Dave Kline

Become the Leader You’d Follow | Founder @ MGMT | Coach | Advisor | Speaker | Trusted by 250K+ leaders.

Hey, I’m Dave Kline.

I teach leaders how to build All-Star teams and level up their careers.

After decades of leading in pretty intense environments, from Bridgewater Associates to Moody’s Analytics, I know what it takes to be the manager your team remembers (for the right reasons).

Why I can help you is simple:

I’ve been through it.

And to prove it, here’s my background (by the numbers) ⤵️

2: Decades leading high-impact teams in asset management (Bridgewater), consulting (PwC), & financial services (Moody’s Analytics).

4: Years as an entrepreneur. My portfolio includes Skillscouter (an online course & career site), and MGMT Accelerator (a cohort-based management training course).

14: Cohorts of early-career leaders that I’ve taught at multiple companies.

100: Managers I recruited, onboarded & mentored at Bridgewater Associates.

1,000: Performance evaluations with grace and respect for stars and terminations alike.

205,000+: My community across LinkedIn & Twitter interested in management tactics & leadership lessons

385,000,000: My team’s top revenue year at Moody’s.

Now that we’ve covered the why, here’s the how:

- The MGMT Accelerator – an intensive management training course for both new and senior leaders
- MGMT Fundamentals – a course that covers all the need-to-know management basics for rookie leaders
- The MGMT Playbook – a weekly newsletter that gives practical management insights

Through our MGMT courses, my wife Marsden and I have played the assist with over 1,100 leaders so far, who’ve now learned how to:

- Practically tackle the most common leadership challenges
- Build their Management OS’s CODE (Coach, Operate, Delegate, Engage)
- Refine their individual leadership Decision-Making System

With our 30+ years of combined experience, you won’t just get our knowledge.

You’ll get to ask us questions directly and get access to coaching that’s more tailored to your own experience.

We always say – if we could do it like a dinner party, we would.

If you’re interested in leadership advice (that doesn’t just sound nice but actually works), drop me a follow – I post daily.

And if you like what you see, our MGMT courses could be just what you need to level up.

DM me if you’re interested.

Co-Founder

We created the MGMT Accelerator to help managers rapidly develop into trusted leaders by combining the art & science of management. 

This 4-week program consistents of eight 90-minute modules where I share the tactics I learned leading high-performing teams for 25 years. During each session, we tailor those insights together to build your personalized management system together. 

You'll learn alongside ~50 peers and become part of an expert community of more than 300 alums.

60% of managers fail.

Not because they lack talent.
But because they lack a clear map.

They're promoted and handed:

• No training
• No playbook
• No clarity

Just bigger responsibilities and higher expectations.

What makes it even harder?

Each management level isn't slightly different.
It's an entirely different game.

Same title. 
New rules.

And the cost of mistakes only goes up:

Team Lead Mistakes:
• Avoiding tough conversations
• Clinging to individual contributor work
• Missing early warning signals
• Failing to establish boundaries
• Prioritizing friendship over leadership

Manager Mistakes:
• Hiring too quickly, firing too slowly
• Choosing comfort over development
• Accepting mediocre performance
• Neglecting succession planning
• Navigating politics poorly

Manager of Managers Mistakes:
• Overlooking strategic opportunities
• Creating silos instead of connections
• Choosing the wrong battles
• Drowning in tactical details
• Controlling information flow

But beneath all three levels?

Core capabilities anyone can learn:

Emotional Intelligence
• Navigate conflict effectively
• Manage up with intention
• Read the room and adjust

Quality Decisions
• Gather the right inputs
• Move with purpose
• Deliver

Clear Communication
• Right audience
• Right message
• Right timing

Strategic Thinking
• Many No's for the right Yes!
• Anticipate what's coming
• Connect the dots

Team Development
• Build bench strength
• Identify hidden potential
• Make choices to up talent density

Master these foundations.
Use them to avoid learning lessons the hard way.

What skill helped you level up?
Share below ⬇️

♻️ Share to help fast-growing managers
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more leadership frameworks

If you want to get promoted this year, read this:


Most people wait for the title to start leading.
They want permission and a promotion.

The top 1% know better.
They know most companies don’t like risk.

And the best way to make your promotion low risk?

Show them you can do the job...
BEFORE they give it to you.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about getting promoted:

Your company isn’t promoting potential.
Hope is not a qualification.

