April Little is an executive career coach and promotion strategist who helps senior women leaders build executive-level influence, positioning, and decision authority inside complex organizations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s degree in Human Resources. Prior to launching her coaching practice, April served as Vice President of Human Resources at a venture-backed startup. Immediately before that role, she led senior-level recruiting and talent strategy, advising executive teams on leadership selection, organizational design, and succession planning. She brings over 15 years of experience in human resources, recruiting, and leadership development.

In this conversation, Jill Avey and April Little cover the exact executive career strategy that gets women promoted faster. You will learn what executive presence for women really means, how to master strategic storytelling as a leader, how to communicate at every level of the organization, how to navigate the broken rung, and how to know when it is time to stop waiting and start looking for a new opportunity.

Whether you are a director aiming for VP or a senior manager ready to break through to the C-suite, this episode will give you a clear and actionable roadmap for your next career move.

0:00 --- Introduction: April Little's background and what makes her executive promotion expertise unique

2:32 --- How to assess your executive readiness using the 10 steps to building executive level influence

4:34 --- Executive presence for women: what the internal uniform concept really means and why consistency is everything

5:43 --- Storytelling and strategic communication: the leadership skills that drive influence at the executive level

10:16 --- How to tailor your communication style at every level of leadership from your direct manager to the C-suite

13:03 --- Breaking through the broken rung: shifting your mindset and using what you already have to rise into leadership

15:03 --- Sponsors, mentors, and peer networks: how to build the relationships that get your name in rooms you are not in

20:22 --- How to map your career path and determine what advancement is realistically and ambitiously possible in your organization

23:23 --- When to stop waiting and start looking: recognizing when your organization does not have a path forward for you

27:44 --- Education vs. executive coaching: what actually moves the needle when you want to get promoted to VP

In this episode you will learn:

• How to assess where you stand on the 10 steps to building executive level influence
• Why executive presence is really about consistent and predictable leadership behavior
• The 3 back pocket stories every leader should always have ready
• How to communicate differently with direct managers, skip levels, and C-suite executives
• Why the broken rung exists and the mindset shift you need to move past it
• The strategic difference between a sponsor, a mentor, and a peer network
• How to build sponsor relationships that get your name in rooms you are not in
• How to determine a realistic and ambitious career path inside your current organization
• The 18 to 24 month rule for knowing when it is time to leave
• Why doing your leadership development work before your job search gives you a competitive edge
• The honest truth about whether an MBA or executive coaching will actually get you promoted faster

Topics covered in this episode include women in leadership, how to get promoted to VP, executive presence for women, career advancement strategies, women in executive roles, how to get promoted as a woman, executive mindset, leadership skills for women, career strategy for women, women at work, women leadership podcast, career coach for women, leadership development, strategic communication for leaders, the broken rung in leadership, how to build a sponsor relationship, when to leave your job, women in the C-suite, how to fast track your promotion, and director to VP career path.

Mentioned in This Episode

April Little - Career Coach for Women:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprillatoyalittle
• Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/iamaprillittle
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamaprillittle
• April Little's Website: https://www.aprillittle.co/

About April Little

April Little is an executive career coach and promotion strategist who helps senior women leaders build executive-level influence, positioning, and decision authority inside complex organizations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s degree in Human Resources. Prior to launching her coaching practice, April served as Vice President of Human Resources at a venture-backed startup. Immediately before that role, she led senior-level recruiting and talent strategy, advising executive teams on leadership selection, organizational design, and succession planning. She brings over 15 years of experience in human resources, recruiting, and leadership development.

Resources and Links

• FREE Passport to Promotion Private Podcast: 7 Steps to Get Promoted from Director to VP - https://joinsistersinleadership.com/7-steps
• Apply for the Sisters in Leadership Program - An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and get promoted from director to VP - https://joinsistersinleadership.com/
• Explore Our Leadership Courses - https://sistersmart.com/leadership-courses
• Subscribe and Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sistersmart-leadership/id1705796088
• Subscribe and Leave a Review on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/14Yh9jytQjaYRwmeiT5pBs

Connect with Jill

• Website: https://sistersmart.com/
• YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

#WomenInLeadership #HowToGetPromoted #ExecutivePresence #CareerAdvancement #WomenInBusiness #LeadershipSkills #CareerCoach #WomenExecutives #GetPromoted #DirectorToVP #ExecutiveMindset #StrategicCommunication #CareerStrategy #WomenAtWork #SisterSmartLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerGrowth #WomenLeaders #ProfessionalDevelopment #BreakingTheGlassCeiling

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Christel is a former military veteran, corporate leader, and SisterSmart Elite client who walked into a new company with impressive credentials -- mentors, leadership program visibility and years of high-performance experience. Yet her career was not advancing the way she knew it should. Her direct style was being flagged in performance reviews and the guidance she was receiving from mentors was not specific enough to help her break through.

In this client story episode, Christel shares the exact blind spots that were holding her back, how she learned to communicate with impact and brevity to earn a seat in senior leader briefings, and how she ultimately landed a high-visibility promotion that required a full relocation and a major team turnaround -- all in the span of one year.

Whether you are a woman in senior leadership navigating the double bind of being too much or not enough, wondering whether executive coaching is worth the investment, or preparing to step into a new high-visibility role, Christel's story is proof that the right development program changes everything.

In this episode you will discover:

• Why mentors alone may not get you promoted -- and what fills the gap
• How to stop being labeled too bossy, too direct, or too strong without losing who you are
• The communicating with impact shift that earns you access to senior leader rooms
• How to receive performance feedback without defensiveness -- so your leaders thank you
• What the first 30-60-90 days look like in a high-visibility new leadership role
• How to lead with your feminine strengths in even the most male-dominated environments
• What Christel says to every woman who is on the fence about investing in executive coaching

2:56 -- The real limitations of mentorship for high-achieving women leaders

4:26 -- What Christel was looking for when she chose executive coaching over self-help

6:46 -- Looking back: the blind spots she did not know were blocking her promotion

8:09 -- Being labeled too strong, too bossy, and too direct in corporate leadership

9:47 -- Understanding social dynamics and finding your authentic place in the leadership hierarchy

10:39 -- The communicating with impact shift that got her into senior leader briefings

14:26 -- How to receive feedback without defensiveness so your managers actually thank you

15:26 -- Landing a high-visibility senior leadership promotion and relocating for the role

17:12 -- How to navigate career relocations without letting them derail your momentum

19:32 -- The 30-60-90 day framework for entering a new role and building high-performing team trust

22:22 -- Leading with feminine strengths in a male-dominated manufacturing environment

24:57 -- Is executive coaching worth it? What Christel says to every woman on the fence

27:00 -- How to protect time for your own development when you feel too busy

29:41 -- The women leaders who inspired Christel: Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright

If you are searching for how to get promoted from director to vice president, how to overcome imposter syndrome as a woman leader, executive presence for women, leadership coaching for women, communicating with impact, or how to build a high-performing team in a new leadership role -- this episode covers all of it through Christel's real client story.

ABOUT CHRISTEL

Christel is a former military veteran and senior corporate leader who has built her career across multiple industries and geographies. After joining the SisterSmart Elite program, she identified key blind spots, transformed her leadership communication style and was promoted into a high-visibility senior leadership role leading a turnaround. She now leads a large team and continues to grow as an executive leader.

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Here is what no one tells you about getting promoted: it is rarely the hardest worker who moves up. It is the person whose work is visible to the right people.

In this episode, Jill Avey and SisterSmart coach Sarah Spencer break down the five types of invisible work that women leaders take on every day -- work that carries enormous strategic value but almost never surfaces in performance reviews or promotion conversations. You will learn how to identify this hidden work, translate it into impact language, and build a visible case for your promotion to VP without changing who you are.

You will also hear about Simone, a leader who was passed over for promotion twice before using this exact framework to land her VP promotion in under 10 months.

