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Are you getting overlooked for promotions or new roles? Read this!

Are you being looked over for promotions or new roles? Read this!

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So you’ve missed out on a promotion, or other great career advancing opportunity …

You’re working hard, getting results and building a strong team, so why?

What is stopping you from being seen, progressing your career and breaking through into your next level of leadership, impact and recognition?

It may be that you’re spending too much time being a Busy Bee, and not a Queen Bee!

Let me explain …

The Busy Bee is a ‘do-er’. She is often run off her feet with a jam-packed calendar that barely allows her room to breathe, let alone room to think strategically, take a ‘big picture’ focus and lead her team. She is teetering on the brink of burnout, juggling a million tasks and being busy, but not necessarily being productive.

The Queen Bee is a leader. She is working at a strategic level and bringing about high level improvement, change and growth to her organisation. She is focussed, intentional and highly effective. She is moving the business forward, doing work that matters and being recognised for doing so. 

I want you to pause for a moment and consider what kind of work you are doing …

Busy Bee work? Or Queen Bee work?

Many of the women I work with quickly recognise themselves as a Busy Bee. They recognise too that being a Busy Bee is holding them back and from being offered a promotion or other career advancing opportunity.

Why? 

Because Busy Bee work doesn’t contribute to great change, doesn’t establish you as a leader in your workplace, and doesn’t get you the recognition you deserve (trust me – you are talented and competent and you deserve all the recognition in the world!) It’s the Queen Bee work that does!

The great news is – it’s very easy to move from Busy Bee work to Queen Bee work, if you know how!

In my free training, The Next Level: A 14 Minute Crash Course In How To Breakthrough To The Next Level Of Leadership, Impact and Recognition, I teach mid career professional women, like you, how to breakthrough to their next level of leadership, impact and recognition quickly and easily. You’ll walk away with practical and tangible steps that you can implement straight away that will support you to move from Busy Bee to Queen Bee work.

You can sign up for the free training here.

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Join “Leading Ladies” – a private FREE Facebook group of over 1600 other mid-career professional women to inspire and support
Join the newsletter list for weekly tips and strategies showing you how to ignite your career, lead your way and accelerate your success. 
Watch The Next Level Training to breakthrough to the next level of leadership, impact and recognition.  
Get my best tips on working smarter not harder 
Read my latest blog post.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact my team.

Similar Blog Posts

Gorgeous tired young office worker falling asleep at her desk while trying to work in modern office

Why Working Harder Isn’t Always the…

The mistake I see many mid-career professional women making is thinking that the way to be seen, heard, recognised and promoted is… to work harder and do more.

I really don’t know how that would be possible though, because most of the professional women I speak to are already working super hard.

Jane Benston

The Farm Girl Who Cares

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Know you need to build better…

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

The number 1 mistake mid career professionals make when job searching

The number 1 mistake mid career professionals make when job searching.

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Job searching. I don’t think it’s anyone’s favourite thing to do. It
takes effort. It takes time. And it takes mental and emotional energy.

It requires soul searching and at times it can be soul destroying.

We’ve all experienced the excitement of finding a role that we believe would be ideal for us. We imagine ourselves in the role; what we could achieve, the impact we could have and how we would feel resigning from our current role.

Gosh you may have even allocated the potential payrise to pay for school fees or that overdue house renovation.

And then the unthinkable happens…. they offer the role to someone else!

Ah the roller coaster – the highs and lows of job searching.

There is no exact formula to make the process pain free but there are some things we can do to improve our chances to landing our ideal role – more quickly and with less stress.

It all starts with avoiding the number 1 trap I see many mid career professionals fall into.

And that is….

Going out to the market to “see what’s out there” without real clarity about what it is that you are looking for.

This approach can work, but is likely to be hit and miss. It can be disempowering and it’s an incredibly frustrating waiting game. It leaves the process up to chance and what we end up doing is trying to fit ourselves into whatever comes up rather than going after what we REALLY want.

Even worse – if you think a recruiter will be able to figure out what types of role you would be good for based on your past experience, then you are gravely mistaken.

There are some hugely talented recruitment specialist out there who are dedicated to the bringing together the right candidate with the right role but on the whole most are super busy, looking for the safe, quick solution to a job vacancy.

It’s time to flip your thinking and your approach to job searching.

