It Was Never a Confidence Problem. It Was a Scorecard Nobody Showed You.
Truth Bomb: You Are Being Measured Against a Standard Nobody Showed You.
You already know the system is rigged. You don’t need me to prove it.
So let’s get specific instead.
Truth Bomb: Confidence was never why your career stalled. Your “lack of confidence: is the go-to statement when the criteria for advancement are too opaque.
Think about what you’ve been counting as progress. You’re trusted with the hard stuff (particularly the stuff others do not want to do!) You are the one they can’t do without. You’re across every detail.
Hate to break it to you, but none of that is progression. It’s availability, and it costs your employer absolutely nothing extra to keep relying on it instead of promoting you.
What actually moves your career forward is business intelligence (BQ). Talking results, not effort. Understanding where the money comes from and where it goes. Speaking the language of power, the language of business.
Nearly 60% of what it takes to successful in middle management relates to BQ. It is supported by my own research in The Leadership Compass. And if you’ve read the Leadership Compass, you’ll know that this is the missing link, the skills that are too rarely still taught to women.
And remember the double bind and double standards! A man who talks numbers is commercial. A woman who does the same is often heard as cold, or difficult, or off-brand. Women of Colour, older women, and women returning from parental leave get asked for more evidence and given less credit for it.
Organisations owe published progression criteria. Skill-building in roles that develop and demonstrate BQ. That’s the gap!
Your next review won’t wait. Take the test now to close the gap.
Then listen to this episode of the podcast.