Whether you are currently being overlooked, preparing for your next review, or simply tired of being the person who holds everything together without recognition -- this episode gives you a practical framework you can start using this week.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. Why non-promotable tasks are keeping women stuck in the leadership pipeline
2. The 5 types of invisible work that are secretly your biggest career assets
3. How to use impact language to translate behind-the-scenes contributions into a powerful promotion case
4. The 4-step Quiet Promotion Framework for making your invisible work visible to decision makers
5. How Simone went from being passed over twice to landing her VP promotion in under 10 months

0:00 -- Introduction: The invisible work problem and why the hardest worker rarely gets promoted

4:57 -- Why your results are not speaking for themselves (and Jill's own experience with this trap)

5:51 -- Meet the 5 types of invisible work with SisterSmart coach Sarah Spencer

16:30 -- Simone's story: passed over twice, promoted to VP in under 10 months using impact language

19:15 -- How to use impact language to completely change the story you tell about your work

20:45 -- The Quiet Promotion Framework: 4 practical steps to make your invisible work visible

your career

Topics covered in this episode include: invisible work at work, getting promoted from director to VP, women in leadership, executive presence for women, non-promotable tasks, self-promotion at work, how to ask for a promotion, career advancement for women, leadership development for women, building visibility at work, impact language for leaders, how to get noticed at work, and the quiet promotion strategy.

Mentioned in This Episode

1. Episode 40: How to Build a Professional Network (referenced for deeper work on strategic relationships)
2. Emotional Labor Episode 42
3. Malia Mason episode 44 on non-promotable tasks (referenced as the previous episode)
4. The Bates Model of Leadership Presence (referenced by Sarah Spencer in the executive presence discussion)

Women are told to ask for more, be more assertive, and stop apologizing. But when women follow that advice, research shows they are more likely to face social backlash than their male counterparts. This is the double bind, and it is one of the biggest invisible barriers keeping women out of senior leadership.

Malia Mason teaches negotiations and co-directs the Women in Leadership Executive Education Program at Columbia Business School. She has spent her career studying what the science actually says about gender and negotiation, and in this episode she brings those insights directly to women leaders working to get promoted from director to VP.

Jill and Malia also go deep on non-promotable work, the invisible administrative labor that women disproportionately carry and that quietly stalls career advancement, and share specific tactics to stop doing more than your fair share without damaging your reputation.

If you have ever felt stuck between being too assertive and not assertive enough, this episode will give you a research-backed framework and practical tools to negotiate smarter starting today.

What you will learn in this episode:

1. What the research actually says about gender bias in salary negotiations and workplace negotiations
2. Why women are penalized more for assertiveness than men, and what to do about it
3. The 3 ways gender shapes how women experience, are perceived in, and behave in negotiations
4. Why gender bias matters far more in self-initiated negotiations than in formal contract negotiations
5. What non-promotable work is and why women do significantly more of it than men
6. How to redirect non-promotable work using the Suggest Steve method without burning bridges
7. Why setting boundaries at work is itself an act of negotiation
8. How to make your invisible workload visible to your manager
9. The range offer strategy that lets women make ambitious salary asks without triggering backlash
10. Why precise numbers outperform round numbers in salary negotiations
11. The truth about softening language and when it undermines your negotiating position
12. Why women's natural communication strengths are actually a negotiation advantage

This episode is perfect for you if you are a woman in a director-level role who wants to get promoted to VP, if you struggle to ask for what you deserve without feeling aggressive, or if you are carrying more than your share of work and do not know how to change it.

Related topics covered: negotiation skills for women, how to negotiate a salary raise as a woman, gender bias at work, how women can overcome the double bind, non-promotable work, how to stop doing office housework, salary negotiation strategy, women in senior leadership, how to get promoted from director to VP, setting boundaries at work, negotiation strategies for executives, Columbia Business School Women in Leadership, women executives, assertiveness without backlash

ABOUT MALIA MASON

Malia Mason is a social scientist and professor at Columbia Business School, where she teaches negotiations and co-directs the Women in Leadership Executive Education Program. She is a trainer and consultant for organizations across financial services, media, tech, telecom, and the arts, and is one of the leading researchers on how gender shapes negotiation outcomes.

#WomenInLeadership #NegotiationSkills #SalaryNegotiation #WomenLeaders #CareerAdvancement #DirectorToVP

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

That is exactly where Krystal found herself when she first connected with SisterSmart. She was burned out from consulting, running from anything that looked like a corporate job, and trying to launch a business while carrying years of unprocessed career pain. She did not need another hustle strategy. She needed to meet herself where she was.

In this client story episode, Jill sits down with Krystal to talk about her six months inside the SisterSmart Leadership program and how it helped her identify and quiet her saboteurs, rediscover the parts of herself she had forgotten, and transform her relationship with both corporate and entrepreneurship.

If you have ever felt lost, trapped, or like you were building on a cracked foundation, this conversation is going to meet you right where you are.

01:21 --- What brought Krystal to SisterSmart: the masterclass and her husband's question that stopped her cold

02:23 --- Feeling lost, trapped, and anti-corporate: where Krystal was when she first joined the program

04:41 --- The program elements that changed everything: the pre-work, saboteurs, and the PQ bootcamp

05:59 --- Rediscovering joy and the version of herself she had completely forgotten

07:39 --- The results: releasing the pressure on her dreams and seeing corporate as a tool instead of a trap

10:53 --- Healing from a toxic consulting career and the corporate shift worth paying attention to

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

As women in leadership, we often take on the invisible work of managing team emotions professionally: smoothing over conflicts, holding the team together, noticing what no one else does, and absorbing the stress of everyone around us. This invisible work takes real skill and real energy, but it rarely shows up in performance reviews or promotion conversations.

In this episode, we unpack why emotional labor falls so unevenly on women leaders, what it is really costing you in terms of energy, visibility, and career advancement, and exactly how to lead with warmth and still protect yourself from burnout.

You will also hear about a leader who was passed over for a VP role despite being the emotional backbone of her entire department, and how she shifted from carrying the load to leading sustainably without losing any of her warmth.

01:48 --- What emotional labor actually is and how it goes far beyond the original definition

04:12 --- How one leader was running two jobs and why she got passed over for VP

06:30 --- The three real costs of unmanaged emotional labor: energy depletion, visibility gaps, and burnout

09:15 --- Why you should not stop caring and how to lead strategically instead

11:24 --- Gender socialization and the double bind women face with emotional caretaking

12:45 --- Four practical moves to stop emotional labor from holding you back

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

1. Arlie Hochschild, The Managed Heart (1983) on emotional labor
2. Google's Project Aristotle on psychological safety

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Are you a technical professional stuck in middle management? Women in leadership face unique challenges when transitioning from technical roles to executive positions. This episode reveals the exact steps one physician took to move from regional medical director to senior executive leadership.

In this women's leadership podcast episode, Gretchen shares her journey of career growth and professional development. Gretchen was already a high-performing physician with a strong track record of success. Through executive coaching and leadership development, she gained the clarity, confidence and strategy needed to transition into senior healthcare leadership and advance to the next level of her career.

Learn how to get promoted and advance your career with these leadership skills for women:

- Building confidence as a female leader in male-dominated industries

- Executive presence and leadership presence for women professionals

- Career transition strategies from technical expert to strategic leader

- Leadership development programs that work for working women

- How to overcome imposter syndrome and step into senior leadership roles

- Work-life balance and time management for women leaders

- Feminine leadership style vs masculine leadership in the workplace

This episode is perfect for: women in healthcare leadership, female physicians seeking career advancement, women in medicine, female executives, aspiring C-suite leaders, women directors aiming for VP roles, and any professional woman ready to level up their career.