No more aimlessly looking to see what’s out there. No more hoping something interesting will pop up. No more leaving the process up to chance.

It’s your career. It’s up to you to figure out what you want and to go after it. It’s time to drive the process.

A new approach to job searching.

1. Know who you are. The job search process doesn’t start out there. It starts within. Yes this is the soul searching part of the process.

Before you speak to your network, before you update your LinkedIn profile, before you speak to a recruiter – spend the time to get really clear on;

Be honest with yourself… what do you love to do. What parts of your past roles have filled you with the most joy.

And equally important, what tasks or responsibilities do you never want to do again! And don’t be fooled. It could be something you are seen to be very good at – but let’s be honest – you hate doing it.

2. Set your direction. You may not know at this stage the job title of your next ideal role. But don’t let that hold you back. The world of work is changing so rapidly right now it’s impossible to know what type of opportunities may become available.

Your best option will be to align your job search with the types of tasks and responsibilities you would like to be included in your next ideal role. From all the work you have done looking within, you now know what the non negotiable elements of your new role are.

3. Go to market. Finally … you are now ready to go out proactively to the job market with certainty and clarity. It’s about going out to your network or to recruiters and saying – this is who I am and this is the value I have to offer and this is the type of work I would ideally like to move to next.

By succinctly and confidently articulating what you are looking for next, you are much more likely to illicit support and interest from recruiters and your network.

And if by chance your ideal role does pop up on Seek – you are more likely to be able to articulate to your potential employer exactly why you are the person they have been looking for.

So my question to you today is – “have you fallen into the trap of going out to the market before you truly know what it is that you are looking for?”

If you have it’s time to switch things up.

Yes it will take a little more work up front but the proof is in the pudding as they say.

By following this approach I’ve seen many mid career professional women quickly turn their job search luck around and land the very next role they applied for. Not just any old role – but their ideal role.

Why do I think it works so well?

Because the hidden secrete is that through the soul searching work at the beginning of the process you’ll get super clear and confident on the value you have to offer and why you would be the best candidate for any role which is perfect for you.

And clarity and confidence is an incredibly attractive attribute to demonstrate to your ideal new employer!

If you’re ready to make a change but need a little more clarity about what’s next for you then I invite you to come along to Career by Design – a one day workshop for smart, dynamic, mid career professional women ready for something more.

Click here for more information about this transformation 1 day workshop.

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LET'S CONNECT

Click below to…

Join “Leading Ladies” – a private FREE Facebook group of over 1600 other mid-career professional women to inspire and support
Join the newsletter list for weekly tips and strategies showing you how to ignite your career, lead your way and accelerate your success. 
Watch The Next Level Training to breakthrough to the next level of leadership, impact and recognition.  
Get my best tips on working smarter not harder 
Read my latest blog post.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact my team.

Similar Blog Posts

Gorgeous tired young office worker falling asleep at her desk while trying to work in modern office

Why Working Harder Isn’t Always the…

The mistake I see many mid-career professional women making is thinking that the way to be seen, heard, recognised and promoted is… to work harder and do more.

I really don’t know how that would be possible though, because most of the professional women I speak to are already working super hard.

Jane Benston

The Farm Girl Who Cares

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Know you need to build better…

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Luck? A Smart Career Building Strategy

Luck… a smart career building strategy

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Some people just seem to attract good luck… are you one of them? People who are lucky in their career are those who are asked to participate in the most interesting projects, are in the right place at the right time to take advantage of an incredible one-off opportunity or are promoted without even applying for the role.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard women say to me “I’ve had a lot of luck throughout my career.”

But is this luck at play or is it something else?

I used to think that my career had been built on a fair bit of luck.

Every couple of years I landed a new role as a result of corporate restructures. Each role built on the last, allowing me to step into more senior roles with more responsibility without really having to do much to get them.

So… what action will you commit to today to open up the opportunities to luck?

Luck is the intersection of hard work and opportunity.

Luck = hard work + opportunity

So is it possible to increase our luck quotient? I believe it is!

It’s all about building a strong foundation. It’s about building your reputation, positioning for what you want and being willing to say yes when the right opportunity comes knocking on your door.

If you are in the market for a promotion, pay rise or a new position this year, let’s start right now to increase your chance of “luck” playing a role in your career progression.

