I show you how to tell promotable work from the busy work people hand you, and how to push back on it in a way that still feels good to you. Grab the free task audit template: morewomenpromoted.com/audit

Your workload is full, you're constantly busy, and you're still not being considered for that next promotion. Or you're already a leader, and you're somehow still the go-to person for taking notes, ordering lunch, or planning the Christmas party. What if saying yes to everything is the exact reason?

Women spend up to 200 more hours a year on non-promotable tasks. That's a whole month of extra work with zero career payoff.

In this episode, I walk you through why this happens, how to pick the work that actually moves your career forward, and how to push back on the rest in a way that still feels good to you. Hard work is not what creates upward mobility. Strategic work is.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• Why bias and social conditioning mean women are asked to take on more non-promotable work and are more likely to say yes
• A simple test for telling promotable tasks from the red-flag ones, including a committee that turned out to be strategic
• How to run a task audit that shows you where your week is really going
• A three-part framework for pushing back, including when the ask comes from your boss or your CEO
• Why every yes is a no to something else, and the mindset shift that makes saying no strategic, not selfish

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Task audit template: morewomenpromoted.com/audit
• Harvard research on women and non-promotable tasks: hbr.org/2018/07/why-women-volunteer-for-tasks-that-dont-lead-to-promotions
• Connect with Katy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
• Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Curious what it’s like to work together? Send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram (Katy McFee) and tell me what you are working toward, and we can take it from there.

Not sure if you're ready for VP? Take the free assessment and find out at morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Remember, there's room for all of us at the table.

Your calendar is telling leadership a story about you, and it may not be the one you want. I break down what changes when you own it, the three beliefs stealing your time, and where to start. Free workshop: morewomenpromoted.com/calender

Pull up your calendar for next week. If it's back-to-back meetings from nine to five, with Slack pings in between and your real work pushed to the evenings, what story is that calendar telling about you?

The higher you go, the less you're paid to execute and the more you're paid to think. And you are never going to have a strategic insight in the two minutes between Zoom calls. I lived this as a director: I was running from meeting to meeting and felt really useful, but when my boss asked me a strategic question about the direction of the business, I didn't have an answer.

In this episode, I talk about why your calendar is one of the most strategic things you can own for your career. This isn't about time management hacks. It's about deciding what deserves your time as a leader and protecting it.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• What actually changes when you protect time to think, and why it's one of the clearest signals you're ready for the next level
• Why the leaders who seem great at thinking on their feet have usually just thought about it ahead of time
• The three beliefs that let other people's priorities take over your week
• How to figure out which work only you can do
• Where to start this week, including the promotion question to ask yourself about what should come off your plate

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Free workshop: Own Your Calendar to Be a Strategic Leader, Monday, November 9 at noon ET: morewomenpromoted.com/calender
• MWP Podcast - 3 Delegation Mistakes Keeping You From Exec Leadership (And How to Fix Them Today): podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/3-delegation-mistakes-keeping-you-from-exec-leadership/id1799258767?i=1000747664044
• Connect with Katy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
• Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Curious what it’s like to work together? Send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram (Katy McFee) and tell me what you are working toward, and we can take it from there.

Not sure if you're ready for VP? Take the free assessment and find out at morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Remember, there's room for all of us at the table.

I bust the three myths that make VPs look like a different species: you need an MBA, another decade of experience, or 60 to 80-hour weeks. See how close you really are with the free Are You VP Ready? quiz: morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Are you great at your job, maybe even a little bored, and still convinced there's a big gap between you and the VP table?

We put VPs on a pedestal. Even as a senior director, sitting in the same meetings, it's easy to assume they know something you don't. I did this for years. And when I finally got to the VP table, and later the EVP table, I realized my colleagues were just regular people figuring it out and doing their best. The pedestal gets built from a distance, and when you can't see what VPs do day to day, you fill the gap with assumptions.

