Confidently take your career to the next level: position yourself for promotion, new role, to lead a team, expanded responsibilities...
in the next 60 days
without being seen as “too ambitious,“ jeopardizing relationships, or feeling lost about what to do next
If you’re a woman early in a corporate role, back after earning your MBA, or a few years beyond that and ready to take your career to the next level, you already know that to be perceived as top talent or promotion-ready you need to manage not only your performance but your image and your exposure as well.
You’re busy with competing priorities, and you’re already working hard making concerted efforts to get it all done. You're finding the best way to manage your time and energy to achieve your goals and balance your work and personal life. It’s not news to you that you need to forge the best relationship you can with your manager, colleagues, and mentors. You’re leveraging corporate education events and industry panels to learn more and connect with others. You know to ask for feedback and volunteer for projects.
HERE'S WHAT YOU
MIGHT NOT KNOW
While you might already have all the right attributes to be considered high performing and high potential, taking advantage of these key strategies will help you position yourself effectively for advancement and elevate your trajectory
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Leverage a proven, step-by-step approach
Breaking it down into manageable, correctly sequenced chunks can transform this process from ambiguous and confusing to clear and doable. It allows you to feel confident in tackling it, setting yourself up to accomplish all that you are really capable of -
Incorporate breakthrough performance technology
The right mindset tools inspire unprecedented results in both your day-to-day performance and in positioning yourself for the future. These results yield the negotiating power to secure the best goodies: assignments, compensation, roles -
Discover the inside scoop on how the talent process works
Insights that allow you to best navigate the invisible system that most of your colleagues don’t even have on their radar screen will enable you to play a strategic role in driving your own progress and forge a partnership with your firm where they take a stake in investing in your success -
Build community and camaraderie
Witnessing different experiences in navigating this complex situation lets you learn from others' wins and mistakes, so you're not going it alone, stepping on booby traps, and hoping for the best while wasting time and energy. Momentum and motivation come out of collaborating with fellow bad asses -
Deepen your professional relationships
When done right, working together on a process like this can really strengthen your bonds with your manager, colleagues and mentors, allowing you a better understanding of the unwritten and often undiscussed rules of how things actually work in your organization
Even though the reasons to pursue promotion-ready, top talent positioning are obvious, the path to doing it successfully is anything but
It's Complicated
Not sure what's next? It's a wide open space with not a lot of guideposts ahead
You're doing a lot, but you're not sure it’s enough. Or maybe it’s a feeling of being lost, not sure what's the next thing to strive for, to focus on. You’re having sometimes awkward conversations with your manager, unsure of what to say or not say. You want to keep moving forward, you don’t want to be passed over and you don’t want to appear 'too ambitious' either. You don’t want to back your manager into a corner.
You hope your manager is advocating for you but you’re not really sure. You hope they have the influence to get you there. You hope your advancement is a top priority for them. You hope the quality of your hard work will be regarded as highly as the aggressive guys. You hope you can trust your manager to get the best deal for you. But you're not sure. You don't know if you're doing it right, so now you're starting to doubt yourself.
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When it comes to acceptable behavior in pursuing our goals, we need to walk a fine line. And there’s no clear road map. If we’re perceived as too ambitious, will we be disliked and unsupported? If we’re not ambitious enough, will we be marginalized or steamrollered?
And we have to believe the play will work. We certainly don't want to take ourselves backwards. We don’t have the time in our busy schedule to invest in something that’s not going to yield a big result. We don’t want to do something fluffy or disconnected from the reality of our workplace. It has to fit in practically to the big picture. It has to warrant its place among our competing priorities. Can’t be a waste of time.
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While putting yourself out there may feel scary, there is a way to do it collaboratively that will resonate as aligned with your management and organization
It's easy to get off on the wrong track, shoot yourself in the foot, or get discouraged. But by following a clear, tested process you can work out the nuances, move forward, and rinse and repeat throughout your career to build mastery navigating organizational complexities. Thoughtful networking, great win-win relationships and strategic, targeted performance will get you there.
And, if you show that you’re taking the initiative to invest your own development, your organization's leadership may be more likely to see you as somebody who they want to invest in as well.
The 3 Myths to Give Up Right Now If You Want to Grow Your Career
with the Help of Your Organization and
Avoid Feeling Stuck, Unsupported or Disappointed
Myth 1
I should just be able to perform well and have my work speak for itself
As many of you have told me, we share some disdain for the idea of having to promote ourselves and our work, as it can feel a bit icky. We have already participated in systems without this requirement, like school, that seem fairer to us because the effort in equals the output.
Yet, the workplace operates differently and those who have savvy in navigating it do better than those who do not.
And it can be navigated with integrity and adherence to your values, so that the decision makers that affect your work know who you are, what you bring to the party and how you help the organization reach its objectives.
