Your boss says you're doing amazing and you are the go-to person to solve the worst, the most complicated, intricate problems.
And yet you're still not seen as the trusted strategic voice in the room.
This episode is your wake-up call.
Welcome back to Speak Up, the podcast for high performing introverts, including you, social introverts, where we reveal the charisma and communication secrets of A-listers so that you get the recognition and the opportunities you have earned.
I am your host, Laura Camacho, your magical executive presence coach, godmother and strategist, and by the end of today's episode, you will know why being the go-to problem solver might actually be holding you back.
What's really keeping you from being trusted with bigger, more strategic decisions and the invisible skill set you must build to break through the senior leadership ceiling?
And I'm sharing the science and linking five studies in the show notes.
So here's the truth.
Your competence problem-solving ability is not the problem.
It's how the key stakeholders perceive your competence.
So let me guess.
You consistently meet or exceed expectations.
You get positive reviews.
You're dependable, reliable, competent.
You are the go-to person for the most complicated problems.
That's your reputation.
But then when it comes time to pick someone to lead that next big initiative, it's not you.
And I know you prep for meetings and then maybe the moment comes to speak up and you hesitate, and then the conversation moves on before you figure out what to say and how to say it.
And you tell yourself next time, right?
And because you definitely don't want to be speaking just to hear the sound of your voice, right?
I know that about you.
And then you see others with less experience, less insights, stepping into strategic roles.
Why?
Because they sound confident and they speak with presence and you're left asking yourself what am I missing?
Our first research study from the Center for Creative Leadership shows that, while technical skills and problem-solving skills are essential, soft skills, so-called like communication, especially executive communication and influence are actually what open the doors to leadership roles, especially at the senior leadership level.
So if you are walking out of meetings feeling invisible and you may be replaying in your mind like oh, I should have said something, but the meeting moved on which it just happens a lot, right.
And then that causes your self-doubt to creep in and maybe you start doubting whether you're cut out for leadership, or maybe you're questioning whether you're strategic enough.
And so you start holding back more.
It just makes a vicious cycle happen.
And that's what I'm here to help you stop that vicious cycle and go the other way.
Studies also show this is from ResearchGate that ineffective communication significantly undermines leadership perception, even among highly competent individuals.
Is that fair?
It is not fair.
But that is the reality.
So that probably should be explaining some realities.
You see where you work, that the communication skills can trump your actual work skills.
So every year that you stay stuck in this pattern, your peers can be accelerating and moving ahead, taking those stretch assignments that give you the visibility getting mentored by say, senior vice presidents.
And then you're stuck in execution mode, like everybody gives you their problem to solve.
But you're not given the option to shape the big decisions.
And that's not because your value isn't recognized.
It's because they don't see it.
They just see you as I call it the workhorse, the pack mule, the person who gets stuff done.
Absolutely very important, critical to the mission of your company.
But that's a different thing skill set and different.
That's not who they're seeing envisioning to be a senior leader.
So this perception has a cost in terms of promotions, income, and influence.
Plus, it can be like a downer to be living in this kind of shadow.
Another study, LinkedIn data, shows that professionals with strong communication skills are promoted 11 faster than their peers.
And I would say that's understating it. from my experience.
All right, so let's go over some things that may be going in your head, that are not accurate and that are holding you back.
So if you just think, oh, I'm just not a confident speaker.
Well, I mean, nobody is until they learn how, right?
And some people, yes, it is true.
Some people are born or they have that innate skillset, you know, the gift of the gab, we call it.
I do not, my clients do not but you can definitely learn it.
Then there's the idea that your work should speak for itself.
And that's especially prevalent for those of you.
This may not apply to everybody, but I know that a lot of you are like the go-to person, like when things are messy and it's a crisis, like you're the one they call.
But that doesn't mean they see you as a senior leader.
And then I know this is maybe another subset of you that you're like I don't want to be political Laura.
I hate that.
And I do too.
But it's not about politics.
It's about relationships and leadership.
So we can reframe that.
And so you can see your way forward.
Trusted advisors are not always the smartest people in the room, but they are clear leaders.
Remember, clarity is kindness for those of you who want to be kind or worry.
Some of you worry about sounding arrogant or like you're, you know, stealing the spotlight or dominating the room.
No, clarity is kindness and clarity inspires confidence.
So a study from the University of Colorado organizations now value communication and influence as power skills critical for career progression.
And that is the preferred term.
There's power skills, not soft skills.
So it's just learning how to sound like someone worth listening to.
So this is what you want to think about framing your ideas so that they land with impact.
How do you do that?
You connect how your idea is going to help the company or the group or the mandate.
All right.
So that's one thing you connect to impact.
Another thing is to speak up without rambling.
People are very impatient. get to the point and build that reputation for clarity.
And there's all the tools that we talk about on this podcast.
They're there for you.
You don't need a personality transplant.
You need an executive communication upgrade.
And a lot of times we think that these senior executives are so smart and so capable that we don't need to lay it out for them.
But you actually do.
Research from the PMC Journal shows that leaders who demonstrate clarity, confidence and executive presence are consistently rated as higher performers.
And that to me is something crazy.
People who communicate better are more trusted.
And that's regardless of the content of what they're saying.
Now, of course, if you're saying like crazy stuff all the time, people aren't going to trust you.
But I don't know if you're old enough to to have seen some people say some things that you were like what?
And because they said it so well, people are like, yeah, that's really interesting.
So if you're tired of seeing capable but not promotable, it's time to change the game, guys.
You know, we're about to get into 2026.
I just want you to know I have a program that can help you.
It's executive coaching in the executive presence mastery system.
I work with high performers who know they need to improve their executive communication, but they're not sure how to do that.
I teach you how to speak with executive level impact so that senior leaders see you as a peer.
And that's what they need to do.
They need to see you as someone they can have a beer with and, you know, talk about business at their level.
Now, if you're data driven, I want you to know.
People with strong communication skills are promoted faster, more often and into strategic roles.
This is backed by research.
So if you want to talk about it with me, there's a link in the show notes or you can go to the website at wwwspeakupwithlauracom backslash, speak up and set up time.
The shop we're going to open up i think all the calls for 2025 are taken, So that first Monday in January, set up some time that week and we'll see if this executive presence mastery system is the logical next step for you.
In any case, have a great week.
And next week, you have my Christmas present for you coming, the 12 Days of Christmas mini series.
All right, have a fantastic day and I'll catch you on the next episode.
