Energy

Back on Track

Does conflict with a client make you feel nervous? Conflict happens because you work with humans, timelines, and competing priorities. Welcome to the club! Do some warmup stretches and let’s work that power skill muscle. Here are the big three patterns that show up no matter how polished your kickoff call felt.

Unmet Deadlines

A project slips because feedback arrives late, approvals get stuck, or internal workflows take longer than expected. The client is frustrated. You’re stuck in the middle gently translating reality into expectations.

What This Usually Sounds Like:

We thought this would be done by now
What’s taking so long?
Can’t you just push this through?

Differing Expectations

You deliver based on the brief. The client responds with: This is not what I wanted. Either the brief was unclear, the client changed their mind midstream, or the stakeholders multiplied.

What This Usually Looks Like:

The goalpost moved quietly
The brief was interpreted differently on each side
The client is reacting to a version they never actually described

Miscommunication

The client assumed a deliverable included extra features, revisions, or services that were not part of the agreement. Now they feel shortchanged and you feel blindsided. Everyone is convinced their version of what was supposed to happen is the correct one.

Common Culprits:

Vague language like support, optimize, or polish
Verbal agreements that never made it to writing
A stakeholder who did not attend the meeting but has very strong opinions

Balance Emotions With Action

Conflict stirs emotion both for them and for you. Clients may feel ignored or anxious. You may feel unfairly blamed, especially if the delay came from approvals, scope creep, or competing priorities you did not create. Your task is to acknowledge what is real emotionally without letting the emotions run the meeting.

Try This:

Name the feeling you are seeing
Name the shared goal
Move to next steps.

Here are some example scripts:

I can see why this is frustrating. Let’s walk through what happened and what we can do next.
I hear the concern. I want the same outcome, so let’s get specific about the fastest path forward.
It makes sense that this feels off. Let’s align on what success looks like and lock in the plan.

Suggestion: Keep your tone calm and your sentences short. The longer your explanation, the more it can sound like a defense.

How do you balance emotions with action? Please share in the comments.

For the extended article including Prevention and Resolution Strategies sent right to your inbox, subscribe to my Substack.

About Done with Q1

You said you’d do things differently this year. Be more focused. Protect your time. Learn that new tool. Be more intentional about your work and your money.

So… how’s that working out?

If Q1 felt like a blur of shifting priorities and trying to keep up with everything (including AI), you’re not alone. Most of us hit March with the same quiet realization: I’ve been busy, but I’m not sure I got anything done.

Please don’t beat yourself up. Please do pay attention to the gift that realization gives you. The first 90 days of this year didn’t just happen. They revealed how you spent your time, energy, attention, and money on work. It’s worth all four to pause, reflect on the patterns the data reveals, and use those insights to head into Q2 better aligned with your systems and goals.

Time: Where Did Your Calendar Make Decisions for You?

You started the year with good intentions: block focus time, say no to low-value meetings, protect your schedule. Then reality showed up. Meetings multiplied. Priorities shifted. Someone else’s urgency became your default plan for the day. Time doesn’t just get managed. It gets claimed.

Reflection Prompt:
Where did your calendar take over your priorities and what did that cost you in actual progress?

Think about your typical day. Not your ideal one; your real one. If your calendar is full but your meaningful work is happening after hours (or not at all), that’s not a time problem. It’s a decision problem.

Energy: What is Quietly Draining You?

“Do more with less” sounds efficient; until you’re the “less.” In Q1, you probably pushed through more than you planned to. Maybe you picked up extra work, navigated unclear expectations, or absorbed stress that wasn’t yours to carry.

Reflection Prompt:
What parts of your work consistently leave you drained and why are they still on your plate?

This isn’t about avoiding hard work. It’s about noticing patterns. If certain tasks drain you every time, that’s data. You can’t sustainably perform at a high level if your energy is constantly being spent in the wrong places. If your manager assigned those tasks, that’s an agenda item for your next 1:1.

Attention: What is Fragmenting Your Focus?

Your attention is under pressure from Slack, email, meetings, and now a steady stream of new tools promising to save time.

Reflection Prompt:
When you settle in to do focused work, how long does it take before something pulls your attention away and what usually wins?

If your day is chopped into small pieces, it’s not surprising that deep work feels out of reach. Constant context switching makes everything take longer and feel harder. But not everything that feels urgent deserves your attention.

Money: Are You Investing or Just Earning?