In this episode, I bust the three myths behind those assumptions, share what happened when I discovered what the highest-paid VP on my team was doing differently, and show you what the real gap usually looks like. The good news is that it's a lot smaller than you think, and it's 100% learnable.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• Why an MBA isn't what stands between you and the next level, and how to build business acumen right where you are
• Why more years in the same seat doesn't create readiness, and what boredom in your current role is telling you
• Why VPs are paid for their judgment, not their hours, and what to hand off this month so you can start acting like one
• The mindset work that matters more than any productivity hack
• What the real gap between senior director and VP usually looks like

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne’s book Blue Ocean Strategy: https://a.co/d/085ZdGCI
• Geoffrey A. Moore’s book Crossing the Chasm: https://a.co/d/02SBtFuM
• Clayton M. Christensen’s book The Innovator’s Dilemma: https://a.co/d/0ezMXSGc
• Stanford economist John Pencavel’s journal article: “The Productivity of Working Hours”: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12166
• Are You VP Ready? Quiz: morewomenpromoted.com/quiz
• Connect with Katy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
• Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Curious what it’s like to work together? Send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram (Katy McFee) and tell me what you are working toward, and we can take it from there.

Not sure if you're ready for VP? Take the free assessment and find out at morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Remember, there's room for all of us at the table.

I went from a beet-red 12th grader who couldn't get the words out to someone who is energized by being on stage. I share the three things that got me there, and none of them are about building confidence. Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Does your face go hot and your heart start pounding the second you have to speak up in front of a room? You're not alone, and it does not mean you're not leadership material.

The higher you go, the more of your job requires speaking publicly: sharing your point of view in a leadership meeting, presenting a recommendation to the exec team, updating the board, leading an all-hands. At the VP level, people form their opinion of you in those moments, and if you freeze or ramble, your thinking never gets seen, no matter how good the idea is.

In this episode, I take you back to the day in grade 12 when I couldn't choke the words out, and walk through the three specific things that took me from there to energized on stage. Public speaking is not a personality trait. It's a muscle you can build, and it is 100% learnable.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• Why nerves are your body treating the spotlight like a threat, and what actually convinces it you're safe
• Where to get low-stakes practice speaking in front of people, and the habit to build in your regular meetings so the moment never gets bigger in your head
• How to over-prepare on purpose, including what to script word for word and what to have ready for impromptu questions
• The shift that takes the spotlight off you, and why most people aren't judging you nearly as much as you think
• Why needing to prepare doesn't mean you're not a natural

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Own the Room summit: owntheroomsummit.com
• Connect with Katy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
• Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Curious what it’s like to work together? Send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram (Katy McFee) and tell me what you are working toward, and we can take it from there.

Not sure if you're ready for VP? Take the free assessment and find out at morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Remember, there's room for all of us at the table.

I sit down with negotiation expert Attia Qureshi to break down why smart, capable women freeze in high-stakes conversations, and the science-backed techniques that get you unstuck. Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

You're in a meeting, or a salary conversation, or a moment where you need to advocate for yourself. You know exactly what to say. You've practiced it. And then the moment comes, and you freeze.

That's not a confidence problem or a competence problem. It's a biological response, and it's costing smart, capable women the raises, the promotions, and the seats at the table they've already earned.

In this episode, negotiation and influence expert Attia Qureshi joins me to break down exactly what happens in your body when you freeze, why it hits women differently, and what to do about it, both in the moment and long before you ever walk into the room.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• The exact biological reason your brain goes blank under pressure, and why the fog lasts longer for women than for men
• The breathing pattern Attia uses to calm her nervous system in seconds, with no one able to tell she's doing it
• What to do in the two minutes after you've already frozen, so you can get back in the room
• Why women get labeled difficult for the same directness that reads as confident in men, and the framing that works instead
• The internal negotiation most women skip, and how putting it off for years can cost you two raises instead of one

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Attia Qureshi's free guide, Why You Freeze: attiaqureshi.com/freeze
• Attia Qureshi's free Emotion Wheel tool: attiaqureshi.com/emotionwheel
• Attia Qureshi's book, Never Settle: Persuasion and Negotiation Skills to get what you want: amazon.ca/Never-Settle-Persuasion-Negotiation-Skills/dp/1668070375
• Connect with Attia on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/attiaq
• Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead: amazon.ca/Lean-Women-Work-Will-Lead/dp/0385349947
• Connect with Katy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
• Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Curious what it’s like to work together? Send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram (Katy McFee) and tell me what you are working toward, and we can take it from there.

Not sure if you're ready for VP? Take the free assessment and find out at morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Remember, there's room for all of us at the table.