They’re promoting performance.
The performance they’ve already seen.

While most people focus on doing their job well,
Future leaders focus on something completely different:

JUDGMENT | Start Acting Like an Owner
• Own outcomes, not just tasks
• Make decisions as if the company’s success depends on you
• Solve problems before you’re asked

RELIABILITY | Make Your Manager’s Job Easier
• Anticipate needs before they ask
• Keep every commitment or escalate early
• Deliver work with recommendations, not just reports

LEADERSHIP | Develop People Around You
• Share knowledge freely
• Help new team members succeed faster
• Document your work so others can build on it

CREDIBILITY | Communicate with Clarity
• Write things down—documentation builds trust
• Follow up with clear next steps
• Use active listening to show you understand

PERSPECTIVE | Think Beyond Your Role
• Connect your work to bigger goals
• Offer ideas that benefit the whole team
• Ask questions about the larger business context

GROWTH | Give and Receive Feedback Well
• Give constructive input to peers
• Actively seek feedback on your own performance
• Handle criticism without getting defensive

SYSTEMS | Solve Problems at the Root
• Ask “why” until you find the real cause
• Address causes, not just symptoms
• Build solutions that prevent problems from coming back

IMPACT | Deliver Meaningful Results
• Focus on work that moves the needle
• Track and share your impact
• Make your value visible to decision-makers

AI | Stand Out with New Skills
• Learn and use AI tools to boost your productivity
• Automate routine work and teach others what you learn
• Become the go-to resource for new technology

The promotion paradox:
Companies promote based on performance, not potential.
But most people perform at their current level, not the next one.

The breakthrough insight:
Start doing the work before you get the job.
The title will follow the behavior, not the other way around.

What skill helped you get promoted recently?
Drop it in the comments if I missed one.

And before you go...

♻️ Share to help others earn their next promotion
🔖 Save this so you can check back on your progress
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more leadership insights

Timeless Skills You must learn To Get Promoted This Year 

Most of what you do as a manager doesn’t matter.

These 5 levers will make or break you.

After 25 years of working with teams, 
The same pattern repeats:

Average managers try to do everything.
The great ones focus on what really matters.

These are the 5 factors every high-performing team gets right:

1. Clear Goal | Singular Focus
• If everything’s a priority, nothing is
• One mission everyone can recite from memory
• Make progress visible—post your key metrics publicly

2. Best People | Talent Density
• Filling seats with whoever’s available kills momentum
• Recruit constantly, raise the bar relentlessly
• Tap your top performers’ networks

3. Right Tools | Force Multipliers
• “We can’t afford good software” is an excuse
• Invest in systems that amplify talent
• Pre-approve any tool under $500/year

4. Least Friction | Ruthless Simplification
• “That’s how we’ve always done it” is a red flag
• Eliminate every unnecessary step and meeting
• Ask weekly: “What got in our way?”

5. Shortest Time | Speed as Strategy
• Waiting for perfect conditions means you’ll never act
• Run rapid experiments, learn fast
• Cut every cycle time in half—then do it again

The brutal truth:
Most teams have 3 out of 5 levers working.
Elite teams obsess over all 5, all the time.

One broken pillar pulls everyone down.

The diagnostic question:
Which lever is your bottleneck right now?

Fix that one first.
Everything else multiplies from there.

Want more practical frameworks like this?

Subscribe to the MGMT Playbook. 
My free weekly newsletter for leaders who want to level up.

https://mgmt.beehiiv.com

♻️ Share to help leaders focus on what matters
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more practical leadership insights

The 8020 of Management

Maya Grossman 💪 Career Success Coach

I will make you VP | Executive Coach and Corporate Rebel | 2x VP Marketing | Ex Google, Microsoft | Best-Selling Author

Hey, I'm Maya 👋
At the age of 27 I hit rock bottom - I completely burnt out trying to overwork my way into a promotion. 
Fast forward 15 years and I gained 10 promotions, worked for companies like Microsoft and Google, landed two VP roles at hyper growth startups, earned high six figures and actually enjoyed my 9-5.

What changed?
I stopped letting my career happen to me, and instead started managing it like a business.
I learned what it really takes to break through to executive roles, stopped making the mistakes that were holding me back, and developed the executive skills that got me noticed.