01:04 - Why executive coaching matters even after earning an MBA

03:31 - The confidence gap holding women back from executive roles

05:16 - Transitioning from hands-on technical work to strategic leadership

06:35 - The ladder of conclusions: A stress management tool for leaders

07:47 - Breaking free from the busyness trap and focusing on priorities

10:37 - How to shift from busy to strategic in your leadership approach

13:17 - Delegation strategies and team empowerment for new executives

15:36 - Authentic leadership: Staying true to your feminine leadership style

17:23 - Leadership training programs: Finding the right fit for your career goals

19:32 - Defining your leadership values and integrity as a woman executive

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Informal networks at work are where the real career decisions get made and most women are not in those rooms. Research shows that 70 to 80 percent of promotions and high-visibility opportunities are driven by professional relationships, not performance alone. Yet women's networks are 30 percent smaller than men's, and the gap widens at every level of leadership.

In this episode, SisterSmart Leadership Coaches Jill and Sara Spencer break down everything you need to know about building influential professional relationships and developing career sponsorship strategies that actually work. You will learn how to network professionally without feeling self-promotional, how to build strategic relationships when you are working remotely or in a hybrid environment, and how to identify the sponsors and senior leaders who will champion your next promotion.

Whether you are trying to rise from director to VP, get noticed by senior leadership, or simply figure out how to build the kind of network that opens doors, this episode gives you a clear, practical framework to make it happen on your own terms.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

01:50 -- Why informal networks at work drive promotions more than performance and what you can do about it

04:30 -- The biggest misconception women have about professional relationships building (and the mindset shift that changes everything)

08:45 -- Formal vs. informal networks and which one is actually driving career advancement

11:00 -- How to build the professional networking muscle with just one hour a week

15:30 -- Creative, low-pressure ways to connect that do not require evening events or forced small talk

19:45 -- Hybrid work networking strategies, how to stay visible and build relationships when you are not always in the office

24:00 -- How to map your network and close the gaps that could be holding back your promotion

28:30 -- Career sponsorship strategies, how to identify and build relationships with the senior leaders who will advocate for you

33:00 -- Three action steps you can take this week to start building a network that moves your career forward

THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU IF:

1. You are a woman in leadership who wants to move from director to VP or into senior executive roles
2. You have been waiting for your hard work to speak for itself and it is not working
3. You want professional networking tips that feel authentic, not sleazy or self-promotional
4. You are looking for a career coach for women who understands the real barriers to promotion
5. You want to build executive presence and get noticed by the right senior leaders

FREE RESOURCE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Stakeholder Mapping Guide: https://sistersmart.ck.page/fb7440c515

ALSO MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Free Passport to Promotion Private Podcast -- 7 Steps to Get Promoted from Director to VP: https://joinsistersinleadership.com/7-steps
2. Apply for the Sisters in Leadership Program (12-month coaching for women leaders): https://joinsistersinleadership.com/
3. Explore Leadership Courses for Women: https://sistersmart.com/leadership-courses

ABOUT SARA SPENCER:

Sara Spencer is a SisterSmart Leadership Coach who specializes in networking strategy, professional relationships building, and career sponsorship strategies for senior women leaders. Sara works with women inside the Sisters in Leadership program to help them build the influential networks and executive presence that open doors to the next level of leadership. Her coaching approach is practical, authentic and designed to fit the real demands of women navigating both career and life.

ABOUT SISTERSMART LEADERSHIP:

SisterSmart Leadership is a coaching practice that helps women rise from director to vice president and beyond. Founded by executive coach and leadership coach Jill Avey, the flagship Sisters in Leadership program uses a proven 7-step framework to help women build the skills, visibility and networks they need to advance into senior leadership on their own terms.

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

This is a question many of my clients come to me with. You've invested years at your company, built strong relationships, and know how to do your job well. But something feels off. Maybe you've gotten too comfortable in your groove. Maybe the company culture has shifted. Or maybe you know deep down that you're ready for more.

Our client, Dorothy, a negotiations coach herself, found herself at this exact crossroads. She was working at a large Fortune 500 healthcare organization and knew it was time to move up—but couldn't see clearly whether that meant staying or leaving.

Through our work together, Dorothy overcame her fear, activated her network, and landed a VP role at a fast-growing company where she's now building a supply chain and procurement function from the ground up.

The best part? Her husband noticed she doesn't look stressed anymore—even though she has more work than before. That's the power of finding work that's truly aligned with who you are.

Whether you're stuck in a comfortable groove or wrestling with the stay-or-go question yourself, you'll find inspiration in Dorothy's story.

02:42 — What was really blocking Dorothy from getting the recognition she deserved (hint: it wasn't just the company)

04:42 — The program elements that helped Dorothy get clarity, including the networking strategy that opened up multiple opportunities

09:20 — How Dorothy landed a VP role at a fast-growing company and why she feels re-energized instead of burned out

14:13 — How Dorothy balances her bigger role while staying true to her feminine leadership style

19:49 — The book Dorothy recommends that explains why women struggle with people-pleasing and boundary-setting (and how to overcome it)

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

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🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

This is what researchers call the 'likeability trap.' And it's one of the biggest reasons talented women get stuck in their careers.

In this episode, you'll learn what the likeability trap actually looks like at work so you can spot when it's happening to you. Jill shares why traditional assertiveness training often backfires for women, and what actually works instead.

By the end of this episode, you'll have a framework for leading authentically, one that honors who you are instead of asking you to become someone else.

02:45 — How the likeability trap plays out at work

4:17 — Why traditional assertiveness training often backfires for women

08:15 —How to be more authoritative without losing yourself

11:45 — Setting professional boundaries at work

14:30 — Bossy vs. confident - navigating the double standard

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

The tech industry is one that's been known to be male dominated. I have a lot of clients in the tech industry, and some of them feel very daunted by this problem, often wondering if they'll ever get a chance to get the recognition they deserve. 

So I'm so excited to have this conversation with a leader in tech that's been a change agent in this way, and to learn more about what's happened to help her be more successful in her career. 

01:41 — What Sumi did to bring more gender balance to the leadership team at Microsoft 

09:59 — The role Sumi’s network has played in her ability to develop a high-performing team 

12:32 — How she has navigated to senior leadership levels in a competitive industry 

16:20 — The biggest changes she’s had to navigate to succeed in a senior leadership role

👋 CONNECT WITH SUMI 

Sumi Singh is a Corporate Vice President in the Collaborative, Applications & Platforms organization. She has over 25 years of experience as an engineer, leader, and customer advocate. She is known for creating a culture of inclusion and building resilient teams where people are able to do their best work and operates with a growth mindset. Her team is focused on delivering Microsoft Teams, the hub for collaboration in Microsoft 365 that connects people, content, and tools they need to be more engaged and effective everywhere.

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

They don't want to feel cheesy, sleazy, or like they're only out for themselves. They've seen others doing this and they don't want to be perceived in the same way. 

But the problem with this is it holds them back in their careers because your network is more important the higher your rise.

In this episode, Jill shares how you can balance giving and taking so you can build a strategic network with people you enjoy spending time with. She’ll share how she’s created a reputation as someone people can count on and who they turn to when they need an expert.

So if you've been resisting the whole idea of networking or feel lost on how to do it in a way that doesn’t just feel like you’re taking, taking, taking, this episode's for you!

Tune in to hear:  

01:48 — Givers vs. Takers: How to find the right balance when networking 

02:50 — What to do when it feels like you don’t have anything to offer others

09:26 — Who you want to focus on networking with

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

That can be easier said than done, but that’s exactly the skill great leaders are able to develop.

Our client, Wendy, was initially a little resistant to the mindset work, but when she was laid off from a role she didn’t enjoy, she used that time to reflect on her unique strengths and skills that helped her land the new role she’s in now.

As she transitioned into the new role, she focused on three mindsets that have helped her not only succeed in her role even when there’s conflict and challenges, but also enjoy it because her emotional response is much more balanced. 

If you find yourself feeling frustrated by challenges or situations in your role, tune in to hear the mindsets Wendy has developed and how they’ve supported her!