5 steps to create the foundations to building your career through attracting more good “luck”

1. Create clarity. For luck to play a part you have to know what you want.

You will not see the opportunities in front of you if you don’t know that’s what you want.

Likewise, your network can’t support your progression and clear the pathway for you while you remain confused and without direction.

2. Do great work. This may be obvious but it still needs to be said. You have to do great work for the opportunities to come your way. You will not get offered a promotion or to lead an exciting project if you’re not doing great work.

So, even if you have lost the motivation and dedication to the role you are currently in, it’s time to find a way to re-engage and demonstrate the value you bring to your role and organisation.

3. Focus on what matters. We only have so much time in each day, so focusing your time and energy on work that matters both to you and the organisation you work for is key.

If progressing your career is high on your agenda, map out time in your schedule each week to work on those things that will get you one step closer to this.

This might mean prioritising working on a project that will get you recognised for a particular skill or creating time to reconnect with your boarder network.

4. Raise your visibility. Luck can not come your way if you remain unknown and invisible! A key to luck is creating a strong professional reputation with people with influence – both internally and externally.

Seek out opportunities to participate in high profile projects that will allow you to demonstrate your skills. Speak up in meetings, focusing on allowing others to see the key skills you want to be known for.

And remember – relationships are everything. People who experience a lot of luck tend to be people who have developed genuine relationships with people who have influence. Make sure you are one of those people.

5. Be open to opportunity. I believe that opportunities are always around us… we just need to be open and on the look out for them. Once we decide what we want and start taking action towards that goal, the universe seems to conspire with us to present us with the right opportunities. But the opportunities will only appear once we have clarity and start taking action.

Relying on luck alone is NOT a smart career building move, but by following these steps you can engineer more luck to come your way.

So… what action will you commit to today to open up your opportunities to luck?

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LET'S CONNECT

Click below to…

Join “Leading Ladies” – a private FREE Facebook group of over 1600 other mid-career professional women to inspire and support
Join the newsletter list for weekly tips and strategies showing you how to ignite your career, lead your way and accelerate your success. 
Watch The Next Level Training to breakthrough to the next level of leadership, impact and recognition.  
Get my best tips on working smarter not harder 
Read my latest blog post.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact my team.

Similar Blog Posts

Gorgeous tired young office worker falling asleep at her desk while trying to work in modern office

Why Working Harder Isn’t Always the…

The mistake I see many mid-career professional women making is thinking that the way to be seen, heard, recognised and promoted is… to work harder and do more.

I really don’t know how that would be possible though, because most of the professional women I speak to are already working super hard.

Jane Benston

The Farm Girl Who Cares

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Know you need to build better…

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

3 Mistakes that can see you being passed over for promotion

3 Mistakes That Can See You Being Passed Over For Promotion

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Have you been passed over for promotion and you just can’t work out why?

You’re working hard and you’ve got the team working well so why is it that you have been overlooked for roles you know would have been ideal for you?

It’s not because you don’t have the skills or experience. That’s the frustrating thing. You know you are more than capable. Way more capable than your current role might suggest.

So what are you doing wrong? Why are you being overlooked?

This is a question many of the women who come to me are asking.

I regularly receive emails from women like this one from Belinda, an experienced mid career professional.

“I recently was passed over for promotion, so need to ensure that doesn’t happen again. Leadership roles have not come my way, and this needs to change."

3 Mistakes that can see you being passed over for promotion.

1. Putting action before clarity.

Getting the best opportunities coming your way does not start with getting into action. Action is important … but it’s not the starting point. Clarity is.

Putting action before clarity is a bit like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something will stick.   At best you will end up stuck in your current role. At worse you’ll end up in a role you hate and you’ll wonder how you got there.

Getting that ideal next role starts with getting super clear on what you want. Not just what you think you can get… but what you want.

And ladies … you really are capable and worthy of what you want.

So what do you want?

It’s surprising how few women I work with can actually answer this question.

This isn’t about knowing what the title of your next job will be. With the world of work changing ever so rapidly it’s possible that the role that you will move into in 6 months time doesn’t even exist today.

But you must have clarity about where you add the most value, the type of work you want to be involved in and how you would like to spend your time at work.