Today I am an executive career coach and my goal is to help you demystify what it takes to break through to executive roles, and build the bridge between where you are today, and where you want to be in your wildest dreams.

I want to save you the time, effort, and headache of figuring it out on your own and give you the playbook for achieving anything you want in your career.

My mission? To empower 1,000,000 high achievers to build the career of their dreams.


My brag list:

→ International best-selling author. Ranked  #1 new release for career books on Amazon.

→ 150,000+ followers across platforms, 70M views for my daily career advice
 
→ LinkedIn instructor (34,000 + learners, 4.7/5)

→ Named top 50 rising experts (US) and top 12 in Austin in 2023

→ Coached hundreds of high achievers to success on their terms​


If you are ready to level up in your career:

JOIN MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Become VP Ready in 10 Minutes Per Week

Win the corporate game in 2025. Join 50,000+ high achievers receiving weekly actionable guides and proven strategies to level up into executive roles in months not years. 

www.mayagrossman.com/email


SUCCESS BUILDERS: BECOME THE OBVIOUS VP - 3-MONTHS GROUP COACHING PROGRAM

The exact steps to level up from Director to VP in months not years, without an MBA or working 80/h weeks

www.mayagrossman.com/SB


PRIVATE 1:1 COACHING

For senior executives who want to become first time VPs, or crush their first VP role.
I only offer 5 spots quarterly, and they require a 6-months commitment.

DM me for details.

Founder, Maya Grossman Consulting

Maya Grossman

You’re not too quiet.
You’re just being careful and it’s costing you visibility.

If you’ve ever held back in a meeting because you didn’t want to come off as “too much,” this is for you.

You don’t need to be louder. You need to be clearer.

Try this line next time you have a strong POV:
“I see it a little differently, can I walk you through my thinking?”

It signals confidence, respect, and strategic thinking, all without raising your voice.

You don’t get promoted for being agreeable.
You get promoted for leading conversations, not tiptoeing around them.

What’s one phrase you use to speak up with authority? Drop it below.

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Here is the link to the episode:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ebCBzi8Hi0uem5UHtzfcZ

This conversation is what happens when two former executives spill the best kept secrets about what it really takes to level up. 

I stopped getting more stuff done at work.
And that’s when my career finally started to move.

For a long time, I thought growth came from being helpful.

Saying yes.
Fixing problems.
Taking on work outside my role.

I was a marketer.
But I was also helping IT, managing company events, and responding to every “can you help with this?” request that came my way.

I was busy all the time.
Exhausted.
And still not getting pulled into bigger conversations.

What I didn’t understand at the time was why all that effort wasn’t translating into bigger opportunities.

The moment everything changed wasn’t burnout.

It was watching other people get promoted.

They weren’t working longer hours.
They weren’t saying yes to everything.

So I started paying attention.

They didn’t jump in to fix everything.
They talked about their thinking, not just what they delivered.
They were selective and intentional with their time.

So I tried it.

I stopped rescuing.
I stopped saying yes by default.
I stopped proving my value through output alone.

And it felt uncomfortable.
It went against everything that had worked for me before.

But here’s what surprised me.

No one thought I was less committed.
No one questioned my value.

Instead, people asked for my opinion.
They pulled me into conversations earlier.
They treated me differently.

That’s when it clicked.

At senior levels, doing more doesn’t help you stand out.
It just keeps you busy.

If you’re delivering results and still not moving up, the answer probably isn’t more effort.
It’s a different way of showing up.

What’s one thing you’ll stop doing to break the cycle?

I stopped getting more stuff done at work

If you keep hearing “be more strategic,” try this next time you speak in a meeting:
Stop giving updates. Start making calls.

Use the 3-line template:
My recommendation is...
Because...
The tradeoff is…

This is one of the simplest ways to sound more senior fast.

Want the full breakdown of the 3 invisible mistakes keeping high performers below VP?
DM me VP and I’ll send you my free masterclass

Let me normalize something about senior leadership.

I didn’t get to VP by being perfect.

In fact, I’ve made mistakes that cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I’ve backed the wrong campaigns.
Missed targets.
Made bets that set teams back months.

I’ve walked into senior leadership meetings confident... and then completely frozen.

Once I literally couldn’t get a single word out.

I’ve missed deadlines I owned.
I’ve mishandled people.

Not because I didn’t care, but because I didn’t yet know how to lead at the level the role required.