I break down why the leadership playbook was built for someone who isn't us, and why leaning into how women actually lead is your biggest competitive advantage. Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

When you picture a leader, who comes to mind? For most of us, it's an image shaped by decades of one type of person being in charge, and that person built the whole playbook. Executive presence. Be more assertive. Project more confidence. So much of the feedback women get is really just "lead more like a man." And when we try, it doesn't work, because it isn't who we are.

In this episode, I break down the research showing women actually lead differently, why that difference is a measurable competitive advantage, and why having other women in your corner is what makes it possible to lead this way with confidence.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• The leadership style that's proven to build more trust and better performance, and why most of us were never taught it
• The real data behind why companies with more women in the C-suite and boardroom significantly outperform
• What the COVID crisis leadership numbers revealed about countries led by women
• Why being over-mentored and under-sponsored keeps so many capable women stuck, and the difference between the two
• The specific skill I teach that lets you be direct without losing what makes your leadership style work

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Stacy Sims: drstacysims.com/
• Caroline Criado Perez’s book, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men: https://a.co/d/05KjbMcH
• Connect with Katy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
• Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Curious what it’s like to work together? Send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram (Katy McFee) and tell me what you are working toward, and we can take it from there.

Not sure if you're ready for VP? Take the free assessment and find out at morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Remember, there's room for all of us at the table.

I burned out in 2021, and earlier this year I felt those same warning signs creeping back in. In this episode, I break down why so many women leave senior leadership right after they get there, and what actually prevents it. Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

For every one woman who becomes a director, two leave. Women's representation at the VP and C-suite level has been stuck at around 30 percent for years, and it is not because women aren't getting there. It's because once they arrive, too many decide it isn't worth staying.

I know this firsthand. At the end of 2021, I hit a wall I had never experienced before: crying every day, disengaged, convinced I was losing my mind. It took me almost a year to feel like myself again. And earlier this year, I noticed those same warning signs creeping back in, so this topic is personal, not theoretical.

In this episode, I break down why women are leaving senior leadership right when they get there, what's actually driving it, and what I did differently the second time around to catch it before it became a crisis again.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• The three root causes behind burnout at the senior level, and why working fewer hours isn't automatically the fix
• Why an invisible caregiving load, plus midlife changes like perimenopause, quietly compound the pressure on women executives specifically
• The daily, non-negotiable habits I use to catch burnout before it becomes a crisis, not a once-a-year trip to Mexico
• Why not feeling aligned causes more burnout than people realize, and how I used an energizing versus de-energizing list to find mine
• The support audit I recommend before you take on, or stay in, a senior role

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Connect with Katy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
• Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Curious what it’s like to work together? Send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram (Katy McFee) and tell me what you are working toward, and we can take it from there.

Not sure if you're ready for VP? Take the free assessment and find out at morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Remember, there's room for all of us at the table.

I once worked for a boss who couldn't stand me, and it taught me the real difference between a difficult manager and a genuinely toxic one. In this episode, I break down how to tell them apart and what to do either way. Sign up for my newsletter to keep getting weekly insights like this: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Ever been convinced your boss just doesn't like you? You're not imagining it, and you're also not stuck.

"Toxic boss" gets thrown around for almost anything now: tough feedback, a manager who plays favourites, someone who changes their mind. But a difficult manager and an actually toxic one call for completely different responses, and mixing them up can keep you stuck in a relationship that's actually worth fixing, or keep you staying somewhere you should have left a long time ago.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• The exact pattern of behaviour that separates a toxic boss from a difficult one, and why lumping them together backfires
• Three ways to actually strengthen a rocky relationship with a manager who isn't your biggest fan
• How to keep growing your career even when your boss isn't championing you
• The clear signs it's time to stop trying and start job searching
• Why building a personal relationship with a difficult manager changes everything, even if grabbing lunch with them is the last thing you want to do

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Connect with Katy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
• Weekly newsletter: morewomenpromoted.com/newsletter

Curious what it’s like to work together? Send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram (Katy McFee) and tell me what you are working toward, and we can take it from there.

Not sure if you're ready for VP? Take the free assessment and find out at morewomenpromoted.com/quiz

Remember, there's room for all of us at the table.