It’s only once you have clarity that you can position for that type of role, articulate to others about what you want and share your career vision in your CV and LinkedIn profile.


2. Focusing your time and energy on the wrong things.
This one is big. I see amazingly talented women fall into this trap on a weekly basis.

Working hard isn’t enough.

Putting your head down and churning out perfect reports, keeping on top of all the requests than come your way and being the most prepared for every meeting you go to will not get you the recognition you’re looking for.

Purely working hard will not position you for promotion or for your next ideal role.

“The difference between an exceptional career and a good career is where you intentionally invest your time, energy and resources.” ~ Val Wright.

I acknowledge and applaud Belinda for reaching out for some help.

The mistake I see over and over again is professional woman leaving their career up to chance. They wait until an opportunity comes their way.

Ladies this is an active process. We need to be strategic. We need to intentional. And if what we are doing isn’t working … we need to be doing some things differently.

We will not get the roles we want if we keep doing what’s not working.

3. Being a well kept secret.
The best opportunities come to those who get themselves known. It’s that simple. It might not be fair or seem right but it happens.

I know you’re great at what you do… but who else knows?

Thinking that your work should speak for itself is a mistake. Everyone is way too busy getting through their own “to do list” to notice what you’re up to.

So let’s agree that just a little self promotion might be needed.

Let people know what you’re working on and share your wins; in your best authentic way.

Focus on building genuine relationships with people who can support your growth and your ambitions. The quickest way to a promotion is to have advocates speak for you. Make sure they know what you want, the value you can add and the unique skills you can bring to a role.

And ladies… please spend some time updating your LinkedIn profile. Don’t underestimate the power of a well crafted LinkedIn summary that positions not only your skills but also the type of person you are.

So… what’s holding you back from promotion?

Spend some time today reflecting on what it could be that’s getting in your way and make the commitment to do some things differently.

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LET'S CONNECT

Click below to…

Join “Leading Ladies” – a private FREE Facebook group of over 1600 other mid-career professional women to inspire and support
Join the newsletter list for weekly tips and strategies showing you how to ignite your career, lead your way and accelerate your success. 
Watch The Next Level Training to breakthrough to the next level of leadership, impact and recognition.  
Get my best tips on working smarter not harder 
Read my latest blog post.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact my team.

Similar Blog Posts

Gorgeous tired young office worker falling asleep at her desk while trying to work in modern office

Why Working Harder Isn’t Always the…

The mistake I see many mid-career professional women making is thinking that the way to be seen, heard, recognised and promoted is… to work harder and do more.

I really don’t know how that would be possible though, because most of the professional women I speak to are already working super hard.

Jane Benston

The Farm Girl Who Cares

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Know you need to build better…

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Are you in a role that’s past its use by date?

Are you in a role that’s past its use by date?

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You know it’s time to move jobs but here you are in a job that’s well past its use by date. Understanding exactly when it’s time to move on can sometimes be difficult to determine but most of us know deep down when the time has come.

We may try to ignore our intuitive knowing but if we were to truly listen, the signs are there and the whispers are getting louder.

So what’s stopping you from making the move?

Is it fear? Is it lack of clarity or direction? Is it a lack of support and confidence to step out into the unknown?

Is it that you’re too busy to devote the time required to dust off the CV, update your LinkedIn profile and get out there connecting with your network and letting them know that you’re on the market?

Or are you just too exhausted and don’t have the head space required to do the work that’s needed?

There’s no doubt that moving on to a new role takes time, effort and emotional energy.

Moving jobs is hard work and can seem somewhat scary!  

And it’s an emotional roller coaster. You invest in dreaming about the fabulous new opportunity, you experience the excitement of being invited in for an interview (or multiple interviews), and if you are unsuccessful at securing the role, what follows is disappointment and feelings of rejection.

Staying where you are may feel safer. The devil you know may seem better than the devil you don’t. Or perhaps you’re tied to the benefits and perceived security that comes with a long period of service with the one organisation.

It’s little wonder that we often stay longer than we know we should!

But have you factored in the cost of staying put? The negative impacts of staying too long in a job can be significant.

Here are 5 negative impacts of staying too long in a job.

1. The price of ill health. The number one impact I see in my work with high achieving professional women is ill health. Many times these women report increased incidents of colds and flu, excessive fatigue and a myriad of chronic unexplained and often debilitating symptoms.