I’ve lost my temper.
I’ve gotten into real fights with my CEO.

None of that looks great on a highlight reel.

But these screw-ups taught me the most.

But here’s what people don’t tell you early in your career.

Executives are not the people who never mess up.

They’re the people who learn how to recover, take ownership, and make better calls next time.

Those mistakes taught me:

- How to make decisions with incomplete information
- How to stand back up after public failure
- How to repair trust when you’ve damaged it
- How to lead people when you don’t have all the answers yet

Perfection never made anyone VP.

Judgment did. Accountability did. Growth did.

If you’re waiting to feel flawless before you aim higher, you’re playing the wrong game.

I break down how senior leaders actually develop this judgment, without burning themselves out or pretending they’ve never failed, in a short, pre-recorded masterclass: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

“Keep doing what you are doing” is one of the most dangerous compliments in corporate.

Because it usually means you’ve become invaluable inside your scope.

And the VP role is literally the opposite of that. It requires you to:

- make calls that impact the whole business
- influence people you don’t manage
- drive outcomes that sit across teams

So the shift isn’t “work harder” or “be more visible.”

It’s this: stop positioning yourself as the person who executes flawlessly in their lane, and start positioning yourself as the person who can influence at the next level.

If you want the full breakdown of what keeps high performers stuck (and how to become VP-ready) watch my free masterclass: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

Keep doing what youre doing is a ceiling not a compliment

You’re “killing it” but still stuck at Director, here’s the uncomfortable truth:
You might be making yourself look like the most valuable doer in the room.

Quick test. Last two weeks:

- Did you make a recommendation?
- Did you name the risk or tradeoff?
- Did you ask for a decision?

If you’re mostly giving updates, leadership can’t see you at VP yet.
We can change that.

DM VP and I’ll send you my free masterclass: the 3 mistakes that keep high performers below VP and what to do instead.

I didn't promote one of my strongest team members.
And it was one of the hardest decisions I ever made.

She was brilliant. Kind.
Deeply committed.
The kind of person every leader wants on their team.

So when promotion season came around, I wanted to champion her.
But I couldn't.

Not because she wasn't capable.
Not because she didn't work hard.
Not because she lacked potential.

I couldn't promote her because she was still operating like an individual contributor... in a role that required an executive.

And that gap shows up in small, everyday moments that most employees never realize matter.

When I asked her for a strategic plan
She gave me everything she could think of
But not what aligned with our goals the most.

When I asked her to own a critical vendor relationship
She deferred to their opinions instead of leading the partnership.

When she presented to senior leadership
She shared every detail - not a focused narrative that guides decisions.

She didn't lack intelligence.
She lacked executive signals.

Signals like:
Clarity.
Judgment.
Ownership.
A point of view.
The ability to choose what not to do.

This is the part no one teaches you.
But it's the part that determines who gets promoted.

We worked together to fix all of these and get her ready the next time.

But it taught me something important:

There are hidden criteria that get you promoted.
And executive behavior is one of them.

If you've ever felt overlooked, start paying attention to how you think, decide, and lead.
It changes everything.

And if you need more tips on how to become the obvious choice watch this: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

"She can handle anything" is not a compliment.

It feels flattering.
It also keeps people stuck.

Let me tell you about a client - I'll call her Lina.

Every big, messy initiative eventually landed on her plate.

New product launch that slipped three times?
Lina will fix it.

Cross-functional project with fifteen stakeholders and no owner?
Lina will take it.

Leader going on parental leave, team in chaos?
Lina can step in.

Her reputation was simple:
"She can handle anything."

Then promotion season came.

Her VP said the words that cut the deepest:
"You're incredible. I don't know what we'd do without you. Let's revisit promotion next cycle."

She was everywhere, doing everything...
and still not seen as "ready for more."

When we unpacked it, the pattern was obvious:

She was solving everyone’s problems, not driving her own charter
Her impact stories were about rescue missions, not business outcomes
Leaders were afraid to move her because she was too useful where she was

Sound familiar?

If the story people tell about you is "we would fall apart without them,"
it feels like praise.

But it's actually a trap.

Here's the reframing exercise I gave Lina.
Do it yourself this week:

Write down three major projects you led in the last 12 - 18 months.

For each one, answer:

1. If I vanished tomorrow, what measurable result would disappear with me?
2. How did this project change the business in ways leaders actually care about?

