Why You’re Still Feeling Stuck (Even Though You’re Overperforming)

You’re the one fixing the messes, hitting the deadlines, keeping the team afloat…

So why does it still feel like you’re standing still?

Why are you still invisible when you’re clearly the strongest performer in the room?

Why are other people — sometimes less experienced, sometimes less capable — getting promoted while you keep getting “more responsibility” but not the recognition or role that should come with it?

If you’ve been wondering “Why am I not getting promoted? Why am I so stuck at work when I’m overperforming?” — this one’s for you.

Because here’s the truth:

You’re not stuck because you’re underperforming.

You’re stuck because you’re overperforming in a way the system doesn’t reward.

And this is one of the biggest, most frustrating traps I see for women in tech leadership — especially the ones who are ambitious, high-achieving, deeply capable, and quietly holding everything together.

Today, we’re digging into why high performers get overlooked, the neuroscience and organisational dynamics behind career stagnation, and the real solution to getting unstuck — without burning out, overworking, or turning yourself into someone you’re not.

Let’s get into it.

Why Overperforming Creates Career Stagnation

Let’s start with the part nobody tells you:

Overperforming is one of the fastest ways to get stuck in your career.

I know that sounds counterintuitive — especially for women in tech, where we’ve been conditioned to believe that if we just work harder, deliver more, prove ourselves again and again, someone will eventually notice.

But overperformance creates a specific career pattern I call the Workhorse Identity — and once you’re seen as the dependable doer, the fixer, the one who always “just gets it done,” it becomes incredibly hard to be seen as the strategist, the leader, or the person ready for the next level. You’re the essential cog in the machine. The one who everyone relies upon. But that’s it. 

Because here’s the thing about the high performer who isn’t getting promoted:

Your organisation has already labelled you — just not with the label you want.

To them, you are:

• reliable,
• competent,
• indispensable,
• the one who will keep everything afloat.

Which is wonderful…

until you realise that competence is not the same thing as leadership visibility.

And this is where the career stagnation trap begins.

When you’re the one who holds everything together, you actually reduce your organisation’s incentive to move you up.

Your value is tied to doing — not leading.

They depend on your output.

Your speed.

Your ability to handle chaos.

Your ability to rescue failing projects.

But none of those are the skills that get someone promoted into senior leadership roles.

The people who move up aren’t the ones who do the most.

They’re the ones who show the capacity to operate at the next level.

They’re the ones who demonstrate strategic clarity, influence, and executive-level thinking.

And often?

The overperformer is too busy firefighting and delivering to even have the time to show those things.

This is why so many brilliant women tell me:

“I’m doing everything right, and nothing is happening.”

Because from the outside, it looks like you’re thriving.

It looks like you’re perfectly matched to your current role.

It looks like you’re essential exactly where you are.

Which means nobody is thinking:

“She’s ready for the next level.”

They’re thinking:

“Let’s not break what’s working.”

You’ve hit a career plateau — not because you’re lacking skill, but because you’re too good at the wrong things.

And yes — gender bias is part of this

Women in tech leadership are often socially conditioned (and rewarded) for being helpful, supportive, dependable.

Meanwhile, men are often rewarded for being visionary, strategic, even if they deliver less.

Overperformance reinforces those gendered expectations.

It feeds the perception bias that women are the doers, not the drivers.

That’s why so many women become the Invisible Leader — excellent at the job, but unseen as executives-in-waiting.

And today, listening to this, is the day I want everything to shift for you. 

When you finally understand:

Your output is not the thing that gets you promoted.

Your visibility, strategic framing, influence, and perceived potential are the things that get you promoted.

This is where you become problem-aware.

You’re not stuck because you’re not good enough.

You’re stuck because you’ve outgrown your current strategy.

Let’s talk about the real reasons you feel stuck — beyond “work harder,” beyond “be more strategic,” beyond the vague performance feedback that’s gotten you nowhere.

Because if you’ve ever wondered:

• “Why am I not getting promoted?”
• “Why do I keep getting great feedback but no career progression?”
• “Why am I doing more than everyone else but still standing still?”

this is the part nobody explained to you.
There are four hidden barriers that keep women in tech — especially high performers — locked in career stagnation. Let’s break them down.

