One of the most important, and often overlooked, metrics to track in your career is - “How much are people willing to bet on me?”

This is certainly not about titles or how loud your voice is in meetings. It’s about credibility, and that takes years to build by consistently delivering things.

If you are known for owning outcomes and driving results, leadership will trust you with higher-stakes work because the most important projects go to those who get things done.

But how do we measure your credibility? Here are a few proxies that indicate people are betting on you:

• You are brought into critical meetings without asking
• You are asked for input on decisions beyond your scope
• You are given ambiguous, high-impact problems
• Leadership asks you to mentor or guide others
• You get looped in early when something sensitive or risky comes up

None of these happens by accident. So, how do you build this credibility?

• Deliver results reliably, not once, but repeatedly
• Share credit generously, but own responsibility fully
• Communicate clearly and proactively, esp when the stakes are high
• Demonstrate sound judgment when there’s no clear rulebook
• Stay calm under pressure and solve problems when things go off track

If you do not yet have a proven track record, that’s okay. People might still think that your idea is great and worth pursuing, but they would hesitate to hand it over to you for end-to-end execution.

So ask yourself regularly: “Am I someone others are confident putting their chips on?”. Because in the end, people bet on outcomes, not just opinions.