Money is more than your paycheck. It’s also how your time translates into value and whether you’re building something that compounds. In Q1, you may have taken on work that keeps you busy but doesn’t move your career forward, avoided conversations about compensation or growth, spent time learning tools without a clear payoff, or stayed in a role that feels safe but stagnant.

Reflection Prompt:
How did your work this quarter increase (or stall) your long-term earning potential?

We aren’t talking about chasing more money for the sake of it. The work you do today should create options for you tomorrow. If it doesn’t, it’s worth asking why.

What Reflection Prompts would you add to this list? Please share in the comments.

For the extended article including Your Quick Pattern Check and Your Next Move sent right to your inbox, subscribe to my Substack.

Virtually Hidden

When setting up meetings, one of the first questions asked is “Do you prefer meeting in person or virtually?” If you’re like me, you’ve learned to say, “Whatever’s easiest!” because you’re polite and your calendar is already a suitcase you’re trying to zip while sitting on it.

Why It Matters

For alignment, in addition to swapping updates, you need to be able to discern confidence, detect hesitation, and make decisions when the room gets emotionally complicated (which it always does, because humans). In-person is better for anything that involves resistance, uncertainty, or a situation that could go sideways.

When you’re looking at someone through a webcam, you’re getting a highlight reel, not the whole story. You see their face, maybe their shoulders, and whatever expression they can maintain while Slack pings, email dings, and they pretend they’re totally focused. In person, you get the rest of the data: the hand gestures, the micro-glance at a second screen when you mention timelines, and (my favorite) the nervous heel bounce.

The Rule

Have you heard of the 7-38-55 rule? It’s often summarized as 7% words, 38% tone, and 55% body language. In the 1970’s, Dr. Albert Mehrabian’s research suggested when verbal and nonverbal cues conflict, people tend to trust nonverbal signals more. Disclaimer: it’s not a universal law for all communication (facts still matter, thank you very much), but it’s extremely relevant when the stakes involve trust, confidence, resistance, or buy-in.

And that’s basically every meeting where you’re trying to get work done with other people. You’re not just deciding what to do. You’re deciding whether they’re bought in, whether they’re uneasy, and whether the plan survives moving from screen to reality. This is one of the reasons virtual meetings feel exhausting. You’re trying to get in sync while missing most of the inputs your brain relies on to determine whether yes really means yes.

You Lose Time, Not Just Vibes

When you miss nonverbal cues, you don’t just miss emotion. You miss early warnings.

A stakeholder says, “Looks good,” but their tone is tight. In person, you’d clock it instantly and ask one more question. Virtually, you take the yes and move on. Two weeks later, objections appear like they were sitting just outside the camera frame the whole time.
Your manager says, “Run with it,” while clearly multitasking. You interpret it as approval. They interpret it as “I was being polite.” Now you’re both annoyed and you’re rewriting the strategic plan.
A teammate says “I’m fine with the deadline.” Their words cooperate but their body is screaming no. You don’t notice. They burn out, quality drops, and you inherit the mess.

The result is slower decisions, more follow-up meetings, and that particular brand of frustration that comes from doing the same work twice. By the way, power skills, like communication and empathy, are the exact gap AI can’t fill yet. Tools can schedule the meeting, capture the transcript, and summarize action items. But they can’t reliably tell you when someone is uncomfortable, unconvinced, or uneasy about delivery. That’s still a human’s job.

How do you get the nonverbal information you need from a virtual meeting? Please share in the comments.

For the extended article including Make Virtual Alignment Faster (and Less Soul-Sucking) sent right to your inbox, subscribe to my Substack.

Priority Protection

I’m still thinking about this book and particularly the reference to this quote usually attributed to Maya Angelou: “Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.” This is a job description for leadership. When you level up the work gets fuzzier, the pace gets faster, and the expectations get implied. Suddenly you’re in a high-pressure, Slack-soaked, meeting-heavy environment where urgent is a vibe, not a category. If your default setting is “No worries if not,” then your calendar turns into a 24/7 help desk.

Being Prepared Means Boundaries

Competent people get rewarded with more work. You’ve seen it. You’ve lived it. You answer quickly, you fix problems, you take things off other people’s plates. When you imagine pushing back on an additional assignment, your brain hears: They’ll think I’m difficult. They’ll think I’m bossy. They’ll think I don’t deserve the promotion I just got. You got promoted because you are effective. And effectiveness requires limits. You don’t need to be always available. Instead, communicate strength plus warmth. Strength is clarity. It’s what you will do, what you won’t, and by when. Warmth is respect. You see the other person. You want things to work. You’re not making it weird. Try this:

Name the boundary (short and direct)
Name the reason (work reason, not a life reason)
Offer the next step (so you’re not blocking progress)

That’s how you ask for what you want while staying likable and respected. And now how about some scripts?