Barrier 1: The Perception Gap

This is the biggest and least understood reason for career plateaus.

You know you’re capable of leading at the next level.

Your peers know it.

Your team knows it.

But the people who make promotion decisions?

They’re not seeing it.

And here’s why:

They see your output, but they can’t see your potential.

Overperforming reinforces the perception that:

• you’re great where you are,
• you’re reliable in your current lane,
• and you shouldn’t be moved because your output would be “lost.”

This perception gap quietly locks high achievers in place.

It’s not about whether you can lead.

It’s about whether they see you as someone who leads.

Executive presence, visibility, and strategic communication are the tools that close that gap.

Barrier 2: Visibility Misalignment

Most high-performing women fall into the same trap:

They’re visible…

but only to the wrong people.

You’re visible to your peers.

You’re visible to your team.

You’re visible as the “person who holds everything together.”

But you’re not visible to the decision-makers who evaluate leadership potential.

Promotion isn’t just about impact.

It’s about who sees your impact.

If senior leaders haven’t seen:

• your decision-making,
• your strategic thinking,
• your ability to handle ambiguity,

 they literally can’t put your name forward — even if they adore your work.

This is why people with less experience glide past you:

Their visibility is aligned with power.

Yours is aligned with delivery.

That misalignment has to shift before your career will.

Barrier 3: Strategic Framing (a.k.a. The “Not Strategic Enough” Lie)

If you’ve ever received the feedback — explicit or implied — that you’re “not strategic enough,” please hear this:

It almost never means you’re not strategic.

It means you’re not framing your work in a way that signals strategic leadership.

Most high performers communicate through:

• details,
• execution,
• tasks,
• processes,
• fixing the mess.

That makes you look capable, but not senior.

Senior leaders speak in:

• outcomes,
• priorities
• trade-offs,
• risk and reward,
• alignment,
• business impact.

None of this is about intelligence.

It’s about language — the language of executive decision-making.

This is where so many brilliant women accidentally get labeled as “operators” instead of “leaders.”

And that label alone can stall your career for years.

Barrier 4: The Political Capital Blind Spot

You can be phenomenal at your job…

and still stagnate

if you don’t have advocates.

Promotions are never just about performance.

They’re about perception + relationships + trust.

Men often get political capital through:

• informal networks,
• social ties,
• visibility in power rooms,
• reciprocal favour systems.

Women, especially women in tech, tend to get told:

“Just keep doing great work, and it will pay off.”

It won’t.

Not at mid–senior leadership.

Not at VP-level.

Not in tech.

You need people in the room where decisions are made who say your name when you’re not there.

And if your advocates don’t know your aspirations, your impact, or your readiness?

Your career stalls — no matter how exceptional you are.

Once you understand these four barriers, everything clicks.

You finally see why:

• showing up early,
• fixing problems,
• being dependable,
• delivering more than everyone else

… hasn’t moved you forward.

You’re not stuck because you’re “not ready.”

You’re stuck because the system is rewarding the wrong behaviours…

and nobody has taught you the strategy that actually gets high-performing women promoted. So today, we’re changing that. 

Why Hard Work Isn’t Enough (and Never Was)

If hard work were enough to get promoted,

you would be two levels higher already.

You wouldn’t be listening to this episode.

You’d be sitting in your new role or stepping into a bigger remit, not wondering why your career has stalled despite the exceptional performance you bring every single day.

And here is the uncomfortable truth:

Hard work creates competence — not career advancement.

Hard work builds reputation — but not leadership visibility.

Hard work sustains the business — but it doesn’t signal readiness for the next level.

They keep relying on a strategy that worked beautifully early in their career…

and becomes completely ineffective as they get more senior.

Let’s talk about the blockers this is introducing and therefore how we step away from this mode. 

1. Hard work builds the wrong identity

As we’ve already discussed when you overperform, the system starts seeing you as the:

• rescuer,
• fixer,
• doer,
• reliable operator,
• the one who “won’t drop the ball.”

