Monica is the founder of MTI, an organizational consulting and coaching company focused on leadership training, executive, coaching, facilitation and change management for clients. In this role, she works closely with women transitioning from middle management into leadership roles.
TAKEAWAYS
Claim Your Achievements Out Loud
I reference Sally Helgeson's book How Women Rise, which names 12 barriers to women's advancement. The first few always resonate with my clients: a reluctance to claim your achievements, expecting others to spontaneously notice and reward your contributions.
Start with your peers. Practice telling colleagues what you're working on and what it's producing. Then bring it into performance reviews and meetings. This becomes essential when you have a seat at the table and have to make the case for your team, budget, and priorities.
Lift Your Gaze
When you're preparing for a leadership role, start by developing a more holistic view of the organization. Reach out to people in different departments — grab a coffee, ask what their day-to-day looks like, learn what their role involves. You don't need to master every function. You need to know enough to tap them for information or bring them into a meeting to help explain something. That cross-departmental perspective is what lets you speak from a leadership point of view, not just a functional one.