Scripts for Slack

1) When someone pings “Quick question?”

You want: fewer drive-bys, more control.

“Happy to help. Please send the question and what you need from me (decision, feedback, or info)? I’m in meetings until 2, then I can respond.”

Balanced, warm, and it trains people to be clearer.

2) When it’s after hours and you’re tempted to reply anyway

You want: to stop teaching people you’re always on.

“Got it. I’m offline now and will take a look tomorrow morning.”

No apology. No “No worries if not.” You’re simply a person who sleeps.

3) When you can’t take on more work

You want: to protect your priorities without sounding like you’re refusing.

“I can take this on, but I’ll need to push X to next week. Which is the priority?”

That one sentence is a leadership move. It makes trade-offs visible.

Scripts for Email

1) Setting response-time expectations

You want: fewer “following up!!!” emails.

Subject: Re: [Topic]

“Thanks for sending this. I’m heads-down on client deliverables today and will reply by EOD tomorrow. If you need a decision sooner, please flag what’s time-sensitive.”

Warmth: thanks + options. Strength: timeline.

2) Protecting your calendar

You want: fewer meetings that steal deep work time.

“I can join for the first 15 minutes to align on decisions and owners. If we need more time, I’m happy to review notes asynchronously.”

You’re not dodging. You’re designing how you work.

Scripts for Live Conversation

1) When someone adds “one more thing” in a meeting

You want: to stop volunteering your future evenings.

“I can do that. What should I deprioritize to make room?”

Say it calmly, like you’re asking where the stapler is.

2) When expectations are unclear

You want: clarity without sounding dramatic.

“To make sure I deliver what you actually need, what does success look like here, and when do you need it?”

That’s not pushy. That’s preventing rework.

3) When you need to end a conversation

You want: to leave without the nervous over-explaining.

“I’m going to jump to my next meeting. I’ll follow up with next steps by tomorrow at noon.”

Clean. Leader. Done.

Your new replacement for “No worries if not”

Retire it. It sounds polite, but it teaches people your needs don’t matter.

Try these instead:

If that doesn’t work, here are two alternatives.
Let me know what’s realistic on your end.
If you can’t, who’s the right person to ask?

Still warm. Way more self-respecting.

How do you ask for what you want while staying likable and respected? Please share in the comments.

For the extended article including The Pep Talk You Actually Need sent right to your inbox, subscribe to my Substack.

That’s a Wrap 2025

Thank you for spending 2025 with me! As we end this year together, here are the top three articles in each category: Time, Energy, Attention, and Money (T.E.A.M.), based on views with 1 being the most viewed in the category. These articles were published between December 2, 2024 and November 30, 2025. Enjoy!

Time

Attention

Money

What decisions around time, energy, attention, and money are you facing in the new year? Please share in the comments.

The Struggle

I was watching one of my shows when a scene made me put my phone down. In this episode, three characters were zipped into body bags. They were all fully conscious, panicking, and trying to break free. Two of them managed to wriggle out. One rushed to help the third, who was still trapped and understandably losing it. But the first character stopped him with: “Don’t deny her, her struggle.”

Why shouldn’t you help someone who’s trapped? But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. That zipped-up body bag was like a cocoon. And sometimes the struggle is the very thing that prepares you for what comes next. A caterpillar doesn’t become a butterfly because it’s wrapped in silk. It becomes a butterfly because it fights its way out. That pressure, that effort, strengthens the wings. If you slice the cocoon open to help, the butterfly may emerge too weak to survive.

The Problem

We may have ergonomic chairs and Slack reminders, but we’re no different. We built lives that are climate-controlled, overfed, and underchallenged. Ironically, excessive comfort is often the thing that makes work feel harder, burnout hit faster, and decision-making foggy.

The Solution

Intentional, manageable, chosen discomfort is the solution because struggle builds capacity. And you need capacity to handle the emergencies, the inbox avalanches, and the tough decisions that shape your career.