This reinforces the Workhorse Identity, not the Strategic Leader Identity.

Promotions are based on future potential.

Overperformance signals present usefulness.

It keeps you essential at your current level —

and invisible at the next one.

2. Hard work reduces your strategic energy

Hard work fills your calendar.

Hard work keeps you busy.

Hard work creates constant context shifting.

But leadership requires:

• thinking time,
• spaciousness,
• reflection,
• prioritisation,
• the ability to zoom out.

You cannot be strategic if you are always firefighting.

You cannot influence if you are exhausted.

You cannot lead if your headspace is consumed by delivery.

A full calendar kills career advancement.

Not because you aren’t capable —

but because you have no capacity to show the senior-level behaviours you actually possess.

3. Hard work hides your ambition

This is a sneaky one.

High-performing women often think their excellence speaks for itself.

But in leadership, ambition must be visible — not implied.

If senior leaders think you’re happy…

If they think you’re “just grateful to be here”…

If they think you’ll keep working like this indefinitely…

They will not prioritise moving you up.

And they will absolutely prioritise someone who raises their hand, asks for the role, positions their readiness, and makes their aspirations known.

Hard work makes you admired.

Strategic ambition makes you promotable.

4. Hard work blocks sponsorship and advocacy

Advocates don’t promote people because they work hard.

They promote people because they trust them with larger scope, bigger risks, and more visibility.

Advocacy is based on:

• confidence,
• trust,
• clarity,
• perceived leadership,
• influence,
• strategic alignment.

When you’re too busy delivering, you’re not nurturing relationships, building political capital, or demonstrating your executive presence.

You’re simply… producing.

That’s not what people sponsor.

They sponsor leaders.

5. Hard work feels virtuous — but it reinforces bias

This is where gender matters.

Women are socially rewarded for:

• helpfulness,
• responsibility,
• care-taking,
• stepping in,
• stepping up,
• picking up the slack.

So when you overperform, it’s seen as “on brand.”

It fits the stereotype.

It maintains the system.

It comforts senior leaders because they know:

“If we give it to her, she’ll handle it.”

Men often get promoted based on potential.

Women get promoted based on proof —

and overperformance keeps you endlessly proving instead of ascending.

Hard work becomes the anchor, not the accelerator.

Here’s the hard truth you need to here: Hard work was the strategy that got you here.

But it is not the strategy that will get you to the next level.

You are not stagnant because you’re not good enough.

You’re stagnant because you’re using the wrong success formula at this stage of your career.

Let me say that again:

👉 There is nothing wrong with you.

👉 Your excellence isn’t the issue.

👉 Your strategy simply hasn’t been updated to match your seniority.

What Actually Gets You Unstuck: The Real Levers of Advancement

Now that you know why hard work isn’t enough — and why overperformance actually blocks your career progress — let’s talk about what does move the needle.

Because there are clear, predictable, strategic levers that help women in tech get unstuck, get promoted, and step into the roles they’re fully capable of.

And the good news?

None of them require you to become louder, more aggressive, or a completely different person.

They require a different leadership strategy, not a different identity.

Let’s walk through the five levers that actually accelerate career growth — especially for women who’ve been stuck in the high-performing-but-overlooked rut.

Lever 1: Strategic Framing (Think Like an Exec)

This is the MOST important shift, whatever level you’re at. It’s never too early to think like an executive (and it’s never to late to start trying even if you’ve got a long way without it). This is the single biggest shift you can make that will accelerate your reputation within weeks. 

At senior levels, no one promotes you based on how much you do —

they promote you based on how you think.

Strategic framing is the ability to position your work through:

• Outcomes
• priorities
• trade-offs
• impact on the business
• customer value
• alignment with leadership goals

Most women are already strategic —

they just aren’t communicating strategically.

When you shift from describing tasks to articulating outcomes,

you instantly start signalling executive-level thinking.

This lever alone has moved so many of my clients from stuck → promoted.

Lever 2: Leadership Visibility

Visibility is not about self-promotion in a braggy way.

It’s not about spotlight-chasing.

It’s not “look at me, look at me.”

Leadership visibility is about letting the right people

see the right version of your leadership.