Studies have found that if we spend our work days in a more or less permanent state of low level ongoing frustration, anger and anxiety, there’s an increase risk to our immune system, ultimately leading to all sorts of illnesses.

2. Your reputation is at stake. Your reputation is based on the quality of work you produce, the results you create and the attitude you bring to the table. Be honest… are you currently producing your best work?

There was a time when I stayed in a role for 18 months beyond it’s use by date and I definitely wasn’t doing my best work. I did what was required… but that was about all. I was no longer fully engaged and my motivation to go the extra mile had all but vanished.

Is staying in a role that no longer lights your fire damaging your reputation?

3. Boredom bites hard. At first being in a role that has become “easy” may seem enticing but over time boredom is likely to set in. At our core we all want to contribute and be valued and to do work that’s interesting and fulfilling. We are hard wired to seek out new challenges and to learn and grow.

When boredom sets in we are likely to become disengaged, become less productive and ultimately our performance is likely to take a hit. Is that what you want?

4. Career Stagnation. You know it. You feel it. Your career has stalled. Where once you were being offered new opportunities, promotions, exciting projects… now all that has dried up. And the bad news is that the longer this period of stagnation lasts, the harder it will be to be taken seriously for the type of roles you really want to be considered for.

5. Life is passing you by. You know you are capable of more. You know you aren’t living up to your full potential. It’s frustrating to see opportunities pass you by and it pains you to see people younger and less experienced than you get those roles.

Life is too short to spend our working days doing work that no longer inspires and excites us. So what are you prepared to do about it?

Is your role past its use by date?

If it is, what’s stopping you from moving on? Are your reasons legitimate or are they elegant excuses keeping you stuck?

Take a moment now to reflect on the impact of staying where you are. Be honest with yourself. Is staying in your current role impacting your health, career progression, you professional reputation or your overall life enjoyment?

 If it is… then it’s time to take action.

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LET'S CONNECT

Click below to…

Join “Leading Ladies” – a private FREE Facebook group of over 1600 other mid-career professional women to inspire and support
Join the newsletter list for weekly tips and strategies showing you how to ignite your career, lead your way and accelerate your success. 
Watch The Next Level Training to breakthrough to the next level of leadership, impact and recognition.  
Get my best tips on working smarter not harder 
Read my latest blog post.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact my team.

Similar Blog Posts

Gorgeous tired young office worker falling asleep at her desk while trying to work in modern office

Why Working Harder Isn’t Always the…

The mistake I see many mid-career professional women making is thinking that the way to be seen, heard, recognised and promoted is… to work harder and do more.

I really don’t know how that would be possible though, because most of the professional women I speak to are already working super hard.

Jane Benston

The Farm Girl Who Cares

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Know you need to build better…

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

How to position yourself for promotion

How to position yourself for promotion

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If you are thinking that this is going to be your breakthrough year where you finally get that promotion you have been craving, it is time to start positioning yourself for what you want. Staying silent, flying under the radar, purely working hard and doing a good job simply will not work.

Gone are the days you can wait to be “tapped on the shoulder.” I know it has possibly worked for you in the past. I hear it all the time from smart, successful women. They tell me their career success, up to this point, has come to them purely through hard work and good luck.

But to get the more senior leadership roles, a new way of thinking is required. You need to be more strategic, more intentional and position yourself to be considered for the best opportunities.

To do this effectively, the most important question of all is….

Do you know where you want your career to head?

If you don’t have the answer to this question… it’s pretty difficult to position yourself for it.

Many of my Inner Circle clients have come along with their career at a crossroads. They had experienced success and had been given many great opportunities along the way. Until one day they found themselves in a place where they knew they wanted something different but lacked clarity and direction of what that looked like.

Through learning how to position themselves effectively, these women have snapped up new and exciting opportunities – often much more quickly than they thought would be possible.

So how ready are you for promotion and what are you doing now to position yourself for that next step?

It’s your career – it’s time to take the reins and manage it!

Here are 7 keys to position yourself for promotion

1. Get career clarity. Without clarity of where you are going, it is very likely you will end up some place you would rather not be. If you are not sure about the specifics, then start with what you do know for certain. Things like; do you want to lead a big team or just a few highly skilled people? What type of products or service is of most interest to you? What new skills or experience do you ideally want to be exposed to in the next position?