The trick is to have a game plan that works for you and works within the organization’s system too. It needs to be integrated into how you do business day-to-day.
Myth 2
My manager is all in for me and will handle my growth and development unprompted
Managers have so many competing priorities, especially those that have to both contribute and manage others at the same time. Some managers are great at advocating for and developing their people, some are not. Some really care, others are focused on other things. Some managers have great relationships with other influencers that affect your career, some do not.
To have the best chance of success, It's better to partner with your manager and your organization to grow your career. And you can tailor your efforts based on the kind of manager they seem to be. That's different than waiting for them to outline your every step forward.
There is research on how to structure your development to provide you with the broadest and most lucrative career journey. And the initiative that you take to strategize and implement these tactics will likely be appreciated by your team.
Myth 3
A senior leadership role is not for me
And there are already a lot of women’s leadership programs, but they have not yet changed the overall balance. We've all heard more than a few CEOs saying year after year “we have more work to do, we’re not where we want to be.”
I'm going to let you in on a secret
Even though corporate Diversity and Talent functions are often desperately trying to create more balanced leadership teams, the gender proportions in most companies are still terribly out of sync.
Even the most forward companies gloat when their top level is 25% women -- still half the way to proportional representation.
So there’s an amazing opportunity for you and your organization if you can position your skills, attributes and goals in a way that’s a win-win for you and them.
The key to all this is a step-by-step, flexible career growth game plan that you can adapt to the specific context you're working in.
And with your permission that’s what I’d love to show you how to create
"Go-to guide to accelerate your career and thrive in a role you love. Excited for women to discover the course."
Ling, Fintech Product Manager and Pilot Participant
Introducing
Advancement Accelerator Master Plan
The comprehensive hands-on implementation course for corporate women who want to accelerate their progress by positioning themselves as high performing, high potential and promotion-ready
This course marries the know-how from 20+ years inside Fortune 100 Leadership Development and Talent functions with an entrepreneurial approach to taking things in your own hands and getting them done
Use the complete A-to-Z project plan to build a streamlined system to manage your performance, image and exposure that can be deployed and profited from for the rest of your corporate life
Advancement Accelerator is the ONLY program of its kind that…
1. Gives you a way to integrate career advancement habits into daily routines, so you're not making a separate, awkward, all at once push at promotion time. It has you build a platform that's organic, well thought through and orchestrated strategically over time, so you get it right from the beginning, well ahead of corporate talent decision making processes
2. Facilitates working your career plan in tandem with your management to benefit the team and organization, all broken down into a female-centered, step-by-step doable approach that incorporates the support of other similarly-situated people taking on the same challenges
3. Finds a way for you to prioritize and systematize your efforts into a sustainable method that helps keep you sane, centered and competent, even as you expand your responsibilities, both in the office and personally
So, if you’re ready to finally take good care of yourself and your career while avoiding doubt, confusion and frustration
Here's how we'll help you get here:
Module 1
Set Yourself Up for Success
Outcome:
You have an empowered, future-based context from which to develop and implement your advancement plan and have engaged a team of advisors that will coach you to implement it effectively
Why that matters:
There's a crucial foundation we must set before we jump into the practical career tactics, and that’s using performance tools to organize the context from which you'll take the course. It’s actually more concrete than you’d think. These tools will free you up to produce breakthrough results.
And, pulling together your informal team of trusted advisors will help you determine how to take the actions suggested in the course in a way that works inside your organization's culture and norms.
Module Highlights:.
- The Miller Performance, Potential and Promotion Positioning Process
- Power Performance Tools
- Mastermind Group Guide
Module 2
Clarify Your Performance Contract
Outcome:
You have clarity about your performance contract and the degree to which you are perceived to have delivered on expectations and passed the performance threshold for your current role
Why that matters:
You're ready to start having important career conversations. Before you get into what's next territory, you have to be crystal clear about where you stand right now, especially from the lens of critical decision makers and influencers in your organization.
Your manager is key and can help your cause greatly if s/he feels comfortable putting his/her own credibility on the line to endorse your movement forward. To do this s/he will need to feel that you are meeting and exceeding expectations in your current role.
In this module we'll walk you through the steps to take to make sure you're on the same page with your manager, that you've met the required performance threshold, and how to troubleshoot any gaps that need to be addressed before moving forward.
Module Highlights:
- Business Goals Alignment
- Key Relationship Inventory
- Common Ground Analysis
Module 3
Research Your Firm’s Talent and Promotion Processes
Outcome:
You have a clear understanding of the process, requirements, and people involved in your firm’s talent and promotion processes
Why that matters:
Now that you understand how you're perceived with respect to the requirements of your current role, it's time to learn more about what your company values when it decides who to invest in as a possible future leader, how they go about choosing those they think have those attributes, and what happens to these possible future leaders once they've been chosen for development.
