“Working hard is no longer enough.”

One of my clients is currently in the process of carrying out performance reviews for her own team.

She is really proud of their achievements over the past year, especially the colleagues she was personally involved with hiring, because they had integrated well with the team.

Even though she really values each and every one of them, she is needing to hold difficult conversations with them about their prospects of career progression this year.

She recognises that the dynamic has changed and that you can no longer simply rely on your hard work to be rewarded with a promotion.

To progress in a highly competitive environment, you need to really project the right qualities and demonstrate the value that you create for the business.

In other words, this applies even to the colleagues she manages - almost all of whom are early-mid career professionals in highly technical roles.

This used to be a stage when most people are still learning and growing and finding their place within their teams and their professions.

But now they also are subjected to the same pressure to be and do more.

In most organisations, the skills that are needed for your role are passed on to you, which comprises the ‘doing’ aspect.

What doesn’t often get transmitted downwards is the ‘being’.

As women we are somewhat at a disadvantage here: if no one sees you as a leader, or your confidence isn’t 100%, or you haven't had the right guidance, then the ‘being’ can be very hard to embody.

They therefore rely on the 'doing', but if there is one trend that I have seen in my five years of doing this work is that a lot of brilliant women get stagnant in the 'doing', and keep doing for decades without becoming a leader.

 If you have chosen to walk that path, then you might be at peace with the current status quo.

But for those of you who are more ambitious, and want to progress faster into leadership, it's time to up your game.

Which is why my Leadership Lab programme for early career women focusses not just on building your confidence, but building you as a person.

I want the acumen and growth that you attain during the six months of your participation in the programme to be the competitive edge that gets you considered for progression to leadership.

Rather than becoming demotivated from working hard, but staying at the same level again this year.

When the stakes are getting high, naturally you have to rise to meet those standards. So if this is critical for you in 2026, then my invitation to you is to join the Leadership Lab Cohort 2 by applying below:

Apply to join the Leadership Lab.

(One final note: if you prefer to receive coaching 1-1 rather than in a group, we can also discuss alternative ways of working together. The choice is yours!).