2.  Do Great Work. This might seem obvious, but still needs to be said. You will only get promoted if you do great work. Why on earth would anyone trust you to do a bigger role if you aren’t doing this one well… all of the time!

3.  Stay on the radar. It is time to be seen, heard and recognised for the good work you do. No more flying under the radar. Speak up in meetings. Let your opinion be heard.

Get involved in the high profile projects where you can showcase your skills to a broader group of people. Let others know of your accomplishments – in an authentic non-sales-y way.

4.  Build positive relationships. Relationships are everything when it comes to stepping into the next phase of your career. Taking time out to meet up with key people, either within your organisation or externally, is a critical step towards positioning for your next promotion. Who do you know who could assist you to secure your next position? Do they know what your career ambitions actually are??

5.  Balance short term and long term thinking. Too often I see smart, successful women get caught up in the day to day actions and forgetting to flex their long term, strategic muscle. It is important you keep an eye on the organisation’s top priorities and longer term goals and make sure you are seen to be contributing to the achievement of those goals.

6.  Develop your executive presence. To be considered for an executive position, you must be seen as an executive. The way you show up around the office, in meetings, in the tea room matters. This might mean giving your wardrobe an overhaul, dropping the desire to gossip and learning how to work smarter not harder so you appear calm and in control of your workload.

7.  Be intentional and stay focused. It is time to get strategic and focused on what you want. Yes… it may even be time to create a plan. Get clear on what actions you will take and what changes you will implement to fast track your way to positioning yourself for promotion.

Need to do some work to position yourself for your next promotion? 

Check out The Leadership Connection, an exclusive results focused program and community, designed for smart professional women.

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LET'S CONNECT

Click below to…

Join “Leading Ladies” – a private FREE Facebook group of over 1600 other mid-career professional women to inspire and support
Join the newsletter list for weekly tips and strategies showing you how to ignite your career, lead your way and accelerate your success. 
Watch The Next Level Training to breakthrough to the next level of leadership, impact and recognition.  
Get my best tips on working smarter not harder 
Read my latest blog post.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact my team.

Similar Blog Posts

Gorgeous tired young office worker falling asleep at her desk while trying to work in modern office

Why Working Harder Isn’t Always the…

The mistake I see many mid-career professional women making is thinking that the way to be seen, heard, recognised and promoted is… to work harder and do more.

I really don’t know how that would be possible though, because most of the professional women I speak to are already working super hard.

Jane Benston

The Farm Girl Who Cares

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Know you need to build better…

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Why Aren’t You Being Promoted?

Why Aren’t You Being Promoted?

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You’re a smart, intelligent woman. You are extremely loyal and reliable and you are good at your job.  You work hard and you have all the qualifications and experience needed to get promoted, so why is it that you keep getting passed over?

It used to be the guys with all the charisma and charm who play golf with the boss that would beat you to plumb jobs.  Now… you are loosing out to the bright young Gen Y’s who are full of energy and bravado.  At times it just doesn’t seem fair.

You have more than once asked yourself… what do I have to do to get promoted?

You may think that if you work harder, longer hours and say “yes” to everything that the boss asks for, you will finally get the notice and recognition you are longing for.  Surely you are next in line and deserve to be rewarded for your commitment and dedication. 

I am here to tell you … it just doesn’t work that way. 

The reasons why women continue to struggle to break into the senior leadership ranks of corporate Australia are many, varied and complex.  Just a few include the unconscious bias, blatant giving jobs to the boys, the challenges of juggling raising a family and managing a demanding career and the corporate systems and structures standing in the way of flexible family friendly working arrangements.     

And then there is you.  Yes, I know.  Sometimes this is a difficult one to swallow.

Research has shown some habits and behaviours, more commonly displayed by woman, negatively impact our likelihood of being the obvious choice or even considered for promotion. 

And the good news is… major change is not required.  

Through working with hundreds of women over the past 5 years I’ve seen that usually all that’s required are tiny tweaks to where we focus our time, energy and resources.

Lets make sure you are not getting in your own way by engaging in these career sabotaging workplace behaviours that will slow your career progression to a crawl or even have you become stuck, set in stone, at your current level.  I know that your career success and your need to be growing, contributing and making more of a difference means too much to you to allow that to happen. 

