Shifting from workhorse to strategic leader

YOU’VE been told reliability is the key to success and that you must show up, be a team player, pick up the slack and be the person everyone can count on.

- TIFFANY UMAN

However, the harsh truth many professionals face is that being reliable is often the very thing preventing them from being promoted faster. This appears to be particularly true for women. In fact, according to MIT Sloan research, women were 14% less likely to be promoted than male colleagues despite having higher performance ratings — and being overly reliable plays right into it.

Lived reality

Here’s what it looks like in real time: The guy hired six months ago just got promoted into the role you've been unofficially doing for two years; you're asked to train the external hire who landed the senior job you applied for; your ideas get repeated by colleagues in meetings and they walk away with the credit; and you get vague feedback like “You need to be more strategic” with no clear explanation as to what that actually means.

After years of over-delivering, it feels like betrayal. One part of you is feeling immense frustration, while the other is battling imposter syndrome. Together, they drain your energy. It’s exhausting to give 110% for diminishing returns. And deep down, you know it’s not sustainable.