Now rewrite your story of the project using only those answers.
Not the chaos you survived.
Not the hours.
Not the crisis management.

Your goal is to shift from:
"I held everything together"
to
"I moved this metric and this outcome."

That is the language of VP decisions.

If you want to learn how to take the work you're already doing and turn it into a real promotion case, I cover it in my free masterclass: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

Over-explaining is what high performers do when they’re trying to be “thorough.”
But at senior levels it reads like uncertainty.

And if they’re not sure you know your stuff... they won’t trust you with more responsibility.

Your new standard is a three-line update:

1. Recommendation
2. Why it matters (business impact)
3. What you need (decision/approval)

Follow this template to show your thinking, not just effort.
Plus, it will keep you on point and focused.

Want to stop being seen as the ‘doer’? Start by watching my free masterclass: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

Over explaining is killing your authority

VP work isn’t about adding more to your plate.
It’s about removing what should stop being there.

Especially work that doesn’t require your judgment, your leverage, or your seat at the table.

Early in my career, I said yes to everything.
Helpful. Reliable. Always available.

It made me indispensable.
It did not make me promotable.

The shift happened when I started thinking about time the same way executives think about budget.

Not something to spend generously.

Something to allocate intentionally.

When your time is structured well:
• Focus sharpens
• Execution improves
• Decisions get cleaner

Not because you’re doing less.
But because your effort is finally going where it actually matters.

Stop donating senior-level time to junior-level work.

That’s executive time-wealth.
And it’s one of the fastest ways to move from “reliable” to “ready.”

Your move:
Ask yourself one honest question:

“If I had VP scope tomorrow, what would I immediately stop doing?”

That answer is your starting point.

Career advice that works for keeping your job doesn’t work for leveling up.
Most corporate advice is designed to make you low-risk.

Be reliable.
Be agreeable.
Don’t rock the boat.
Deliver what’s asked.

That advice is great if your goal is job security.
It’s terrible if your goal is the next level.

Because promotions don’t go to the least risky person.
They go to the person leadership trusts with bigger judgment.

Here’s the shift most high performers miss:

→ Doing what’s assigned keeps you employed
→ Shaping what should be done gets you promoted

At the senior levels, effort isn’t the signal.

Decision-making is.
Point of view is.
The ability to prioritize when everything looks important.

If your strategy is “keep my head down and do great work,”
you’re optimizing for safety, not advancement.

And safety rarely gets promoted.

Real question to ask yourself:

What would I do differently if my goal wasn’t to keep my job...
but to be seen as the obvious choice for more scope?

That’s where careers actually move.

♻️ Repost to help more high achiever level up faster

Career advice that keeps you employed vs Career advice that gets you promoted

“My wife says I’m a different man.”
That’s what one of my clients told me last week.

Not because he got a shoutout from the CEO.
Not because the executive team finally sees him as executive material.
Not even because, after three years of waiting, the promotion is finally on the books.

Those things matter.

But that’s not the real transformation.

The real shift was this:

He stopped showing up like someone hoping for a chance.
He started showing up like someone who creates his own.

More confident.
More positive.
More strategic.
More grounded.

A different man.

And here’s what I want people to understand:

My program doesn’t give you a short-term confidence bump.

It doesn’t hype you up for 13 weeks and then drop you back where you started.

It rewires how you think.

How you lead.
How you see yourself.

Because career growth isn’t about learning tactics.

It’s about becoming the person who naturally gets the opportunities everyone else waits for.

This client walked in believing his next decade would look just like the last.

He walked out with executive recognition, a promotion in motion, and a completely different identity.

And that doesn’t fade.

That stays.

If you want external change, you need internal transformation.

That’s the work we do.

Want to take the first steps? Start here: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

VP promotions don’t just change your title.
They change your identity.

There are 3 identities you have to step into if you want to operate like a real senior leader:

1. The executive:
This is where most people think the bar is.

You make decisions.
You think long-term.
You manage risk.
You speak in business impact, not task updates.

But here’s the problem:
Being a strong executive is necessary.

It’s not sufficient.

2. The entrepreneur: 
This is the one high performers miss.
At VP level, no one hands you a clean roadmap.

You create opportunity.
You build business cases.
You spot gaps and turn them into initiatives.
You don’t wait for headcount. You justify it.

