How should I handle uneven project visibility and recognition within a team of p...

I’m a project manager in a team of PMs plus one team lead. Everyone has their own projects and several of us are new to the team. We were all hired as project managers, have roughly comparable professional experience and receive the same compensation; none of us are beginners or junior PMs.

Something uncomfortable has caught my attention, and I’m unsure how to handle it in a professional and constructive way.

I have been assigned projects that are more internal, enabling and long-term in nature and that also include providing support to other team members in refining their work when required.

They often work together in groups of two or three. In contrast, I am not formally assigned to a group; while I regularly reach out to colleagues to exchange information and collaborate informally, I am still largely working on my assignments independently.

In our regular cross-team jour fixe meetings, my manager has publicly thanked and praised the other PMs for their projects and progress (in at least two meetings). My own projects do have progress and concrete results, but these are less obvious due to the nature of the work. I also frequently and proactively initiate meetings with colleagues from other departments and other stakeholders. My manager is aware of this, as I keep him regularly informed about results and next steps.

What makes the situation more confusing is that whenever I deliver results, my manager’s feedback is consistently positive. He compliments the quality of my work and never criticizes my output. There has never been any indication that my performance or delivery is lacking. However, this positive feedback happens only in one-on-one settings and not publicly in the group.

As a result: I have fewer meetings with my manager and my manager’s manager My contributions are not visible to the wider group I’m concerned about how this may affect perception, recognition, and future career opportunities

During my last performance review, I explicitly told my manager that I want to grow, develop myself further, and move up in my career. He agreed with this goal and seemed supportive.

My question is about the best professional approach going forward: Would it be appropriate for me to briefly report on my own progress and results in the next team meeting, even if my manager does not explicitly invite me to do so? Or could this come across as awkward, especially given that my manager did not mention my work in previous meetings?

More generally, how should one handle situations where project visibility and public recognition are uneven within a team, despite similar roles, experience, and compensation?

I’m looking for advice on how to navigate this constructively and professionally

Would it be appropriate for me to briefly report on my own progress and results in the next team meeting,

No.

You can suggest to your manager to put it on the agenda but you need frame it as "this helps the business" and not as "I want more attention and recognition". There is nothing wrong with progress reports, but they need to serve a business purposes. Perhaps try something like "I need to keep 5 different PMs up to date on projects X, Y and Z and doing it in the meeting would be the most efficient way".

During my last performance review, I explicitly told my manager that I want to grow, develop myself further, and move up in my career.

Good

He agreed with this goal and seemed supportive.

And what exactly is that supposed to mean ?

You need to be more specific (and pushy). Career planning requires active work from both your manager and by you and most companies actually have a suggested process around it. Typically this requires defining a quantitative goal for the next step (promotion, larger scope, direct reports, raise, etc.) then identifying the steps required to get there, deliverables/milestones, quantitative metrics and then you build a project plan like you would with any other project your are managing. You are a PM after all and this one should be high on your priority list.

how should one handle situations where project visibility and public recognition are uneven within a team,

Mostly by ignoring it and focusing on your personal goals and the steps required to get there. The key to career progress is to have a well designed and actionable career plan and executing this plan well. If the plan actually includes "increase public visibility" you can work with your manager on how to do this, but in most cases, that won't be required.