Be Seen in the Western Workplace 

Hi, I’m Jonathan 李俊成

Do you ever feel invisible in the Western workplace? I know that feeling. As a Chinese myself, I believed in keeping my head down, hoping hard work would speak for itself. It didn't.

What changed? At Uber and Shopify, I realized that talent alone doesn't get you seen. The people who rise aren't always the most capable. They're the ones who know how to build connection and trust through the way they communicate. I grew into leadership roles by telling the right stories: for my company, for my team, and for myself.

Since 2017, I've been helping Chinese professionals do the same. And here's something I've come to believe deeply: every career problem I've ever seen comes down to one thing. Storytelling. The stories we tell others, the stories we tell ourselves.

Humans have been telling stories for 17,000 years. Before the printing press. Before the written word. Before the creation of language. People painted on cave walls because they desired connection.

We've lived through a pandemic. An AI revolution. The rules of work keep changing. But that desire? It never changes. 

That's why if you master storytelling, you will always be chosen. And if you can't? You won't be seen, no matter how capable you are.