Why Invisible Wins Drive Growth

For B2B marketers and comms leaders, so much of our impact lives below the surface. These are the invisible wins—the shifts, the alignment, the ease—that no one can quite name but everyone benefits from.

Which raises a constant question: how do you measure something you can’t see but everyone can feel?

Marketing and communications rarely operate as solo artists.
We’re a full production—conducting from somewhere in the middle of the orchestra, shaping the tempo, coordinating the sections, creating coherence as we go.

That’s why proving impact is so tricky. Our influence often shows up in how seamlessly the business operates, how well-equipped teams are to do their jobs, how aligned decisions feel, or how quickly momentum builds. None of which typically makes it onto a dashboard.

Over the years, I’ve learned there are ways to make the invisible, visible:

1. Narrate the Change
Early and often, and not just with numbers.

What’s different now?
How are teams working together?
What feels easier or faster?
What new doors have opened?

Leaders can’t appreciate what they can’t see—narration is how you surface the quiet gains.

2. Observe Adoption
The proof is in the people.

When others start using your frameworks, language or processes, that’s impact in action.
Influence is the mark you leave on how others work.

3. Measure Ease
Track the friction—or the absence of it.

Improved collaboration, faster decisions and fewer bottlenecks are all forms of data that show you’re moving the needle.

Not all metrics show up on a dashboard.
Some are measured by the absence of hurdles — the invisible wins that quietly accelerate the visible ones.

And those invisible wins?
They’re often the ones that drive real, sustained growth.