My coaching clients do move up quickly and earn the roles they want.

However, it's actually more about progress towards self-improvement that makes every subsequent decision easier—both at home and at work.

The first step is recognising a few 'uncomfortable truths'.

These are the kind we'd prefer didn't apply to us, but that we have to engage with.

This is particularly prevalent if we are a minority in the field in which we work.

IThis hard realisation is what often draws people to my coaching practice.

They've either seen me speak or perhaps read one of my books like 'Beyond the Boys' Club' where I dig deeper into what it takes for women to succeed in male-dominated fields.

Your boss has their own career to manage. Your partner has their own priorities. Your mentors have dozens of other people they're supporting.

You are the only person who will lie awake at night thinking about your career progression.

You are the only person who experiences the daily frustrations of being overlooked.

You are the only person who knows what you're truly capable of achieving.

This isn't pessimistic—it's liberating.

Once you accept that you're the primary driver of your career progression, you stop waiting to be discovered.

You start creating your own opportunities.

This is not self-promotion without ethics or honesty.

It's simply spending more time communicating what you and your team are achieving, so you can all benefit.

It's based on getting credit for your skills.

This isn't just blagging about all that you could achieve, but focusing on the evidence of what you've already achieved.

For most of my clients, this is far more than they normally give themselves credit for.

Faking it until you make it couldn't be further from my mindset, which is all about rewarding competence.

You can see this perspective throughout my latest published book, "The Con Job: Getting Ahead for Competence in a World Obsessed with Confidence."

The good news is that's not the psychological place where any of my achievement-driven coaching clients live in any case.

They have the competence. They just need to communicate it effectively.

This last one is perhaps the most uncomfortable truth for many of my coaching clients to face.

But face it together we do, and they go on to the roles they want.

These truths feel uncomfortable because they challenge the narrative many of us were raised with: work hard, keep your head down, and good work will be rewarded.

That may have been true in earlier career stages.

But it's not true at senior levels in male-dominated fields.

In technical fields, women face a particular challenge.

Research shows that 78% of women in computer jobs experience gender discrimination.

Your male colleagues may advance through informal networks and visibility that you don't automatically access.

Accepting these uncomfortable truths isn't pessimistic—it's strategic.

When you understand how career progression actually works, you can navigate it effectively.