The Struggle Makes You Sharper

Burnout isn’t always too much work: When everything is repetitive, nothing feels meaningful. You feel drained without knowing why. If you never stretch yourself, your brain gets restless. Restlessness turns into irritation. Irritation snowballs into burnout. A little struggle wakes your brain up. Taking on a project you’re not 100% sure how to do. Leading a meeting you would normally avoid. Saying, “I can try,” instead of “I’m not ready.” You grow from pushing the edges of your ability.

It builds resilience before you need it: Work is unpredictable. Deadlines shift. Projects pile up. Decisions land on your laptop without warning. When you practice handling small discomforts, you build the capacity you’ll need during bigger moments. Think of it as low-risk training. The kind you control. The kind that strengthens you without overwhelming you.

Self-doubt shrinks: Self-doubt thrives in comfort. When you never attempt anything uncertain, your brain assumes you can’t. When you avoid challenges, the avoidance becomes your identity. But when you do something you weren’t sure you could do like ask the question in the meeting, hit send on the draft, take the lead on the small project, you rewrite your internal script. Your confidence doesn’t grow because everything goes perfectly. It grows because you showed up anyway. Kelly Clarkson is right: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Choose the (Slightly) Harder Path

Do the first uncomfortable step: Take five minutes and draft the email or make the phone call or write the outline. Don’t commit to finishing. Just start.

Protect one boundary this week: Pick something simple like a meeting you decline, or a time block you keep. Practice standing firm with kindness.

Ask one question you’re afraid to ask: In a meeting, in a 1:1, or in a project kickoff. Curiosity builds competence. It shows you’re engaged, thoughtful, and willing to learn.

Pause before reacting: Practice sitting with discomfort before you react. When you feel defensive, overwhelmed, or impatient take one beat before you say or do anything. Let the feeling sharpen you, not steer you. Tiny moments of space builds emotional strength relatively quickly.

How do you challenge yourself to get uncomfortable? Please share in the comments.

Overcommitted

I sat in an audience of emerging leaders. A panel of three seasoned managers sat on stage to share what everyone wanted to hear: How to own your career. Halfway through, the moderator asked, “How do you say no to an increasing workload with no incentives attached?” Everyone held their breath. The panelists looked at each other, and one finally, very gently, spoke the truth in love, “Well, you really don’t say no. That’s part of the ‘other duties as assigned’ phrase found in most every employment agreement.”

Silence.

That silence revealed the struggle of deciding where responsibility ends and overwork begins. Because yes, your career is your responsibility and so are your boundaries.

Why Saying “Yes” Feels Safer

Saying yes feels like job security, or proof you’re a team player. You want to be perceived as dependable and promotable. Saying no can feel like you’re pushing back against authority or signaling you can’t handle the load. But overcommitting doesn’t make you valuable. It makes you vulnerable. When you say yes to everything, your value becomes tied to volume, not quality. Your best work gets buried under everyone else’s priorities. You end up tired, distracted, and quietly resentful.

What Boundary Creep Looks Like

You’re the go-to person for fixing PowerPoint decks because “you’re so good at it.”
You spend hours reformatting slides for meetings that don’t involve you.
Your manager asks you to lead a new initiative without adjusting your current deadlines. You agree, then spend nights catching up.
Your colleague “just needs a quick favor” that somehow turns into a recurring task.
You’re asked to “just sit in” on another team’s meeting. Then somehow, you’re taking notes and managing follow-up tasks.
Your coworker goes on vacation, and their work lands on your desk “just for a week,” which turns into two.
You’re the most organized person on your team, so you start running every group project, none of which are technically in your job description.

If any of these sounds familiar, it’s time to reassess. Maintaining boundaries doesn’t make you difficult. It makes you effective. You don’t need to be defiant to draw a line. You just need clarity about your capacity and the confidence to communicate it.

It’s An Art

Boundaries are not barriers. They’re filters. They protect your energy so you can deliver your best work on the right things. Healthy boundaries signal strategy, not defiance. When you communicate them well, you show emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and respect for priorities, including your manager’s. There’s an art to turning down extra work without burning bridges. It’s all about tone and timing. You’re not rejecting the work. You’re aligning with goals. Over time, people will start to see you as someone who’s focused and reliable. Here’s a formula you can try.

Acknowledge the request:“I appreciate you thinking of me for this.” Starting with gratitude lowers defenses.
State your current priorities: “Right now, I’m focused on finalizing the report due Friday and supporting the training rollout.” This shows that your bandwidth is already spoken for, not that you’re unwilling.
Offer an alternative: “If this can wait until next week, I can give it my full attention.” or “Would it make sense to loop in Jack, since he’s been working on something similar?” This demonstrates you’re a problem-solver.
Reinforce alignment: “I want to make sure we’re hitting the most important goals first.” You’re not rejecting the request; you’re prioritizing what matters most to the team.

