tend to pay attention to.
So when I saw the notification, I paused for a second before opening it.
The note itself was simple, direct, and generous. Much like her daily content.
She told me how valuable my writing had been to her.
I read it once.
Then again.
Part of me assumed I must have misunderstood the tone the first time. When someone you admire says something like that, your instinct is to double-check before accepting it. Lol.
But the message didn’t change on the second read.
The compliment itself struck me, but also the direction it traveled.
Recognition usually flows one way online. Bigger voices receive it. Smaller ones send it.
This time, it moved in the other direction.
You see this dynamic all the time in sports. A respected veteran praising a rookie. A coach publicly backs a player. Someone whose opinion already matters deciding to point it somewhere specific.
Influence, it turns out, isn’t just measured by how many people listen. It’s measured by who you decide to notice.
And if you work anywhere near sports, branding, or fan communities, the real question is hard to ignore:
Who are you choosing to elevate when no one expects you to?