Executives run the machine.
Entrepreneurs redesign it.

3. The Leader:
This is not about nice or well liked. 
It’a bout leading others to succeed. 

That means setting the emotional tone.
Creating safety under pressure.
Making hard calls and absorbing heat.

Your team borrows your confidence.
If you shake, they shake.

Most Directors are still operating in one identity.
VPs move fluidly between all three.

If you are an excellent operator but you keep hearing “not yet” when you bring up a promotion...

Ask yourself:
“Which identity am I still avoiding?”

That’s usually the one standing between you and the title.

Comment below which one is your missing piece: Executive, Entrepreneur or Leader?

No alternative text description for this image

For years, I avoided self-promotion.
Because the only version I’d seen was:
Loud, ego-driven, and inauthentic.

And I didn’t want to be that person.

So I did the opposite.

I kept my head down.
Let my work speak for itself.
Assumed results would be enough.

They weren’t.

Avoiding self-advocacy didn’t make me humble.
It made me invisible.

And I learned very quickly that invisible people don’t get promoted.

The turning point was realizing there was another way.
I didn’t need to brag or sound cringe worthy.
I could frame my impact in a way leaders actually understand it.

Once I figured it out - it was like magic.
I turned everyday moments into mini self promotion opportunities.

- Meetings
- Emails
- Slack
- 1:1

And by dropping small self advocacy hints all the time...
My trajectory changed without me becoming someone else.

If self-promotion makes you uncomfortable,
the problem isn’t that you’re bad at it.

It’s that no one taught you a better way.

Let’s change that: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

Avoiding self

No one tells you how your life actually changes when you become a VP.

Everyone talks about the title.
The salary.
The scope.

The biggest shifts are the ones no one sees on LinkedIn.

One client, Shawna, told me she had never been more confident in herself.
Not in a loud way. In a grounded way.

She said it felt like she rediscovered who she really was.

That confidence didn’t just change how she showed up at work.
It opened doors everywhere in her life.
(Including with her daughter)

Another client, Vincent, said something that warmed my heart.
He told me his wife said he is “a completely different person”.

Not because his job changed overnight, but because he stopped doubting what he was capable of.

He learned how to trust himself under pressure.
How to stand behind his decisions.
How to stop shrinking in moments that mattered.

And then there’s the client who negotiated a six-figure increase to her total compensation and told me,
“I will never sell myself short again.”

That sentence matters more than the number.

These are the changes people don’t talk about.
They don’t show up in announcements or job updates.

But this is how real change happens.

Becoming an executive isn’t just about getting the role.
It’s about who you become in the process.

It’s about stepping into the most capable, grounded, confident version of yourself.

That version changes your career.
And it changes your life.

That’s the business I’m in.

I recorded a short masterclass on what actually changes when you step into senior leadership, beyond the role itself: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

Meet Ryan. Not his real name, but his story is very real.
He joined my program with one clear plan: get promoted.

Six weeks later there were layoffs.

Suddenly the question wasn’t “How do I get promoted?”

It was “What the hell do I want next?”

And “How do I get it before my family spirals into panic?”

Here’s the part most people won’t admit out loud:

Ryan had spent years as a Director... quietly hoping the VP job would just find him.

He had a great reputation.
A strong network.
A track record that could go toe-to-toe with any VP.

But he never actually declared what he wanted.

Not to himself.
Not to other people.
Not even in his networking conversations.

So guess what his network sent him?

Director roles.
Mid-level roles.
“Safe” roles.

Nothing he actually wanted.

Months passed. His family got anxious. He got anxious.

He started interviewing for Director positions just to make the stress stop.

And then something interesting happened.

Multiple interviewers told him

“You’re overqualified. You should be going for VP.”

That was the moment.

He had to admit to himself what everyone else already saw.

He was ready.

He was just scared.

So he made a decision.

Not “I hope something happens.”
Not “Maybe someone will pick me.”

But: I’m done compromising. I’m going after the job I actually want.

And then he backed it up with action.

- He put himself into real rooms
Community events. Industry meetups. Conferences.

- He built social proof
One thoughtful LinkedIn post a week. Nothing fancy. Just credibility in public.

- He doubled down on strategic networking
Not “catching up with old contacts.”

Actual conversations with leaders doing interesting work.

Peers. Founders. CEOs.

People who open doors that don’t exist yet.

But the biggest shift?