 

Here are 3 habits that may be getting in your way of promotion?

1.  You are not confidently displaying your skills, opinions and worth. Kitty Kay and Clare Shipman, co-authors of The Confidence Gap, show that women are less self-assured than men—and that to succeed, confidence matters as much as competence. 

Confidence talks.  If you are not confident in your own ability to deliver at the next level it will not matter how competent you are at your job, you will not get noticed or promoted. 

The good news is that with work, confidence can be acquired.  The first step is to start noticing the evidence that demonstrates that you are worthy of a more senior position (eg: the results you have achieved, your ability to manage your team to work cohesively together, you ability to solve the important business problems.)  Until YOU believe you are worthy, others will not. 

2.  You are not thinking strategically.  Let’s acknowledge that the many workplaces operate under a masculine paradigm and that the measures of success, generally speaking, are achievement of results, hitting financial targets and developing and delivering strategies for growth. 

If you want to be noticed and promoted you must be delivering on these success measures.  Many women (but of course not all) can become overly concerned with their own work and projects and fail to tap into, understand or contribute to the company vision, mission and strategy. 

A leadership study recently published in the Harvard Business Review scored women more highly than men on 16 key measures but there was one key measure that men scored more highly that stood out.  It was their ability to develop strategies and communicate them to people that mattered.

You must become a strategic thinker.  Your career will grow and expand once you flex your strategic muscle, think bigger and contribute more to the big picture of the business. 

3.  You think you need to do it alone.  Women are great connectors, communicators and collaborators … so why is it that so many women think that they need to prove that they can achieve career success alone? 

Prioritise time in your busy schedule to build strong, genuine relationships both within your organisation and externally.  Yes I hear you… you are too busy to spend time having coffee.  Trust me, it will be time well spent. 

Surround yourself with people who will support and help your growth, clear the pathway for opportunities to emerge and who will challenge you to strive for even more than you think is possible.

I heard recently that geese flying together in formation fly further and 75% faster  than geese flying alone.  Don’t be a lone goose… find some friends, trusted colleagues and partners to collaborate with and see what together you can achieve.

And remember it is not only who you know that is important… what is even more important is who knows what you know and what you want to achieve.  Your work will not speak for itself.  You must let people know what you are working on and the impact you are having.  Yes that’s right .. I am suggesting that you toot your own horn… in the nicest possible way. 

Now it is over to you.

Getting promoted can never be guaranteed but lets boost the odds by ensuring you are not sabotaging you efforts without even realising it. 

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LET'S CONNECT

Click below to…

Join “Leading Ladies” – a private FREE Facebook group of over 1600 other mid-career professional women to inspire and support
Join the newsletter list for weekly tips and strategies showing you how to ignite your career, lead your way and accelerate your success. 
Watch The Next Level Training to breakthrough to the next level of leadership, impact and recognition.  
Get my best tips on working smarter not harder 
Read my latest blog post.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact my team.

Similar Blog Posts

Gorgeous tired young office worker falling asleep at her desk while trying to work in modern office

Why Working Harder Isn’t Always the…

The mistake I see many mid-career professional women making is thinking that the way to be seen, heard, recognised and promoted is… to work harder and do more.

I really don’t know how that would be possible though, because most of the professional women I speak to are already working super hard.

Jane Benston

The Farm Girl Who Cares

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Know you need to build better…

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Are You Waiting For Career Success?

Are You Waiting For Career Success?

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Have you ever found yourself waiting for career success? 

Waiting to feel smart enough, good enough, old enough or for someone to notice how great you are at your job?  Every day I speak to women who are waiting.

It shouldn’t surprise me… because I remember a time when I was waiting to feel ready for the next step in my career.  I had no idea why I was waiting or what being ready would look like or feel like… but I was waiting.

One women I worked with was waiting to “feel” like a leader before speaking up in a leadership team meeting.  Another told me she was waiting to lose weight and buy a new corporate wardrobe before she started looking for a new job.

Then there is the woman in a professional services firm who admitted to me that she had been waiting for years to be tapped on the shoulder and be offered a promotion… which never came. Not because she was not good enough but because she had never expressed her interest in a more senior role.