02:20 — The mindset shift Wendy had after losing her job that helped her turn a setback into an opportunity to create a career she loves 

10:28 — The importance of choosing an aligned coaching program so you’re surrounded the right types of leader to build your network 

12:48 — One of the most important things you need to embrace if you want to evolve as a leader 

15:49 — How practicing this one skill with yourself supports you in leading others more effectively

👋 GET TO KNOW WENDY 

Wendy is a Creative Director who loves to build brands by listening to what is needed and building a strong foundation on which to develop a design system. She’s led and worked with cross-functional teams to launch and implement brands across all digital, print, social and video channels. Wendy is an engaged and enthusiastic leader unifying teams to work together through collaboration.

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

When you seek out the right mentors, they become an advantage that will help you rise into senior leadership roles more quickly and easily. 

In this episode, Jill and SisterSmart Career Success Coach, Sarah, share how to determine what you want to get out of a mentorship, find the mentors that are right for you, and nurture those relationships to position yourself in the best way.

They also share a few of the traps you’ll want to avoid in a mentor relationship so you can ensure the relationship is beneficial for both you and them. 

01:08 — It’s your job as the mentee to find your mentor 

02:51 — How to identify what you need and want out of a mentor

07:51 — Why you want to start with an informal relationship rather than jumping into a mentorship 

10:43 — How to have the conversations to get what you'd like out of the mentorship

14:20 — Understand what isn’t appropriate or ideal to bring to your mentor 

16:22 — How to become the mentee that your mentor loves to support

—

👩‍💼WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A MENTOR CHECKLIST:

See what steps you need to take and the right questions to ask yourself to find your perfect mentor

www.sistersmart.com/MentorChecklist

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🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

According to McKinsey, even female CEOs have networks that are several times smaller than their male colleagues and the numbers get even worse the farther down the ladder you go. So if men have this all figured out, why is this still something that women shy away from? 

In this episode, Jill explores the misconceptions that women have about networking and why a personal board of directors can accelerate the path for every woman who wants to rise up into senior management.

She shares about the essential mindset shifts that you need to take to be able to go from nay to yay when it comes to this important work and she will help you design your own personal board of directors to save you from going to networking events and having to talk to a room full of strangers or tooting your horn around the company.  

02:39 — Your "good work" isn't enough to secure a promotion into senior management

05:12 — How to design your personal advisory board so you know what seats you'd like to fill

06:57 — The types of people you can consider having on your personal board of directors

Book Your Free Growth Accelerator Call: https://calendly.com/sistersmart/leader

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Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

It’s tempting to hide away or play small after a failure has happened. Sometimes people let it derail them or even end their career. 

But what happens when you use failure to propel you forward? 

That’s what Jessica Bacall, editor of two top 10 books, Mistakes I Made at Work and The Rejection That Changed My Life, explored in her books and her work as the director of Reflective Journaling at Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts

To be a successful leader doesn’t mean avoiding mistakes or failures, but rather to expect them, prepare for them, and use them to build your resiliency. Tune in to hear how you can apply Jessica’s research to your own life and career.  

01:25 — How recognizing that failure or rejection is inevitable helps you neutralize your thoughts around it

04:14 — How recognizing that failure or rejection is inevitable helps you neutralize your thoughts around it

07:12 — How to navigate a recent failure or rejection without getting caught up in it

10:59 — Understand the differences between how men and women handle mistakes and failures

16:05 — How you can increase your resilience ahead of having a failure so that you’re prepared when it inevitably happens 

👋 CONNECT WITH JESSICA BACAL 

Jessica Bacal is director of Reflective Journaling at Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts. She leads programs to help students explore identity and find resilience in community. She also teaches a course called Designing Your Path, which guides students to consider questions like: What is your story? What matters to you? What skills do you need to pursue what matters?

Jessica is the editor of two books published by Penguin Random House.:

 Mistakes I Made at Work: https://a.co/d/cqLvMo5

The Rejection That Changed My Life (2021): https://a.co/d/aVnO8Oz

⭐  Download a Free Copy of SisterSmart Presents: The Rejection Notebook, and Enter to Win a Signed Set of Jessica Bacal’s Books, “Mistakes I Made at Work” and “The Rejection That Changed My Life” : http://www.sistersmart.com/TheRejectionNotebook

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Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

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🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

You’re likely nervous that if you fail, you’ll be “marked” forever or side-tracked for a promotion because of it. 

This is a common fear that women can hold, and for good reason. Women are criticized for not taking enough risks and being held back from further success because of it. A lot of this has to do with the way that we are raised, because there can be little latitude for anything besides perfection.

This follows us into our careers, creating more caution than we need. But it's not true. Women can fail and recover from it. 

This episode, we are talking about how to prepare for the inevitable failure that you will face if you're going to be a senior leader and we'll talk about how to bounce back once you've had a failure. 

Maybe you've had a failure that you're still recovering from, or maybe you've kept yourself safely secure until now. Either way, you're going to want to listen to develop this skill set. 

02:34 — How to socialize the risk you're considering taking so you have allies in case a failure happens 

04:42 — Why it's important to not hide failures 

05:38 — Take a no excuses, 100% ownership approach to cover yourself politically

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

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Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Our inner emotional life is like a governor for our success, and we need to work through our mindset limitations to avoid getting stuck behind outdated ways of thinking. Our growth gets stunted and our potential gets cut off unless we work to expand our mindset into new territory.

The mental game is every bit as important as being good at your technical skills when it comes to moving up the ladder, and it gets more important the higher you go.

In this episode, Jill shares the 3 areas of mental skills you need to develop in order to earn a senior-level position and thrive in it without burnout or overwhelm. 

02:24 — Uncover your limiting self-beliefs and learn how to rework your neural pathways 

07:50 — How your imposter syndrome is self-sabotaging your career and how to feel worthy of your next step just as you are right now

12:00 — How to let go of rumination and worry so you can lead with a clear mind 

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

•  Common Limiting Belief Exercise - http://www.sistersmart.com/NoMoreLimits

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

In fact, prioritizing work-life balance and self-care becomes more critical as you rise through the ranks because you need the capacity to navigate more challenging situations, lead more people, and make more prominent decisions. 

When Nadia joined the Sisters In Leadership program, she wanted to gain clarity on where she wanted to be 3 roles from now and what opportunities she would need to take to bring that vision to life.

Throughout her time in the program, she learned that it was not only possible for her to continue rising in her career without sacrificing balance — but required. 

If you’ve been working hard to prove yourself, sacrificing family time or time off to get to the next level, tune into this episode to hear:  

03:34 — Why you need to be the one actively shaping the trajectory of your career to end up in senior or executive roles you want 

06:19 — Using a personal strategy retreat to prioritize self-care as a way to further her career

10:08 — How Nadia used her 360 feedback from her company to shift her way of working to align more with her family life 

14:27 — The differences between your corporate program vs. private coaching

19:18 — How to gain clarity on where you want to be 3 roles from now and how to get there

33:37 — Where to find mentors and sponsors and how to be a great mentee

👋 GET TO KNOW NADIA 

Nadia Sutton is a Marketing Director within a large pharmaceutical organization responsible for leading the US commercial launch and execution of a targeted, precision medicine treatment option for patients with prostate cancer.

She has 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, spanning across pharma, medical device, and diagnostics sectors. Nadia has led marketing campaigns and tactical plans for several oncological and HIV products, driving awareness, adoption, and access in the US and global markets.

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

We all make mistakes and we all have failures, even big ones.

Women often take failures hard and it can be debilitating and even derail your career if you don't recover effectively from it.

In this episode, you’ll understand why you need to be failing if you want to earn senior leadership roles and how you can overcome failures — big or small — when they inevitably so you can learn from them and be a better leader because of them. 

03:01 — Why you need to get comfortable with failure if you want to rise up as a leader 

04:24 — How our brains learn more from experience than success

07:36 — How to reflect on failure to learn from it rather than dwell on it

—

🧠DECISION TREE: TACKLE ANY DECISION HEAD-ON AND WITH CONFIDENCE

http://www.sistersmart.com/DecisionTree

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🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

But we can’t rise up without the right support. (Or if you somehow muster up the determination to do so, you’ll end up burned out and unsatisfied pretty quickly juggling all those responsibilities).

