19/11/2025
Last year, a client showed me her performance review.
The words were glowing, but when we looked at how her work was described, everything was framed as ‘reliable,’ ‘consistent,’ ‘delivery focused.’
Not one line about strategy, influence or foresight, and this is what women don’t see coming.
In most organisations, performance and potential are not assessed the same way.
High performance is about output.
High potential is about visibility, influence and strategic impact.
And suppose your work is positioned as operational (even if you’re delivering at a strategic level), you get rewarded for what you do today, not considered for what you could lead tomorrow.
This is exactly what happens in succession planning.
They don’t ask… Who works the hardest?
They ask…Who looks ready for what’s next?
And unless your contributions are clearly linked to KPI’s, decision-making and strategic progress, you get quietly placed in the “high performing, not yet ready” category.
Not because you aren’t capable, but because you aren’t visible in the way the system recognises.
So what actually changes this?
You make your strategic contribution IMPOSSIBLE to miss.
Start documenting your momentous moments.
The moments where you moved the dial, shaped direction, influenced decisions or unblocked progress.
Not “delivered Q3 client report.”
But “produced a reporting model that reduced manual hours by 20% and freed the team to focus on growth initiatives.”
Not “led weekly project meeting.”
But “aligned three senior stakeholders on a stalled decision that unblocked the next phase.”
This is what shifts you from “reliable” to “ready.”
If you want help identifying what actually counts as a ‘momentous moment’ in your role, DM me “MOMENTS” and I’ll send you your Momentous Moments Diary...