My review says my work is strong but my visibility is weak. What am I supposed to change?

My performance review contains two sentences that seem to disagree with each other.

The first says I consistently deliver accurate work, meet deadlines, and support cross-team projects.

The second says I am “not yet operating with enough visibility for the next level.”

I asked my manager what visibility means. She said I should make sure leaders know what I am contributing. I asked for an example of a recent contribution that had not been visible enough. She could not name one. She suggested speaking more in large meetings and sending occasional updates to senior people.

I am not silent. I lead a weekly working session, present when I own the material, and send project recaps that include decisions and owners. I do not speak simply to repeat a point, and I do not copy executives on routine progress. Until this review, I thought that was good judgment.

Meanwhile, a coworker at the same level is exceptionally visible. He posts frequent updates, volunteers to present shared work, and is comfortable describing early ideas before the details are settled. He is talented; this is not a complaint about him. But some of the work he presents includes analysis I completed or problems other people solved. He speaks for the project, and the project becomes associated with him.

My manager says I should learn from his communication style. What I hear is that completing the work is only half the job and narrating the work is the other half. That may be true. I just want the second half defined well enough that I can improve it without turning into an internal advertising campaign.

There is a fairness problem too. “Visibility” can become a blank explanation that survives any evidence. If I present more, someone can still say I lack executive presence. If I send updates, someone can say they are too detailed. A target with no observable behavior is easy to move.

I want to ask for three things: the audiences whose awareness matters, the decisions where I should have been more present, and one opportunity in the next quarter that would demonstrate the expected behavior. I also plan to send a short monthly summary of outcomes, not a list of activity.

That feels more useful than trying to become louder everywhere. I want credit for my contribution, but I also want to preserve the part of my style that listens before speaking and does not turn every team result into a personal brand.

Has anyone received feedback like this and turned it into something measurable? What is the difference between healthy visibility and performing busyness for an audience?