In this episode, Chumi Khurana, vice president of sales and marketing at J& J Oncology, joins Jill to share how she leaned on support systems from getting started in her career all the way up into senior leadership. 

She shares insights about how our workforce is changing to benefit different working styles, the importance of support and the different shapes it can take, and how you don’t have to fit the mold to earn a promotion. 

04:48 — How one woman's encouragement inspired Chumi to go into pharmaceutical sales 

10:05 — How you can find your own authentic leadership approach without feeling like you have to conform to a mold

13:44 — Why making the decision to go part-time to start a family children doesn’t have to be a career setback and how we as leaders can find solutions for ourselves or our team

16:44 — How you can build the support to raise your family and thrive in your career without having to “do it all” 

👋 ABOUT CHUMI KHURANA

Chumi Khurana is Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Genitourinary (GU) at Johnson & Johnson where she leads the U.S. sales and marketing teams for the company’s growing portfolio of prostate and bladder cancer products. She is responsible for steering product strategies, market engagement with customers, patients, and stakeholders, alliance management, and providing commercial input for business development opportunities.

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This is a common feeling that leaders have,

While men certainly feel this way at times, the problem tends to be bigger for women and underrepresented groups because this feeling of being an imposter can come from feeling like an outsider. 

Plus, women often have to raise their hand to be considered for leadership positions, feel like they shouldn't need to do that, especially when their male counterparts might be selected without having to speak up at all. 

In this episode, Jill and SisterSmart coach, Sarah, talk about psychological hacks that you can use to overcome this feeling of not being good enough. This is something that almost every leader faces at some point in their career and it’s important to learn how to feel secure in your role and like you deserve the step up. 

01:21 — What the "upper limit" phenomenon is and how it self-sabotage us in our careers 

03:19 — The 4 feelings or mental stories you might have when you're hitting your upper limit

08:03 — How to bring awareness to which saboteurs are at play in this situation and how to learn from them instead of feeling controlled by them

16:19 — 3 simple psychological hacks that you can use to overcome this feeling of not being good enough

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😖THE UPPER-LIMIT PROBLEM CHEAT SHEET

https://sistersmart.com/upperlimitproblem

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The higher you go, the higher this pressure becomes, especially for women due to gender bias and socialization.

Many leaders in this situation just work harder and harder, without it ever feeling like enough. 

This might get you to the director level because of your performance, but it won’t help you get into leadership levels. 

That’s because the best leaders know that one person can only do so much and there's a time when we have to let go. But how do you find that line where you can confidently feel like you've done enough without overextending to try to get everything right? 

Tune in to learn: 

01:52 — 5 influences that lead women to take on more work and put more pressure on themselves to “get it all right” 

05:00 — The 3 habits women leaders tend to fall into that sabotage their ability to rise into the leadership levels 

09:46 — How you can identify and practice letting go of your work so you can embrace less, more meaningful contributions

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Sometimes you have to restart your career because you had kids or you moved to another country. Or maybe you've done everything right and that promotion you were looking for doesn't pan out or you get laid off right on your way up the ladder. 

Many leaders let these kinds of situations get them down. 

But if you can learn how to use your career setback to your advantage, you might find it to be more beneficial than the linear path you originally envisioned. 

Our client, Sally, immigrated from China to the U.S. and had to restart her career with no connections, and with English being her second language. She was also laid off at a role she loved. 

But by seeing the silver lining in getting laid off, she landed a role at a prominent tech company, increased her salary substantially, and earned benefits she didn’t have previously. 

Whether you're facing a setback right now or wanna be prepared for the time when the inevitable happens, you'll find inspiration in her story.

01:51 — What it was like to immigrate from China to the U.S. and start from zero in her career 

09:57 — Getting promoted isn't just about performance and what you also need to think about

17:36 — How Sally handled getting laid off and used it to land a new, more aligned role with a major salary increase, additional benefits, and more room to grow

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

• The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo 

👋 ABOUT  SALLY SMAILI

Sally Smaili has about 17 years of experience in customer success &

support, customer training, customer onboarding, and supply chain

Sustainability. She is currently working at TikTok as the Americas OnCall Service and

Operation Lead.

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There have been studies that show this. 

So why is the team dynamic so important?

No one gets to the top alone. Even in roles that might seem like they're solo endeavors like sales. 

We feed off one another and we have a human need to belong to a larger group. And when these interpersonal dynamics are missing, we simply cannot be our best selves. 

In this episode, you’ll discover the most overlooked element of leadership and how you can use it to create a high-performing team. You’ll also learn how it can go wrong so you can avoid common pitfalls. 

01:39 — Why leaders aren't creating as much psychological safety as they think they are 

02:26 — How psychological safety improves your team's performance

05:34 — Why you need psychological safety in both high risk and routine situations

08:17 — How do you develop psychological safety? 

10:53 — Signs that your team doesn't have as much psychological safety as you think 

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• www.sisterstmart.com/psychologicalsafety

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In this episode, SisterSmart coach, Sara Spencer joins Jill to share the latest in neuroscience to help you open up your conversations in order to come to decisions quicker, problem solve more effectively, and discover those new innovations that are going to change how you lead. 

Understanding the neuroscience concepts in this episode is what will impact your performance and your team’s performance more than any other leadership skill!

You won’t want to miss:  

01:15 — What the primitive mind is and how it's activated

04:20 — How to tell when someone is in fight or flight mode

05:07 — What the human brain is and how to activate it for a higher performing team 

09:24 — How you can instantly shift into your human brain 

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• http://sistersmart.com/relaxation

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So many conversations don't go anywhere or worse — they create a negative situation between two people or different factions. These types of situations are exactly what can get your team stuck or underperforming.

In this episode, you'll learn how to create teams that are fast, innovative, and interdependent. You’ll discover the five conversation killers that you'll want to stay away from and three secrets that are key to building teams with true collaboration and co-creation. 

Through your conversation skills, you can create collaborations where people open up with their ideas and concerns, and they're motivated to reach their goals. 

This allows your team to perform better when working independently and with other departments, which is an essential leadership skill you’ll need to rise into your next role.

03:24 — Subtle ways we can unintentionally make other people feel threatened and what to notice to tell if someone is in that state 

05:20 — How to switch from convincing to collaborating to get buy in on ideas

06:51 — How to best ensure everyone feels heard and valued when they interact with you

07:57— The most important conversation skill top leaders focus on at every level of their career

09:21 — Why you need to rebuild trust when it is broken

10:16 — 3 secrets of conversation skills that create a safe and productive environment for your team to collaborate

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Set a goal. Check it off. Set another one. Repeat.

This usually results in goals that are good for the company, but not necessarily good for you. Many women we’ve talked to who set SMART goals share they end up feeling unfulfilled and not in alignment with their purpose. 

In this episode, Jill and SisterSmart Coach Lisa Kollish, guide you through how to think differently about setting goals so they’re both in alignment with your organization and your own desires in order for you to feel motivated to do what it takes to accomplish them. 

We want you to set goals, not just for your work, but for your whole life. 

02:07 — How to find your intersection between personal and professional fulfillment 

05:26 — The crucial piece that's missing from the SMART goals

10:13 — What Means Goals are and why they're "SMARTER" goals

14:46 — Who do you need to become to accomplish your goals? 

15:54 — Envisioning your future self 

19:44 — How to create new habits to support your goals

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Free Training: The Secret to Goal Setting https://sistersmart.com/goalsetting

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

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Yet the workplace is the same experience for all women. 

In fact, white women are at a distinct advantage in terms of promotions, pay, and dealing with microaggressions.

When we can understand how our experience is similar and different from women of color, we can work together towards a future where all women can rise to create a truly diverse workplace that creates prosperity for all. 

Jill is joined in this episode by Mariah Johnson, who is an equity consultant with an emphasis on intersectionality of gender and race, and Ashley Cisneros Ritter, who is the Practice Director at Chicago Career Consulting and also the Associate Dean at the School of Business at North Park University, where she has also taught gender studies. 

