If you are busy digging the trench, you are blind to the horizon

In my years of coaching and consulting, I have sat across from countless brilliant, capable women grappling with a silent frustration. They have done everything they were told to do—earned the advanced degrees, mastered their operations, and worked with diligent precision. Yet, the anticipated recognition, promotion, and influence remain elusive. The problem is not their ambition or capability; it is that they are playing a game with a rulebook that is both outdated and, for them, fundamentally flawed.

Their confusion often stems from three strategic misalignments, which are not failures of character but of a system that remains opaque.

If you are blind to the horizon, you are disoriented

First, the Over-Investment in Credentials. We have long touted education as the great equalizer. For women, this often translates into a belief that the next degree, the next certification, is the key that will unlock the C-suite. This is a seductive trap. While credentials secure a seat at the table, they rarely secure a voice at the head of it. Leadership advancement is not a meritocracy of qualifications; it is an ecosystem of influence, strategic visibility, and perceived potential. The confused focus on “more homework” leads to expertise in doing the work, not in defining its direction—a critical distinction for ascending leaders.

Haven’t you noticed? Feminine Qualities are Missing from the Definition of Leader. 

Second, the Peril of “Positioning as Female.” Many organizations encourage women to lean into so-called “feminine” strengths—empathy, collaboration, nurture. This is a double-edged sword. While these qualities are invaluable, when a woman’s professional identity becomes solely defined by them, she risks being pigeonholed as the “team mom” or the “collaborative coordinator”—essential, but not perceived as strategic, decisive, or authoritative in a crunch. The confusion lies in being encouraged to lead differently, only to be evaluated against a traditional, and often masculine, standard of leadership power.

Don’t Be the “Hidden Asset” to the Success of Others

Third, and most damaging, is the Wrong Playbook: The Hard Work Covenant. This is the deeply ingrained belief that if you keep your head down, excel in your operational duties, and deliver flawless results, the rewards will follow. This is the playbook that has worked for them academically. But in business, this is the path to becoming a “hidden asset”—indispensable in your current role precisely because you are so efficient, making you too valuable to promote. Expecting recognition to naturally flow from operational excellence is a grave miscalculation. Visibility and advocacy are not distributed as rewards for hard work; they are claimed by those who understand that performance is only half the battle. The other half is perception.

The path forward requires a conscious shift in strategy:

• From Credentials to Connections: Shift energy from collecting degrees to building a powerful coalition of sponsors who will advocate for you when you are not in the room.
• From Feminine to Authoritative: Integrate empathy with executive presence. Ensure your contributions in meetings are about strategic vision, not just collaborative facilitation.
• From Operations to Outcomes: Stop reporting on the busyness of the process and start framing your work in terms of market impact, financial gain, and strategic advantage. Make your value unignorable.

The goal is not to change who you are, but to change the strategy you use. It is time to discard the flawed playbook and write a new one—one that understands that in the theater of leadership, performance alone is never enough. You must also command the stage.

About Author

Fay Niewiadomski

I awaken leaders to purposefully discern the best way forward, with such clarity, that they find within themselves the courage, wisdom, and compassion to do what they never dared to do before.

I’ve been privileged to work closely with C-level officers, presidents, ministers, global chairpersons, diplomats, board members, senior business and political leaders, and their teams to successfully navigate complex, high-stakes situations and make sound business and personal decisions resulting in profound and lasting change.

See author's posts