In episode 145, we’re talking about whether you should turn down a promotion, told through my client Steph’s story.

If you’re greenlit, or close, and a quiet voice is asking “is this what I actually want?”, this one is for you. Steph was set for her promotion, and what she found out along the way changed her next step.

In this conversation, Steph shares how she tested the decision, what it felt like to question everything she’d been taught, and how she made her choice with confidence.

In this episode, we cover:
→ Being greenlit for a promotion and still asking what you want
→ The questions that helped Steph decide, including her values and her ideal day
→ How to ask your manager the hard questions, and what a “false yes” is
→ Planning the exit: transition plan, boundaries, and a sabbatical plan
→ Why a promotion creates options instead of a finish line

Key Takeaways:
– A promotion creates options, and the goal is to build a life you want.
– Your goals can change in coaching, and that is the work doing its job.
– A “yes” from your manager can be a false yes, so keep asking until the picture is complete.
– Plans create safety in a new path.
– The skills compound after coaching ends.

Chapters (raw recording times, re-time after your edit):
01:47 Meet Steph
02:06 Why she hired a coach
04:52 How her goals changed
06:11 “I don’t want this promotion”
09:55 Asking your manager the hard questions
13:02 The moment she knew
15:28 Making a scary decision with confidence
19:43 The plans: transition and sabbatical
21:30 Why coaching is an investment
26:41 Skills that compound

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In episode 144, we're talking about skip-level meetings, the promotion move you probably think is a waste of time.This one is for you if you're delivering great work and a little voice keeps asking, "What if I'm wasting their time?" I'm sharing what that voice sounded like for me at every title I held, what happened when I finally showed up to my skip-level meetings, and why those 20 to 30 minutes ended up helping both of us.In this conversation, I break down the inner narratives that keep you out of the room and what your skip-level is actually looking for.In this episode, I cover:→ The thoughts that talk us out of skip-level meetings, and where they come from→ Why skip-level meetings are a known dance, and why they help your skip-level too→ How a 20 to 30 minute meeting every other month led to my weekly recaps being forwarded to the senior team→ What skipping these meetings costs in time, visibility, and promotion cycles→ How to break the pattern when an inner voice keeps stopping you before you startKey Takeaways:– Skip-level leaders are responsible for developing talent, so they expect this conversation– Your skip-level may not have your work fresh and top of mind, even when your manager shares updates– The work that feels ordinary to you can be exciting to someone farther from the ground floor– A short recap email after the meeting puts your work in front of more people– Skipping a meeting that happens every other month costs you months, and sometimes a promotion cycleChapters:00:01 Welcome + what we're talking about today02:08 The thoughts that keep you out of the room04:31 The dance: what your skip-level expects from this meeting06:56 My skip-level story and the recap email09:20 What skipping these meetings costs you11:43 The inner voice and how to break the pattern14:03 Why brilliant, ambitious women get stuck, and how coaching helps

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In episode 143, we're talking about why your promotion decision happens months before your review, not during it.

This one's for you if you're executing, delivering, doing the work, and still watching the title and the pay stay stuck. I'm breaking down the real timeline behind promotion decisions, the one bias working against you without you knowing it, and the exact first moves to make right now before performance cycle season hits.

In this conversation, I break down why waiting for review week is already too late, and what to do instead.

In this episode, I cover:

→ Why the promotion decision is made months before your official review conversation

→ How recency bias quietly works against even your best quarters

→ Why one single champion (just your manager) is never enough, and what I call the "leadership ecosystem"

→ How to start building your business case today, not the week before your review

Key Takeaways:

– Promotion decisions are made long before the performance review conversation happens

– Recency bias means your manager won't remember your February wins by October

– You need more than one person vouching for you across your organization

– Waiting until review week to build your case means you've already waited too long

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome + who this episode is for

01:07 Your promotion is already being decided

02:18 The real timeline: why cycles start months earlier than you think

03:23 Recency bias and why nobody remembers your February wins

05:33 The leadership ecosystem: why one champion isn't enough

06:47 Two client wins: new offers, new titles, in one week

09:07 Why this isn't common knowledge, and why it's not about hustle

10:07 Start now: build your business case before cycle season

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