Together they explore how women leaders can recognize and reflect on the intersections of gender, race, class, language, education and more to spot opportunities to lead in new ways that create new norms in the workplace so all women have more opportunities to rise up and find fulfillment at every level. 

05:25 — How women carry the burden of unpaid labor and how to spot it to prevent it 

09:25 — How to identify where patriarchal norms are at play and begin to shift the standard away from those working styles 

20:32 — How women can let go of the mental burden we tend to carry so we can be present for ourselves and our family

27:27 — What intersectionality is, how it can create additional imbalances in the workplace, and how we can recognize and address it (especially if you're a white woman) 

👋 CONNECT WITH ASHLEY RITTER 

Ashley (She/Her/Hers) currently serves as the Associate Dean of the School of Business at North Park University. She has dedicated her career to studying the changing landscape of workplace culture and the role work plays in community and individual well-being. 

She also is the Practice Director of Chicago Career Consulting, a leadership and career consultancy that empowers people to develop meaningful lives and careers. She believes the world of work can exist with more creativity, human compassion, and equity. She brings over 15 years of experience across a variety of sectors including higher education, nonprofit management, healthcare, and human resources. She specializes in issues of burnout, compassion fatigue, and leadership development. 

👋 CONNECT WITH MORIAH JOHNSON

Moriah Johnson is a passionate race scholar and advocate for equity, with a fervent commitment to advancing inclusivity in both education and the workplace. With two masters in Public Policy and Sociology, Moriah brings a unique perspective to her work and research, placing a particular emphasis on the intersectionality of race and gender. Her own positionality has shaped her view of gender in the workplace as she sees and experiences gender through the lens of her own blackness, class, and education status. 

Moriah's journey is marked by a dedication to fostering positive change, challenging systemic inequalities, and creating spaces where individuals from all backgrounds can thrive.

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When you set boundaries at work, the way you spend your time, your money, your energy will all become in line with what you really want and you’ll experience how saying “no” helped you go farther and faster towards your goals. 

If you're tired of always bumping up against burnout, feeling anxious, tired, and stressed, and maybe even a little resentful because you never get time for yourself, you are going to want to stay tuned.

Sandy Reynolds, who is an expert in leadership development, joins us in this episode to share how to say no in a way that's freeing rather than detrimental to your career. 

By the end of the episode, you’ll have several structures in place to help you put careful consideration to the things that are going onto your plate and how you can be comfortable with disappointing others, without sabotaging your career. 

When you get this piece right, your career will take off.

03:25 — The outside influences that make it challenging for women to say no

12:24 — Why disagreeing doesn’t affect your relationships with others as much as you think it does 

14:32 — The costs we pay when we "want to be liked"

17:37 — How to build the habit of saying "no" when you need to

20:48 — Example scenarios and phrasing you can use to say no in a way that will be well-received 

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

• Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty... And Start Speaking Up, Saying No, Asking Boldly, And Unapologetically Being Yourself by Dr. Aziz Gazipura

👋 CONNECT WITH SANDY REYNOLDS

Sandy uses the term learning catalyst to describe her work in learning & organizational development. She has more than 20 years of experience working globally to help organizations strengthen their performance by developing talent and clarifying their organizational values and strategy.  She is a systems thinker who believes the best way to facilitate change is to understand the whole picture.

She is a gifted facilitator and sought-after speaker. She is the co-host of a weekly podcast, Reframe Your Life, for women in leadership. She has an MA in leadership, is a Certified Training & Development Practitioner, and is a Certified MBTI practitioner. 

sandyreynolds.com

disappointmorepeople.ca

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When you simply take opportunities as they come, you can end up in a place that you never wanted to be by the end of your career, and it's disheartening to think that you worked so hard only to end up in a place that's unfulfilling because it's not aligned with your values and your skill set.

In this episode, Jill and Sister Smart coach, Sara Spencer, take you through the 12-step process to map out your career trajectory so you can align with where you’d like to go and what steps and resources you need to get there. 

01:46 — The key first steps of planning your career trajectory to align with your values and skills

05:19 — 6 elements to consider what you need to make your plan possible 

08:35 — How to identify the milestones you need for the next 1-3 years to bring your vision for your career to life 

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Career Map Checklist: https://sistersmart.com/career-map 

• The Secret to Goal Setting: https://sistersmart.com/goalsetting

• Empowerment Etiquette: 10 Ways to Say No W/ Grace: https://sistersmart.com/10WaysToSayNo

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💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

There are social and psychological reasons that you stay stuck in a busyness trap unless you understand these influences and create a plan about how to work through them.

If you've ever struggled with feeling like you have too much on your plate, wondering why you can't get more budget or the headcount to be successful, or even feeling like you don’t want the promotion because you’d have new responsibilities that would be too overwhelming to take on, tune in to hear the roadmap on how to get out of working so much and how to work smarter.

01:01 — 3 unhelpful habits that are common among women, which keep us doing more and more without reaping the benefits of our efforts

06:53 — How the busyness trap is affecting our ability to succeed and what you need to let go of 

09:20 — Develop a plan to let go of what you need to (even if they're important and you feel you have to be the one to do them) 

10:42 — How to discern you're "vital few" 

12:41 — Using a personal strategy retreat to change your current responsibilities and boundaries

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• How Women Rise by Sally Hagelson and Marshall Goldsmith 
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

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Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

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—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

But recovering from work burnout is an inside job.

SisterSmart client, Jenny, found herself completely burned out, so when she eventually got a new dream job, she wanted to approach it differently to make sure that wouldn’t happen again. 

Tune in to hear how she changed her working style to recover from work burnout and how she went from overworking to becoming an effective leader.

02:30 — The realization that burnout was her doing, not the companies she worked for 

06:47 — The changes that lead to overcoming perfectionism

15:59 — How executive presence improves when you have capacity to balance emotions through challenges

18:42 — What Jenny uses daily to operate as an effective leader

28:34 — How to know what to work on and what not to 

35:06 — What it looks like to lean into a feminine style of leadership 

👋 MEET JENNY 

With vast experience agency side and in-house, working with brands worldwide ranging from SaaS companies to FMCG brands, all the way to fitness influencers and banks, Jenny Eastwood is well versed in all aspects of developing a social media strategy to scale brands in a digitally-led market.

As an empath with a background in copywriting and journalism, Jenny's zone of genius lies in creating high-quality, shareable content strategy, combined with the latest social media trends, to share impactful stories that resonate with the target audience.

Jenny has had the privilege of leading the social media strategy for global enterprise brands including Darrell Lea, Pernod Ricard, Chemist Warehouse, and more.

In 2023 she was shortlisted for the New Zealand Young Lions competition, and in July 2023 Jenny was promoted from Creative Social Strategist to Senior Social Account Director within her agency The Social Agency. Jenny was recognised by parent company Omnicom Media Group as one of the up and coming rising stars within the organisation through being nominated to participate in their internal OMG Ignite program which seeks to coach, nurture and develop rising talent.

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

They keep their head down and wait for their work to speak for them, except this isn't how it works. This only leads you to burnout.

If you're tired of doing more and more and not getting the promotion you're looking for, you're going to want to stay tuned because in this episode we're going to be talking about why this doesn't work and what you can do instead.

00:49 — The trap women leaders tend to struggle with more than the men do

02:26 — How doing less can actually lead to a promotion

04:06 — The problem with taking on more responsibility at work

08:52 — How to stop taking on more work and act like a senior leader

11:06 — What women need to let go of if they're going to start operating at the executive level

—

🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Year

https://sistersmart.com/register-sil

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

But Beth DiPaolo, one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women and the Women Business Leaders in Healthcare, has risen all the way to serve on the Group Operating Council as the Global Head of the Professional Scientific Services, Eurofins, a leader in testing for life with over 60,000 employees in 60 countries. 

She’s here to share the 4 most important C’s that have helped her achieve such notable success in her career so you hear first-hand what it takes to reach that level. 