What is one thing you do to artfully protect your boundaries? Please share in the comments.

Under Construction

Reality Check: no matter how smart you are or how much caffeine you consume, you can’t succeed alone. Leadership is less about being the hero and more about building a team of people who can thrive together. When you understand how to assemble and nurture a team, you set the stage for productivity, innovation, and sanity (yours included). Let’s talk about why this matters and how you can build your skills even if you don’t officially manage people.

Why Team Building Matters

Leaders who know how to build teams create environments where people actually want to work, not just log hours on Slack and duck out of Zoom meetings as fast as possible. Here’s what effective team building does:

Improves Communication: When trust is high, people stop sending 47 follow-up emails just to confirm what was already said in a meeting.
Boosts Motivation and Retention: A good team feels like a place where you belong. That’s why employees stick around longer, even when recruiters are lurking in their LinkedIn DMs.
Fosters Innovation: Great ideas don’t come from a vacuum. They come from different brains colliding in the right way.
Develops Individual Strengths: A well-built team doesn’t just hit goals. It makes each person better at what they do.

When all of that happens, everyone wins. Your organization gets higher productivity, the team gets better results, and you have fewer Sunday Scaries.

Spotting Your Team’s Types

Every team has personalities you can mentally group into categories. Think of them as archetypes you’ll see again and again. Your job isn’t to “fix” these types. It’s to get them to work together without frustrating each other.

The C-Suite: Even if they aren’t in the C-Suite, they act like they are. Confident and decisive, they want control.
The Partier: They’re here for the vibes. If there’s a happy hour, they’re organizing it. If there’s a virtual meeting, they’re cracking jokes in the chat.
The Networker: This person is a connector. They know someone in every department and always seem to have the right intro at the right time.
The Process Improver: They can’t stand inefficiency. Expect comments like, “Why are we doing this in three steps when it could be done in one?”

Who Plays Nice Together and Who Doesn’t

I tell you this truth in love: not everyone meshes. The trick is preventing cliques from forming. That means watching who’s chatting in Slack side channels or dominating Zoom meetings while others stay on mute. Set the tone by calling people in, not out. Some examples:

The C-Suite and the Partier often clash. One wants order; the other wants fun. Remind them fun and productivity aren’t mutually exclusive goals.
The Networker and the Process Improver can frustrate each other. One thrives on people, the other on systems. Encourage them to see how their strengths complement each other: relationships open doors, and processes keep things running smoothly.
Surprisingly, the C-Suite and the Process Improver usually get along well. Both want results. They just approach them differently.

What to do Right Now

Pay Attention to Patterns: Who’s always talking? Who’s always silent? Spotting dynamics is step one.
Balance the Energy: Don’t let one type run the show. Make space for each strength.
Frame Collaboration as a Win for Everyone: Say, “Your process idea will make this easier, and your connections will get it approved faster.” People like hearing how they fit.
Encourage Cross-pollination: Ask the Partier to co-lead a brainstorming session with the C-Suite type. Pair the Networker with the Process Improver on rollout. Mix them up intentionally.

Which archetype are you? Please share in the comments.

Tell Stories That Stick

When you think about storytelling, you might picture novels, Netflix, or maybe that one friend who makes a Target run sound like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. But if you work in any organization, then you’re already a storyteller whether or not you realize it. If that sounds overwhelming, don’t be scared. Telling your organization’s story doesn’t have to be hard. The key is to tell the right stories, in the right way, to the right people. Here are some ideas.

Know Your Audience (And What They Care About)

A lot of leaders stumble over storytelling because they tell the stories they want to hear, not the stories their audience needs. A prospect doesn’t need the play-by-play of your new cloud migration. They want to know: How will this save me time, cut my costs, or make me look good in front of my boss? Organizational storytelling isn’t a nice add-on. It’s a practical tool. The stories you tell shape your reputation. They build trust, loyalty, and momentum. Tailor them to resonate with your clients needs, not just your own pride in the project.

Put People at the Center

Facts matter. Metrics matter. But people remember people. If you want your message to resonate, wrap those numbers in human experiences. It could be a case study framed not as “We delivered X solution,” but as “A client was burning out trying to manage data manually, and here’s how we helped free up ten hours of their week.” Human stories create empathy. They remind your clients and prospects that your organization isn’t a machine. It’s made up of people making a difference.