Career success is only achieved when we stop waiting and become proactive in our development and seize every opportunity that comes our way.

If you are waiting to take the next step in your career… is it time to stop waiting?

Are you really waiting because of a legitimate reason or is your waiting just an elegant excuse, holding you back from career progression?

Here are the 7 top reasons I hear from women about why they are waiting.

They are:

1.  Waiting to feel worthy or good enough.  This one is more common than you may think, so if this is why you are waiting… you are in good company.  Many women wait to take the next step because they don’t feel worthy or good enough.  They see themselves with less potential or skill than others do.  They allow their inner critic to influence their confidence and self-belief. They fail to go after what they want in their career and what they are truly capable of.

2.  Waiting to be old enough.  Do you have a belief that you need to be of a certain age to be considered for a particular level of leadership or to be taken seriously? I have worked with a couple of high achieving young women who have rocketed into positions of influence at a young age but then feel they have to wait for their age to catch up, to take the next step.  Just because you are younger then most of the team reporting to you, doesn’t mean you do not have the skills and capabilities to lead them effectively.

3.  Waiting to be ready.  Ready for what?  Who knows?  But still we wait! Perhaps this is linked to feeling good enough or worthy enough.  It is certainly linked to the fear of failure and the need to protect yourself from risk.  Leadership takes courage and very often means stepping outside your comfort zone to find out what you are truly capable of.

4.  Waiting to be knowledgeable enough.  Do you think you need more knowledge, skill or training to be able to take the next step?  Perhaps you do … or maybe you will get everything you need from on the job challenges that come with taking the next step in your career.   Rather than rely on your own judgment on this, seek advice from someone who knows you well and understands the requirements of the type of role you are looking to step into.

5.  Waiting until it is your turn.  Getting promoted because you have done your time went out of vogue years ago!  Career progression is now all about taking opportunities and going after what you want.  You will be given opportunities based on your skill level and being the best fit for the role not because of your years of tenure within the organisation.

6.  Waiting until you are tapped on the shoulder.  So you think if you do good work that it will be noticed and you will be handed that next promotion or amazing opportunity.  Sorry to burst your bubble on this one… but no.  Being good at your job is just the beginning.  To get what you really want from your career, you have to raise your hand and let it be known that you are interested in promotion.  It is about creating opportunities and taking steps to make it clear that you are the obvious choice for promotion or consideration for inclusion on an exciting project.

7.  Waiting until your circumstances change.  Most of us have a lot going on outside of work which at times can impact what we are capable of or prepared to take on at work. Kids, holidays, moving home, weddings, illness… these are all good reasons to take a step back but are you using your circumstances as an elegant excuse?

If you recognise yourself in any of these, perhaps it is time to take your foot off the break, lift your finger off the pause button and get into action, creating your next step in your career.  If you have put yourself in a holding pattern… waiting for your career success, make sure you have made a conscious decision for a legitimate reason.   

If not… here’s my advice……

Stop waiting for career success and take action!

You are already good enough and old enough and you already know enough. If you are waiting for someone to notice your brilliance and hand you your perfect job, you could be waiting a very long time!

Your career success is up to you.  Go out and grab it with both hands… NOW!

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LET'S CONNECT

Click below to…

Join “Leading Ladies” – a private FREE Facebook group of over 1600 other mid-career professional women to inspire and support
Join the newsletter list for weekly tips and strategies showing you how to ignite your career, lead your way and accelerate your success. 
Watch The Next Level Training to breakthrough to the next level of leadership, impact and recognition.  
Get my best tips on working smarter not harder 
Read my latest blog post.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact my team.

Similar Blog Posts

Gorgeous tired young office worker falling asleep at her desk while trying to work in modern office

Why Working Harder Isn’t Always the…

The mistake I see many mid-career professional women making is thinking that the way to be seen, heard, recognised and promoted is… to work harder and do more.

I really don’t know how that would be possible though, because most of the professional women I speak to are already working super hard.

Jane Benston

The Farm Girl Who Cares

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston

Know you need to build better…

Time for a truth bomb: You won’t get what you want. You get what you tolerate. Harsh, I know, but it’s so true.

Standards that aren’t aligned to your expectations of how you should be treated are a surefire way to limit your leadership potential and leave you working far too hard and in a way that depletes and drains you.

Jane Benston