02:42 — What do you want to contribute and what are you contributing? 

04:01 — Why you can't reach high levels without  coaches and mentors 

06:17 — The most important thing you need as a leader

10:37 — You can't have the capacity to lead if self care isn't part of your strategy

14:14 — How you develop your credibility and influence in an organization

16:39 — How to overcome imposter syndrome and become confident in your ideas and contribution

20:39 — The importance of  "choosing your people" and having the right people in your circle of influence

24:26 — An action that many leaders overlook that can make a difference in themselves and their team

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE 

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• Decide Happy by Susan Denny Hall

👋 CONNECT WITH BETH DIPAOLO

Beth is Group Senior Vice President and serves on the Group Operating Council for Eurofins. 

Eurofins is the leader in testing for life with entrepreneurial independent companies offering services in 60 countries with over 60,000 employees

Beth began an award winning business models over 20 years ago and serves as the Global Head and International Business Line Leader of Eurofins Professional Scientific Services, a laboratory managed insourcing solutions for clients in which Beth established services in 16 countries and growing.  She has been formally recognized with the top business unit leader awards for overall performance and best start-ups for expansion in Europe.  

She is also the Head of Eurofins Equality Driving Excellence establishing this global initiative in 2019 where she is passionate in driving excellence through diversity, equity, and inclusion.

A passionate values driven servanthood leader, Beth’s leads with the vision of finding great people, taking great care of them, so they in turn will take great care of their clients.

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

If you have ever felt like your ideas aren't being taken seriously or that you aren't being heard when you speak up in meetings, you might be lacking executive presence. 

Executive presence is all about having influence — it’s that something special about you that tells people that you're in charge. It's often hard to define and even harder to develop as a result.  

Our clients have often heard that they need to develop executive presence, but their manager can't describe it, and they don't know what they would be doing differently if they had it.

At SisterSmart, we use an approach from Bates Communications. Their model is backed by research from over 20 years of experience of coaching the world's top executives on executive presence. They use 15 facets to describe executive presence, and we've broken down these 15 facets into five qualities that we coach our clients on, which is what Jill and Sarah are sharing in this episode.

00:17 — What is executive presence? 

01:38 — 5 qualities of executive presence

13:35 — 3 shifts you can make with your executive presence this week

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

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✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

This is what our client Nicolle was experiencing before she started working with us. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for the next level up and was feeling anxious and burnt out as she tried to prepare herself for a promotion.

In this episode, Nicolle shares how she gained the skills she needed to gain clarity what she could contribute to the company, improve her executive presence, and develop her team so she could delegate more, which helped her overcome the anxiety she was feeling and allowed her to feel fully confident in her stepping into a new leadership role.

01:09 — How burnout and fear lead Nicolle to make a change in how she developed her career 

03:10 — The role of “knowing yourself better” in becoming a better leader and creating a career that’s more aligned 

05:09 — How being a woman in leadership added challenges

07:13 — How emotional balance and executive presence made transitioning into a new role easier

10:17 — Building a team and making changes to a team 

13:10 — Prioritizing yourself as a leader and creating space for development so you can lead a team better

19:21 — How to bring out your feminine leadership skills

👋 MEET NICOLLE

Nicolle is an experienced and personable Finance & Payroll Manager with a demonstrated history of working in private industry and government administration. She enjoys coaching staff, team building and continually evaluating the work environment for improvement.

Nineteen years of her career was built in the Alaskan coastal town of Ketchikan, building skills in financial reporting, general ledger, payroll analysis, accounts payable, accounts receivable, account analysis and reconciliation, leadership and project management while employed in the seafood industry, healthcare and municipal government. Now based in San Francisco, Nicolle currently works in a large metropolitan transit authority, building on the skills she learned in her previous roles.

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

And since it's hard to explain, managers can have a challenging time helping them to understand what it is and specifically what they need to change.  

Women also don't fit into traditional male leadership models, so it can be hard for people to understand what feminine executive presence looks like, even if they might understand it a little better from a traditional male model.

In this episode, Jill shares exactly what executive presence is and specifically how it’s different for women. She highlights many of the double-binds women leaders can experience with executive presence and offers insight for how to begin shifting the way you show up based on these key differences.

01:32 — What is executive presence? 

02:20 — The biggest misconception about executive presence 

03:29 — 💻Screenshare: How executive presence changes over time 

04:49 — How executive presence builds your influence 

06:12 — How executive presence is different for women than men 

06:59 — The double binds women face with executive presence

10:39 — Feminine strengths to lean into as a women in leadership that might feel more natural to you while still earning recognition and influence

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✨ EXECUTIVE PRESENCE GUIDE: 10 STRATEGIES FOR COMMANDING THE ROOM

Get the Executive Presence Guide

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✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

There's social science that explains how we got here and how we can move forward into a new future. 

Mary Shapiro, a Fellow at Simmons Institute for Inclusive Leadership, is a leading expert on gender in the workplace and she joins us in this episode to discuss the research and science behind leadership, how it’s different for women, and the ways in which women need to lead differently in order to bring their natural strengths to the workplace. 

01:41 — What executive presence looks like specifically for women 

09:42 —  The traits of leaders and how women can tap into masculine and feminine traits to describe themselves 

25:09 — How to navigate the established culture of leadership within your organization

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• 10 Ways to Command a Room: https://sistersmart.com/10-ways

👋 CONNECT WITH MARY SHAPIRO 

Mary Shapiro has focused on advancing individuals of multiple social identities into leadership for the past 30 years, as an Organization Behavior professor, Chair of Leadership Development at Simmons University, and now as a Fellow of Simmons’ Institute of Inclusive Leadership. Concurrently Shapiro has consulted with organizations to build inclusive work cultures; and with teams, to build the relationships and processes necessary to produce innovative and high-quality output. Shapiro researches women’s careers, organizational efforts in moving towards gender equity, and teamwork. Her book on teams, published by Harvard Business School Press, two books on interviewing and career strategies, and her case studies featuring women protagonists, all advance efforts towards equity and inclusion. For 12 years she was an officer of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts Board. She received her M.B.A. and M.S. Economics from Wright State University. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-shapiro-b372537/

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

This is the exact same question that our client Charissa was facing when she joined the Sisters in Leadership Program.

Tune in to hear how Charissa gained the clarity to know whether it was time to leave or stay, how she got her dream job, and the surprising things that she found once she got there.

03:16 — Transitioning from a role of 14 years to crafting a new position with more influence

07:05 — How to develop new skills as a leader for a new role 

09:59 — How working with your saboteurs can help you find more satisfaction in your career 

13:34 — Focusing on your strengths and leadership style rather than fitting into the company’s leadership culture that doesn’t align 

17:07 — The difference between learning leadership skills versus uncovering your authentic leadership style as an individual 

ABOUT CHARISSA   

Charissa is an AEC business leader committed to driving measurable growth and development through creative strategy, industry knowledge and relationship building. As Strategic Growth and Development Director, Charissa leads the development and execution of her firm’s strategic initiatives, growth objectives, and new business and expansion opportunities working closely with leadership across the organization.

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Yet, how much time have you actually spent getting to know yourself? For most of us, we really haven’t spent that much time. 

If we want to play to our strengths, we have to get to know ourselves better than we do now. 

In this episode, you'll learn the 12 tools of self-awareness that will help you know your genius better.  You’ll hear how other leaders use this knowledge to build their confidence and ability to interact with their team members. By the end of the episode, you'll understand the different layers of your genius so you can start integrating them into your work. 

01:35 — Why self-reflection isn’t the best way to identify your genius 

02:19 — Uncover your unrealized strengths so you can build those up even more

04:35 — Get to know your unique personality and how to use it in your career

06:45 — Why knowing your Saboteurs is crucial for being a great leader at every level 

10:11 — Where your values can come into play 

10:41 — What to consider to identify your secret sauce

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• StrengthFinders 2.0 Assessment: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx 

• Take Personality Tests: https://www.truity.com/ 

• Get To Know Your Saboteurs: https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/ 

• Do What You Are: https://a.co/d/1wfN0za

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

But it’s that very advice to focus on your career weaknesses — rather than your strengths — that keeps many women stuck in their careers, unable to earn that next-level title (and the salary to go with it).