Module Highlights:
- Talent Management Geek Out
- Trusted Advisor Strategy
- Illuminating Conversations
Module 4
Assess Your Perceived Readiness and Close Gaps
Outcome:
You are clear about how your own performance, potential, and promotability is viewed by key stakeholders with respect to the objective and subjective talent criteria
Why that matters:
Once you know how the processes work you want to understand where you stand with respect to the criteria by which they're managed. You certainly don't want to go in blind. Yet this is a sensitive discussion topic and conversations about your standing can be tricky. What can you ask and not ask? What can your manager share? Much of this nuanced information is not openly discussed.
In this module we'll walk you through exactly what information to gather from whom, and how to address any disconnects -- so that when you broach the 'what's next' career conversations, they will be well received and supported
Module Highlights:
- Performance, Image Exposure Assessment
- Key Influencers Chip Chop Analysis
- Development Planning Magic
Module 5
Initiate Career Conversations With Your Advocates
Outcome:
Your self-assessment is validated and you have the alignment of key supporters
Why that's important:
Your manager, mentors and sponsors can only advocate effectively for you if they are clear about your career interests, goal, and possible contributions. And you want to let your supporters know that you're interested in moving forward in a way that's appropriate for the culture of your organization.
The objective is to engage them in a partnership role to help design options that work for you and for the organization and figure out how to get there together.
The common goal allows for the investment the organization will make in your growth to be win-win and turbocharges your rocket.
Module Highlights:
- Career Possibilities Conversations
- Career Plan Updates
Module 6
Assess Progress, Systematize Delivery, Maintain Dialogue
Outcome:
You have clarity around how, what, where, and with whom to proceed. Your career advancement system is manageable, sustainable and integrated into your ongoing work processes.
Open communication channels and demonstrated ability to align with firm requirements support your advancement.
Why that's important:
You have enough to do without worrying about all this career stuff. Yet without your focused attention, your movement forward can be slowed or stalled.
Your career conversations will yield action items for you to integrate into your daily or weekly habits - relationships to grow, things to learn, derailers to minimize.
In this module we'll outline and streamline the key actions that you'll take monthly, weekly and daily. We'll figure out how to leverage different opportunities to accomplish multiple goals simultaneously.
Module Highlights:
- Getting Into the Habit Habit (yes, meta)
- Leverage the Power of Multipliers
- Periodic Trusted Advisor Scrum
Module 7
Mentor and Sponsor Appropriate Level Talent
Outcome:
Establish your ongoing firm level commitment, glean additional context and learn about the talent process from another point of view
Why that matters:
By helping your firm invest in elevating the next layer of talent, you will make a difference for someone else, you'll be seen as a key player who's taking initiative to make a valuable contribution to the organization, and you'll develop yourself in a plethora of ways.
Module Highlights:
- High Potential Identification
- Top Talent Engagement Plan
- Mentoring Framework
Assess, Discuss, and Consolidate Wins
Outcome:
Extract learnings from this chapter and prepare to apply them to the next challenge. Engage supporters and get complete.
Why this matters:
Learning agility,or the ability to extract lessons from a given experience and apply them in a different setting, is one of the key predictors of high potential talent.
While some are naturally better at this than others, the skill can be learned with practice. This exercise can be leveraged here and going forward to make the most of any experience and sharpen your quick study attributes.
Module Highlights:
- Plan Iteration
- Advisory Team Scrum
- Completion Exercise
Take the Wise Woman Challenge
You don't need to wait eight weeks before hoping to see a result from this course. Enroll now, participate in a few short lessons, and make plans to engage your manager in a partnership conversation.
If you don’t feel like you’re well on your way to shifting how you are positioned in your organization, simply reach out to us at [email protected] within 30 days, show us you’ve put in the work, and we’ll refund your investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions our most successful students ask before enrolling in the course
Totally get it, have so been there. What I found was simplifying my career advancing habits and integrating them into my daily routine helped me streamline my priority list and get the important things done. If you can invest about an hour a week in this course and take some of the actions in the workplace it will be a worthwhile investment in achieving your goals
You might actually want this later on, and you might wind up loving it. It might be worth exploring further before making a choice to rule it out - that way you have built the capabilities for when you need them if you go this route. You can be a senior leader and still shape your work experience around your values and priorities. It will take something but it is possible, especially with intention and a like-minded community around you
Great point. This course will guide you to discover the specific nuances of your organization to forge a plan that specifically works for you in that context.
Great. You can still benefit from being in community and gaining momentum to take action and move further forward. Your experience will help others. And, the performance tools you'll learn will likely be new and will help you raise your game in this and other areas.
All good. The course will be recorded and you can participate as your schedule allows. In your groups you can work together to ensure everyone stays caught up so that you all get over the finish line
If you put in the work and you feel it’s not for you, let me know within 30 days and I will refund your investment
A whole lotta love. See below