Use a Clear Narrative Arc

Every good story has a beginning, middle, and end. This arc works because it mirrors how our brains process information. You aren’t going for drama, you’re going for clarity. In organizational terms: context, challenge, resolution. For example:

Beginning: What’s the situation? (The client was stuck in spreadsheets. The product launch was slipping.)
Middle: What’s the challenge? (Their data was messy. Their team was stretched thin.)
End: How was it resolved? (Automation streamlined reporting. A sprint pulled the launch over the finish line.)

Don’t Skip the Struggle

We love to airbrush our stories, but struggle is what makes them compelling. Saying “Everything went smoothly” is forgettable. Saying “We hit a wall, here’s how we climbed it” is memorable. Highlighting challenges and solutions shows resilience. Clients don’t want a perfect vendor. They want a reliable partner who can handle reality.

Position Your Brand as the Guide

Here’s the crucial shift: In every story, your organization shouldn’t be the hero. Your clients are the heroes. You’re the guide. You’re Yoda, not Luke. You’re the one equipping them with the tools, solutions, and support to succeed. This mindset keeps your stories humble, relatable, and persuasive. It also reinforces your value proposition: You exist to help others achieve their goals. (And become Jedi Masters.)

Wrap It Up with a Next Step

Every story needs a takeaway. Without one, your audience thinks, “Nice story. So what?” An organizational classic is, “Let’s schedule a call to explore how this could work for you.”

How do you tell your organization’s story? Please share in the comments.

Are You Ready for It?

It’s promotion season! The time of year when titles shift, responsibilities grow, and opportunities open up. Whether your company follows a formal review process or leaves advancement up to individual managers, one thing is clear. You aren’t handed a promotion. You have to be ready and strategic.

Close Gaps

Before you ask for a promotion look up the job description for the role you want even if it’s not currently posted. What skills, certifications, or leadership abilities does it mention that your current role doesn’t require? Skill gaps aren’t deal breakers. But if they’re visible and unaddressed, they’re easy reasons to pass you over. Your good work does not speak for itself. Promotions go to people who proactively show they’re already doing some of what the next-level job demands. For example, if the job requires strategic planning, and you’re currently in a tactical role, think back to when you helped your team decide on quarterly goals or you made a case for prioritizing a project. Document that and be specific.

Highlight Impact

Instead of listing your tasks clearly state the outcomes your work produced. “Created reports,” is fine, but what happened as a result? You can say, “Increased reporting efficiency by 30% by restructuring our monthly deliverables.” When pitching yourself for a promotion, share examples of projects that had measurable impact. Then tie them directly to the role you want. For example, “Last quarter, I led a small team to implement a new client feedback loop. The experience taught me how to adapt communication styles across departments. That skill is required in the new role on a daily basis.”

Be Clear

Vague descriptions make it harder for others to see you in a bigger role. Swap out generic phrases with specific, transferable skills. Instead of “Ran meetings” say, “Facilitated weekly team syncs, keeping cross-functional partners aligned and on track.” Your goal is to make it easy for your manager to visualize you in the new position. Not just because you’re ready, but because you’ve already started acting like you’re in it.

Build Relationships

If no one in leadership knows your work, they can’t advocate for you when decisions are made. Be visible in the right ways: Speak up in meetings with thoughtful questions or insights. Offer to present team wins or project outcomes. Ask for feedback. Not just from your manager, but also from peers or other leaders you’ve worked with. If your manager knows the promotion is a stretch role, don’t shy away from acknowledging it. Say something like: “I may not be the most obvious candidate on paper, but I’ve been working intentionally to grow in these areas, and I believe I can bring real value to the team.”

Ask Professionally

Once you’ve done your prep, set up a meeting with your manager. This is not a casual hallway conversation. Frame it as a career development check-in. Come prepared with: A list of accomplishments tied to the new role. Evidence you’ve closed (or are closing) any skill gaps. A clear statement of your interest in the position. You are not bragging. You are owning your progress and signaling your readiness. You can say, “I’ve taken on more responsibility over the past year, and I’ve had the chance to lead several initiatives that improved team efficiency. I’ve reviewed the expectations for the position, and I believe I’m ready. I’d like to talk about what it would take to be considered.”

How do you clearly demonstrate the value you bring? Please share in the comments.