Here, Jill and Sara, a SisterSmart Career Success Coach, share why you shouldn’t focus  your energy on fixing your weaknesses, what to do when you can avoid your weaknesses in your role, and how to leverage your strengths to be the perfect-fit candidate for your next role or promotion.  

01:30 — How to identify your biggest career and leadership strengths 

04:14 — 4 categories of your strengths to look at

05:32 — What if you can’t avoid your weaknesses? 

08:05 — How to use your Strength Finder results to create strengths you’re known for 

09:20 — How you can shift from “do you like me” and “am I good enough for this role” to what you can contribute to the company in that role

13:01 — Ways to build “scaffolding” to support your weaknesses without trying to “fix” them 

15:57 — Why it’s important to own your weaknesses in front  of other people 

16:22 — How you can own your strengths if you lack confidence at work 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Zone of Brilliance Exercise: 

• Strength Finders Assessment: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/254033/strengthsfinder.aspx

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

That hasn't worked for you, has it? 

That's because, for many women leaders, confidence doesn't work that way. Women want to feel confident first from the inside before they can show it on the outside. So that advice that usually works for men often falls flat for women.

In this episode, Jill shares a seven-step framework for how to build confidence at work from a well-rounded perspective so you can feel that confidence from the inside. You’ll be given a few simple exercises that you can apply this week. 

00:50 — How your lack of confidence at work subtly affects the way you show up in your role

01:43 — How to understand your zone of brilliance 

02:41 — Everyone experiences imposter syndrome — you simply need to learn to recognize it and learn to combat it 

03:30 — How to relieve the pressure that’s on your shoulders and gain more confidence at work 

04:23 — Learn how to analyze risk so you can feel confident with your recommendations and choices 

05:31 — Cultivating resiliency will allow you to bounce back from failure 

06:32 — Tap into the different aspects of your “why” to ground your work

07:24 — Build a group of “fans” to lean on and uplift your confidence

10:57 — A lack of confidence at work can follow you at any level

📚RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Zone of Brilliance Exercise: https://sistersmart.com/zone

• Simon Sinek Ted Talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en

—

Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

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👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

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💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

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👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Meet Monica, a client of the Sisters in Leadership program who works for a large pharmaceutical company and transitioned to a new department. She shares how she’s been able to quickly gain recognition, establish relationships, and gain influence in a brand-new department so she can be seen as the next person to be promoted.

Tune in to hear how you can gain influence whether you’re in a new department, leading a new team, or working at a new company. 

01:12 — Making the decision to work with an executive coach   

03:53 — How investing in yourself influences your success 

11:12 — How to view feedback as a gift and use it to advance your career 

14:39 — Developing the ability to work with senior leaders with varying personalities 

17:44 — Prioritizing emotional balance builds resiliency  

22:29 — How to use a personal strategy retreat to create alignment 

23:29 — Navigating executive coaching as a woman of color

26:53 — How conversational intelligence supports you in navigating different personalities and working styles 

MEET MONICA 

Monica works at the intersection of groundbreaking Pharma/Biotech research and addressing the challenges (and opportunities) that come with successfully getting new products into competitive global markets. Seeing the improvement in the lives of patients is what she enjoys most. She’s led teams to further this mission at companies like Daiichi Sankyo, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, and Boehringer Ingelheim over the past 18 years.

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Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Working with hundreds of clients, Jill has identified seven steps as the missing pieces that are keeping women stuck in the leadership pipeline, which she shares in this episode. 

You’ll also hear how these seven steps supported real women leaders just like you in making shifts in their career and leadership that ultimately lead to their career advancement so you can understand exactly how and why these seven steps work. 

02:19 — How to develop your emotional balance (and why that’s an important first step)

03:19 — Getting clear on your zone of brilliance and actually using it in your day-to-day

4:04 —  Your executive presence underpins everything you do as a leader

07:09 — What it takes to earn trust as a leader from your team, peers, and senior leadership

08:07 — Why taking risks is crucial to your career growth

09:16 — ​​Who to have in your network to help you rise up the ladder

11:30 — 3 pieces to reflect on to map your career path and gain clarity on where you’d like to go and how to get there

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Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

When you asked for a promotion, they say, “You're great at what you do. Why would you want to do something else?”  “Oh, you don't have enough executive presence.” We don't have the budget for that.” Or, “If I promoted you, I would have to promote everyone else at that level.”

There are so many lame excuses but the bottom line is you aren't being seen as the leader that is at the next level. 

In this episode, Jill and SisterSmart Career Success Coach, Sara Spencer, share what to do when you didn’t get the promotion you were hoping — plus how to keep your mindset strong so you can work through this. 

They also discuss a few key factors to consider to know whether it’s best to stay or leave. 

01:16 — The mistake many women leaders make after they’re not getting promoted

02:45 — How to reset your mindset so you don’t get stuck in this setback 

04:40 — A better way to ask for valuable feedback than the traditional 360 review

06:45 — The importance of mentorship and what an effective mentor relationship looks like

10:24 — How to make your brilliance more visible without feeling like you’re “bragging” 

12:44 — How do you know when it's time to move on or stay at your current company?

19:53 — 3 shifts you can take with you today to help you navigate not getting promoted and put yourself in a better position for the next round of reviews

📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Career Map Checklist: https://sistersmart.com/career-map

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Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

It took Jill Avey ten years of trial and error to finally get promoted from director to VP in her career. 

Years later, Jill is now a career success coach, and she now understands exactly what was holding her back and helps women make that move in just one year, not ten. 

In this episode, Jill shares what you need to be able to move up in your career, even if you’ve been stuck for a while, that she’s gathered from working with hundreds of clients. She also reflects on the seven pitfalls she made that kept her stuck in her career for so long so you can identify these are what is keeping you stuck as well. 

Plus, you’ll receive three simple ideas for you to reflect on to begin the process that will support you in the next step of your career.

01:17 — The four essential pieces you need in place to succeed at any stage in your career 

03:56 — Why Jill left her career and became a leadership coach 

06:05 — Not understanding the strengths the value we bring to our organization 

07:08 — It’s easy to focus on the wrong aspects of executive presence

08:02 — You have to develop your own self-image

09:45 — Our emotions are an equally important aspect of our career

10:04 — Understanding the difference between being liked and being trusted 

11:44 — The importance of leading with feminine energy 

12:55 — Women advance their careers with support — not alone 

13:13 — What do you truly want out of your career? 

14:06 — Who benefits from your full potential?

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Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.

A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration

—

✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP

Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast

—

👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP

Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP

—

💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSES

We offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.

Sign Up for a Leadership Course

—

👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 

🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 

🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

While these challenges don’t discriminate against gender, women need different solutions to overcome them. 

It’s not enough for women to simply get leadership training and career advice. They need to learn how to lead with their feminine energy and use it as their biggest advantage. 

On this show, career success coach Jill Avey and her guests explore how women can rise from director to vice president and beyond by fully leaning into their feminine energy as their biggest advantage. 

In each episode, you’ll understand how women need to lead differently and how by doing so, women leaders gain influence and respect among their colleagues, restore balance to their role, and receive the recognition and promotions they deserve. 

Each episode will highlight real-life stories, offer practical advice, and the science of feminine leadership so you can see how women are rising up as far as they want to go, without playing by the old rules that built these male-dominated industries and systems.

It took Jill 10 years to get promoted from director to vice president. She’s here to extend her hand to other women leaders to move past that rung of the ladder in months — or even weeks — instead of years — so we can create more gender balance within leadership positions and feel the effects of women’s influence on the world. 

Jill is the founder of SisterSmart where she offers group and private coaching to help her clients find deep fulfillment in their careers, both personally and financially. You can learn more at sistersmart.com