"You're doing great work, but we need to see more leadership before we can move you up."
It didn’t make sense. She was owning projects, fixing problems, and supporting her team.
So why was she still stuck in the same role?
That’s when she reached out to me for mentorship. She wasn’t alone—so many professionals hit this wall. They assume great work will get them ahead, but in reality? It takes more than that.
Over the next few months, we tackled the hidden roadblocks holding her back—from time management to visibility, conflict resolution, and leadership presence. These were the real obstacles holding her back—things no one tells you about promotions.
Here’s what we worked on, and how she finally got the promotion she deserved
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1. The Time Management Struggle: Always Busy, Never Productive
She was leading a high-impact automation project expected to save her team 15+ hours per week. But instead of making progress, she was drowning in meetings, last-minute requests, and endless Slack messages.
At the end of the day, she was exhausted but felt like she hadn’t accomplished anything.
She admitted:
“My calendar is packed, but I never have time for real work. How do senior leaders manage this?”
The Fix: Taking Back Control of Her Time
We did a calendar audit and found:
40% of her meetings were status updates that could be handled via email.
She was saying “yes” to every request, even when they weren’t her priority.
She had zero deep work blocks for her high-priority project.
Here’s what changed:
- She started blocking 2-hour deep work slots every day—and defending them.
- She politely declined low-value meetings or asked for an agenda before accepting.
- She delegated repetitive tasks that didn’t need her direct involvement.
The Result: Within a month, she had time to focus, and her project was finally gaining momentum.
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2. The Confidence Gap: Losing Her Voice in High-Stakes Conversations
During a key project review, a Senior Manager dismissed her idea in front of the team:
“I don’t think this is scalable. Let’s move on.”
She knew her idea was solid. But instead of pushing back, she stayed silent. A few weeks later, another team proposed the same solution, and leadership approved it.
She was frustrated:
“I had the right answer, but I didn’t fight for it. How do I make my voice heard?”
The Fix: Challenging Pushback With Confidence
We worked on structured rebuttals so she could challenge ideas without sounding defensive. The next time a senior leader questioned her approach, she said:
“I understand the concern. But based on past data, this approach reduces errors by 30%. We can pilot it for two weeks, and if it doesn’t work, we roll it back.”
The Result: Her solution was approved, and leadership started trusting her judgment.
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3. The Visibility Problem: Doing Great Work That No One Saw
She assumed her results would speak for themselves. They didn’t.
Performance reviews came around, and her manager’s feedback was vague. Leadership barely mentioned her impact.
She told me:
“I work on so many things, but when it’s time for feedback, no one remembers what I did.”
The Fix: Proactively Showcasing Her Work
Here’s how we made sure her contributions got noticed:
- Monthly impact updates: She sent a brief email to her manager summarizing her key achievements.
- Speaking up in leadership meetings: Instead of letting others present her work, she took ownership of showcasing results.
- Building allies: She identified a senior leader who benefited from her work and kept them updated.
The Result: Leadership started calling out her impact in meetings, and her manager had clear evidence to support her promotion.
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4. The Tough Feedback Dilemma: Struggling to Be Direct
She hesitated to give direct feedback—especially when things weren’t going well.
When a team member kept missing deadlines, she would say:
“Hey, I know you’re busy, but it’d be great if we could wrap this up soon.”
The problem? That wasn’t real feedback. The person didn’t even realize there was an issue.
The Fix: Clear, Constructive Feedback Without Being Harsh
We worked on a simple framework:
- State the issue directly → “I noticed the deadline was missed.”
- Explain the impact → “This affected our timeline and added extra work.”
- Align on next steps → “Can we discuss what happened and how to prevent it next time?”
The Result: She stopped sugarcoating, and her team started delivering more reliably.
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5. Owning the Room: Commanding Presence in High-Stakes Meetings
One of the biggest patterns I noticed? She was playing small in leadership meetings.
When senior leaders were in the room, she would:-
- Stick to safe, neutral statements instead of sharing strong opinions.
- Wait for others to speak first, then agree instead of leading the conversation.
- Keep her updates purely technical, missing the bigger business impact.
After one meeting where she barely spoke, she admitted:“I get nervous when senior leaders are there. I don’t want to say the wrong thing.”
The Fix: Speaking with Confidence & Influence
We focused on three key shifts:
- Owning the first five minutes
– Instead of waiting for others to lead, she started meetings with clear objectives and an executive summary.
- Framing her ideas for impact – Instead of saying, “We’re improving system efficiency,” she reframed it as, “This will cut costs by 20% and reduce customer churn.”
- Being comfortable with silence – Instead of rushing to fill gaps, she learned to pause, let ideas land, and hold the floor with confidence.
The Result: By her next leadership meeting, she spoke early, clearly, and with impact—and senior leaders started looking to her for insights.
A few weeks later, her manager told her: “You showed real leadership in that discussion. That’s exactly what we need at the next level.”
That’s when she knew—she was finally being seen as a leader.
The Breakthrough: Her Promotion & What It Took to Get There
A few months later, she got the email she had been waiting for.
“Congratulations! We’re excited to promote you to the next level.”
This wasn’t luck. It wasn’t about working harder.
She got promoted because she:
- Took control of her time and focused on high-impact work.
- Asserted herself in leadership conversations.
- Made sure her contributions were visible.
- Gave clear feedback and stepped up as a leader.
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I have had the privilege of mentoring her and many others with similar challenges. Helping someone push past those barriers, get recognized, and step into leadership? That’s the best part of mentorship.
If you’re facing similar challenges, let’s connect. I mentor on MentorCruise—and I’d love to help you take your career to the next level.
#mentorship #careercoaching #leadership #growth #promotion
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