He stopped panicking about not having a job.
He stopped trying to force the next step.
He finally relaxed into the identity he’d been avoiding.

And then something happened that still makes me smile.

On his way to a short vacation, he got a call.
From someone he’d met six months earlier.

“Are you free to meet our CEO? We think you’re the person we need.”

There was no job posting.

No hiring plan.
No formal search.

One meeting later: VP offer.

At a company on the verge of doing groundbreaking work in his field.

When I asked him if the wait was worth it, he laughed.

“Hell yes. I’d do it again. I’d just take action faster next time.”

Here’s the truth his story teaches:
Even in a brutal job market, opportunity shows up fast when you show up first.

He didn’t manifest it.

He created it.
He positioned himself for VP.
He built visibility.
He expanded his network beyond comfort.
He took action when it felt terrifying.

And he landed his dream role.

If you’re a Director sitting on VP-level experience but waiting for permission

2026 is not the year to play small.

Stop hoping. Start positioning. Opportunities follow visibility.

Corporate translation:
Be more strategic = we don’t trust your judgment.

If your updates are mostly recaps, leadership can’t see strategy. They can only see effort.
And effort doesn’t make you an executive.

Don’t create another fancy presentation.
Steal this line for your next update:

“Given our goal is X, I recommend Y. The tradeoff is Z.”

That’s what being strategic looks like.

Want more advice on becoming VP ready? Check my free masterclass: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

Here’s a simple test I use with Directors who feel stuck.

Open last week’s calendar.
Tag every meeting or work block as:

D – driving a decision
O – owning an outcome
E – executing or supporting

Now look at the ratio.

Most high performers expect to see a mix.
They don’t.

Their week is overwhelmingly E.

That one data point explains more about promotion readiness than most performance reviews ever will.

Not because execution is bad.
But because what fills your calendar trains leaders how to use you.

If you’ve ever felt valued, trusted, and still overlooked...

Nothing is “wrong” with you.
You’re just optimizing for the wrong outcome.

(And that is easy to change!)

Most Directors don’t realize this until it starts costing them:
If you’re not in the room, you’re not part of the decision.

I hear this all the time from high performers in tech:
“By the time I find out what was decided, it’s already locked in.”

The clients who change this dynamic don’t get louder or busier.

They get pulled into the right decision-making conversations.
They stop being updated after the fact
and start being asked to join leadership meetings before choices are made.

That shift can happen fast.

I’ve seen Directors move into those rooms within weeks once their positioning and visibility changed.

Get the full strategy to become VP-ready and get pulled into those rooms in a free 25-minute on-demand masterclass: https://lnkd.in/gG8GnY4Y

The strategy that gets Directors pulled into VP conversations before they have the title 

The $55K decision most high achievers avoid
Not a risky startup.
Not quitting your job.

It’s asking for help before you get stuck.

I see this all the time with Directors.
They’re smart. Capable. Proven.

But they keep telling themselves:

“I just need a bit more time.”
“I should be able to figure this out on my own.”
“Let me wait until it’s obvious.”

So they wait.

And stay stuck at the same level for another year. Sometimes three.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
You will never feel ready to invest in yourself.

Because readiness isn’t a feeling.
It’s a decision.

The real question isn’t:
“Can I afford a coach?”

It’s:
“How much am I already losing by staying where I am?”

The average raise my clients get when they’re promoted is $55K.

That’s not magic.

It’s not confidence fluff.
It’s the result of getting out of your own blind spots.

Most Directors don’t need more skills.
They need help with the things you cannot see from inside your own career:

• How you’re actually perceived by senior leadership
• What’s missing in your promotion narrative
• Where you’re over-indexing on execution instead of scope
• Why your work isn’t translating into leverage

When investing in support actually makes sense:

→ You’re performing well but promotions keep passing you by
→ Feedback is vague: “be more strategic,” “bigger picture,” “more visible”
→ You’re carrying more responsibility without more authority
→ You’re doing everything “right” and still not moving up

Yes, asking for help might be hard.
But staying stuck is also a hard.

And that one compounds quietly every year.

If you’ve been saying:
“I’ll just figure it out eventually”

That moment already passed.

The most expensive move is waiting until frustration forces your hand.
Make the decision early.

(True story: I had 2 coaches as a VP. Not because I wasn’t good enough, but because I wanted to keep getting better)

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