Wait until someone asks you directly — you do not want to appear to be positioning yourself Share your perspective clearly and specifically when there is a natural opening — you are in the room for a reason Build on what someone else said — you contribute but frame it as an addition rather than a standalone position Stay quiet and follow up by email afterwards — you want your thinking on record but not at the risk of overstepping

A meaningful portion — you regularly take on work that is beyond your current scope and have been recognised for it Very little — you are focused on excelling at your current responsibilities and that is where your energy goes Almost none — you have not been given that kind of scope and you are waiting for the right opportunity Some — you have pushed into adjacent areas but it has not been a deliberate or sustained pattern

A few — you have some visibility but you know there are key people who would not recognise your name in that conversation Very few — you have kept your head down and let your work speak for itself More than most — you have been deliberate about building relationships at senior levels and you know they see you Some — you have visibility with the people directly above you but less so with the layer above that

Observe and stay in your lane — unsolicited input on issues above your remit is overstepping Find a way to contribute your thinking — through a conversation, a memo, or a direct conversation with the right person Raise it with your immediate manager and let them decide whether to take it further Wait until you are asked — you do not want to be seen as someone who always has an opinion about things above their level

Know that outstanding results are the price of entry — but that the decision is also shaped by how you communicate your work, how visible your potential is, and whether the right people are advocating for you Consider this exactly right — the strongest case for promotion is doing your current job better than anyone else could 1 Know this is partly right — performance matters, but you also know that visibility and relationships play a role you have not fully invested in Know performance is necessary but not sufficient — but you have not yet identified specifically what else is required

Trust the process — if your work speaks for itself, the outcome will reflect that Have one conversation with your manager to understand where you stand — you want to know how you are being positioned Do nothing additional — initiating that conversation feels presumptuous and you do not want to seem entitled Have conversations with both your manager and any senior stakeholders you have relationships with — you want to understand the landscape and make sure your case is being made clearly

You genuinely do not know — you have limited insight into how you are perceived at that level and that uncertainty is uncomfortable You have a clear and specific sense of how they see you — and you know what you are doing to actively shape that perception You have some sense — probably something like "solid" or "reliable" — but you are not sure that description is doing the work you need it to do You assume they see you positively based on your results — but you have not had conversations that would confirm or challenge that assumption

Accept that these decisions are sometimes political and that doing the right things does not always produce the right outcomes Conclude it was a timing issue and wait for the next cycle — if you keep delivering, the decision will eventually reflect it Ask your manager for specific, actionable feedback — not what you need to develop, but what specifically the other person demonstrated that you did not Reflect on it privately and come to your own conclusions — external feedback on this kind of decision is rarely fully honest

Know that this belief, however well-intentioned, has a specific and measurable cost — the opportunities and decisions that go to people who are less capable but more visible than you Consider this exactly right — you would rather be recognised for the right reasons than advance through the wrong ones Know this is partly true — some forms of self-promotion do feel inauthentic, but you also know there is a version of visibility that is simply good professional communication Feel the tension — you know visibility matters but you have not found a way to build it that feels comfortable

Continue delivering at the highest possible level in your current role — excellence is the most credible signal Have a direct conversation with the decision-maker about your interest and your readiness — before the role is formally open Ask your manager to advocate for you when the right moment arrives — you want to be on the list without having to put yourself forward directly Build a compelling case document — a clear summary of your achievements, your readiness, and your vision for the role

Keep them to yourself — it is not your remit and sharing unsolicited strategic views creates the wrong impression Share them with peers informally — you process your thinking through conversation but keep it out of formal channels Find the right format and audience to contribute them — a well-placed observation in the right meeting or a thoughtful note to the right person Share them with your manager and let them decide whether to take them further — your job is to inform up, not to advocate directly

You know who they are, you invest in those relationships actively, and you have had explicit conversations about your ambitions with them You believe they exist but you have not had explicit conversations — you assume the relationship will translate into advocacy when needed You are not sure — you have not mapped this clearly and you know you should You have some — but the relationships are newer or less cultivated than you would like at this stage

You describe the work itself — what you are doing, what has been delivered, what the results are You focus primarily on the team — you talk about what we achieved rather than what you specifically contributed You describe the work in terms of its strategic impact — what it means for the organisation, not just what it is You connect your work explicitly to the priorities of the people you are talking to — you frame it in terms of what matters to them specifically

They value your reliability and your results — you are someone they can count on They see your technical excellence — you are the person they go to when something needs to be done well They see your potential — they are watching you and wondering when you will step more fully into the space They experience you as already operating above your current level — the question in their mind is timing, not readiness