Struggling to be seen or heard is not a personal failing.
Visibility is shaped by context - by culture, power, and systems. By who is allowed to speak.
Many people are doing thoughful necessary work.
They are contributing insight, care, creativity, or leadership.
And yet their voices don’t always travel.
Their work isn’t always recognised.
Their perspective is overlooked, diluted, or quietly set aside.
This isn’t random.
And it isn’t because they haven’t tried hard enough.
Visibility is not distributed evenly.
Most of us learn early, and often unconsciously, how much space is safe to take up.
We learn when to soften our language.
When to make ourselves more palatable.
When speaking carries risk, and when silence feels safer.
These adaptations are not flaws.
They are intelligent responses to the environments we move through.
The problem arises when those conditions go unnamed, and people turn systemic constraints into personal self-doubt.
What this work makes visible
The School of Visibility is built on a simple but often overlooked insight: how visible you are is not just about what you say or how confidently you say it. It's shaped by:
↠ cultures that determine who is included and who's not
↠ social standards about who carries authority and what establishes credibility
↠ institutions and organisations that amplify some voices and mute others
↠ unspoken rules about who should lead, speak, or stay quiet.
When we understand this, a different way to approach visibility becomes possible.
Not 'be more confident.'
Not 'push harder.'
But learn to work with visibility - deliberately, ethically, and sustainably.
Visibility is about so much more than self-promotion
At The School of Visibility® our work is not about faking it until you make it. It's not about forcing yourself into spaces that were never designed with you in mind.
It's about discernment. About understanding:
- where your voice is likely to be heard
- what kind of visibility actually serves your values
- when being seen creates change - and when it simply creates noise
- how to speak without burning out, hardening, or disappearing.
When practised well, visibility becomes a form of agency rather than exposure.
How to work with us
At The School of Visibility® we bring together a way of understanding visibility - how voice, power, and recognition operate - and offer places where you can put that understanding into practice.
What that looks like:
INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE
THIS IS WHERE INDIVIDUALS EXPLORE VISIBILITY IN THEIR LIVES AND WORK.
IT'S A SPACE FOR THINKERS, CREATIVES, CHANGEMAKERS, AND LEADERS WHO WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW VISIBILITY SHAPES THEIR VOICE, DECISIONS, AND PARTICIPATION. IT'S A PLACE TO DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH VISIBILITY THAT FEELS NATURAL, JOYFUL, AND SUSTAINABLE.
ORGANISATION AND SYSTEMS
THIS IS FOR ORGANISATIONS, WORK PLACES, AND PEOPLE INTERESTED IN HOW VISIBILITY FUNCTIONS SYSTEMICALLY.
HERE, VISIBILITY BECOMES A LENS FOR EXAMINING VOICE, POWER, AND PARTICIPATION ARE STRUCTURED, AND FOR SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS AND PARTNERSIPS TO CREATE CONDITIONS WHERE DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES CAN GENUINELY INFLUENCE OUTCOMES.
Hi there!
I'm Samantha Nolan-Smith, founder of The School of Visibility®.
I believe the world is reshaped every time a silenced voice is reclaimed. Every time someone speaks up, shares their story, or leads with clarity and purpose, something shifts — in communities, in organisations, and across society.
For too long, systems of oppression have marginalised voices; particularly those of women, people of colour, Indigenous peoples, and other underrepresented communities. But as we clear the blocks to visibility, new ways of living, working, and relating - to each other and to the planet - begin to emerge.
This isn’t work we can do alone. It’s collective work.
It’s the work of changemakers, creatives, community leaders, and organisations committed to equity and transformation.
Social, cultural, economic, and political systems are being challenged. They must evolve — and diverse voices are essential to that evolution.
It’s time to speak up. To take up space. To lead the change.
"I didn't really know what I needed when I enrolled at the School of Visibility but I knew I was stuck."
NOW I FEEL LIKE A DIFFERENT PERSON. I'M MUCH MORE CONFIDENT TO SAY WHAT I THINK IN A CALM AND GENTLE WAY. THIS WORK IS SO IMPORTANT FOR ALL WOMEN. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
LIBBY BLAKEMORE
DATING COACH, AUSTRALIA.
AS
FEATURED
IN:
"I've experienced a significant personal transformation in terms of my habits and thinking. I am so much more productive, but actually trying to 'do' less."
I WOULD ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND THIS PROGRAM TO OTHERS. I HAVE DONE A LOT OF OTHER SELF-HELP PROGRAMS BUT HAVE NOT ACHIEVED THE SAME RESULTS AS I HAVE WITH THIS PROGRAM.
KRISTY, DIGITAL WELLBEING AND PRODUCTIVITY RESEARCHER
AUSTRALIA.
