How To Stop Waiting For Recognition At Work (And Start Claiming It)
The Recognition You're Waiting For May Not Come Quickly
If you've ever found yourself doing excellent work, asking for more, and still waiting — this is for you.
Knowing how to stop waiting for recognition at work is rarely about working harder.
It's rarely about asking louder.
And it's almost never just about the organisation finally waking up to what you offer.
A lot of the time, it's about something much closer to home.
Samantha's Story
Samantha came to coaching frustrated.
Not burnt out.
Not lost.
Just quietly furious at the gap between what she knew she could offer and what she was actually being asked to do.
She was sharp, capable, and increasingly aware that she'd been waiting.
Waiting to be noticed.
Waiting to be given the work she could see needed doing.
And also waiting, somewhere underneath it all, for permission to take herself seriously.
What Was Actually Happening
In our early sessions, something kept surfacing.
Every time she talked about what she wanted — more influence, more meaningful work, a career that felt like it was going somewhere — she'd pause.
Then qualify it.
Then find a reason why now wasn't quite the right time.
How the situation wasn't quite perfect.
So I asked her: "What's holding you back, exactly?"
She started to answer.
And then she stopped.
She was hearing herself out loud — all the excuses, all the qualifications, all the reasons why not.
Laid out in the open, they sounded different than they had inside her head.
The Moment Everything Shifted
She sighed: "Oh, man." And then again. "Oh, man!"
"It's no one else that's stopping me or holding me back."
Samantha continued: "It's all the false beliefs I've had for far too long."
What followed wasn't triumph.
It was something more complicated — excitement and grief arriving at the same time.
Excitement at what became possible the moment she stopped waiting.
Grief for the time she'd spent handing that power to other people and expecting them to do something with it!
"I want to cry and laugh at the same time," she told me, as she did both in that single sentence.
Where Samantha is Now
Six months on, Samantha is still in the same role, but with several bigger projects.
But more importantly, she stopped waiting for recognition at work and started actively creating opportunities — on her terms, in her own time.
She more comfortably knows her opinion matters.
She doesn't need anyone's approval to act on it.
Samantha's role hasn't changed.
She has.
Why Waiting Feels Safer Than Acting
Senior women often tell me they don't want to regarded as pushy.
Or get called arrogant.
Or be seen as difficult.
So they wait.
They do excellent work and hope it speaks for itself.
They ask once, politely, and don't push soon enough. when the answer is vague.
They remind themselves that waiting feels like patience. Zen!
After all, it feels professional, right?
But often it's something else — a deeply held belief that someone else's recognition is what makes their contribution real.
That shift — from waiting for external permission to trusting your own judgement — is one of the most common and most underestimated breakthroughs I see in coaching.
It doesn't always announce itself with an immediate promotion.
Sometimes it just sounds like "oh, man!" — and everything quietly changes after that.
What's your Shift?
With 20 years coaching senior women in STEM and three published books, I've seen this pattern more times than I can count.
Last month, a client said "I finally feel like I belong at this level" — she'd been VP for 8 months.
Want perspectives like this weekly?
Subscribe to my newsletter for insights on navigating senior leadership in STEM.
Alternatively, e-mail me at suzanne@doylemorris.com for a complimentary chemistry call.
Welcome to my Blog
I'm Dr Suzanne Doyle‑Morris and I support professional women working in STEM.
Whether you’re seeking your next promotion, aiming for leadership, or simply looking to make your mark, this blog is created for you.
It's written for the ambitious woman in STEM ready to advance and succeed on her own terms.
Blog Categories
FREE GUIDE
The Women in Tech Promotion Playbook
Your roadmap to advancement with balance.
The Women in Tech Promotion Playbook is a practical, evidence-based guide.
It's designed solely for ambitious women in STEM who want to advance their careers without burning out.
Drawing on over 25 years of coaching, research and consultancy, I outline five strategic steps that help women move from being overworked and under-recognised to confident, visible leaders.
Latest on the blog
The Women in Tech Promotion Playbook
Your roadmap to advancement with balance
The Women in Tech Promotion Playbook is a practical, evidence-based guide designed for ambitious women in STEM who want to advance their careers without burning out. Drawing on over 25 years of coaching and research, I outline five strategic steps that help women move from being overworked and under recognised to confident, visible leaders.