This means:

• being visible to decision-makers, not just your peers
• sharing impact, not effort
• having your name attached to outcomes, not tasks
• letting your executive thinking be seen
• showing up in the rooms where strategy is shaped

Most women are VERY visible at the wrong level.

This lever flips the spotlight to the level that matters.

Lever 3: Executive Presence & Communication

Executive presence isn’t about being louder, dominating, or posturing.

It’s about how people experience you:

• clarity
• calm
• composure
• thoughtfulness
• confidence
• the ability to hold space in the room

It’s tone.

It’s timing.

It’s brevity.

It’s how you frame your ideas.

It’s how you regulate your nervous system before you speak.

Women often get told they “lack gravitas” — but what they really need

is a communication toolkit that reflects their leadership style,

not someone else’s.

This lever is a game changer.

Lever 4: Stakeholder Influence

At senior levels, your ability to influence across the organisation

becomes more important than your ability to deliver.

Influence looks like:

• getting buy-in
• aligning stakeholders
• shaping decisions
• navigating conflicting priorities
• handling difficult personalities
• creating followership

High performers often stay in execution mode,

but leaders get promoted because they influence outcomes

across functions, not because they complete tasks.

This is where promotions really happen —

in the conversations that shape the work,

not the work itself.

Lever 5: Political Capital & Advocacy

This is the one we as women resist the most —

But it’s also the one we need the most.

Here’s the truth:

If nobody in the room knows your aspirations, your achievements,

or your potential… you are not promotable.

Not because you’re not ready,

but because no one is advocating for you.

Political capital is simply:

• relationships
• Trust
• credibility
• connection
• shared wins
• visibility with power

It’s not manipulation.

It’s leadership currency.

And without it, even exceptional women

stay stuck in the same role for years.

The Power of Combining These Levers

These five levers — when used together — create a completely different leadership trajectory.

They move you from:

❌ doing → to → ✔️ leading

❌ invisible → to → ✔️ recognised

❌ overworked → to → ✔️ strategically positioned

❌ plateaued → to → ✔️ promotable

Signs You’ve Outgrown Your Current Leadership Strategy

If you’re listening to this episode and something’s tugging at you — that little voice saying “I think this might be me…” — let’s make it concrete.

Because most high-performing women don’t realise they’ve outgrown their leadership strategy until they’re deep in career stagnation, wondering why they feel so stuck, undervalued, or overlooked.

So let’s walk through the signs you’re overdue for a strategy upgrade — and that the old way you’ve succeeded is no longer the way forward.

 Sign 1: You’re praised constantly… but nothing changes

You hear things like:

• “You’re doing such great work.”
• “We don’t know what we’d do without you.”
• “You’re such a rock for the team.”

But somehow…

you’re always in the same role.

The same level.

The same pay band.

If the feedback is glowing but the trajectory is flat,

you’ve outgrown your current leadership strategy.

Praise is not progression.

Praise without action is a plateau.

Sign 2: You’re the go-to problem solver… but not the go-to leader

People rely on you for:

• quick fixes
• urgent escalations
• rescuing projects
• cleaning up messes

But no one comes to you for:

• strategic decisions
• vision-setting
• organisational alignment

It’s because your value is being seen through the lens of:

“She gets things done,”

not

“She shapes the future.”

That’s a visibility problem, not a capability one.

Sign 3: You’re exhausted — but you can’t point to meaningful progress

You’re delivering more than ever.

You’re working harder than ever.

You’re more responsible than ever.

And yet…

nothing in your career has moved.

This is the burnout-infused version of stagnation:

Your effort keeps increasing,

but your outcomes stay exactly the same.

When the return on effort is zero?

Your strategy is overdue for reinvention.

Sign 4: You’ve received the “be more strategic” feedback (but nobody can tell you how)

If you’ve ever heard:

• “You need to think more strategically.”
• “You need to show more leadership presence.”
• “You’re not quite ready yet.”
  — without any practical guidance…

What they’re really saying is:

“We don’t see the behaviours we associate with senior leaders.”

This isn’t a gap in your ability.

It’s a gap in your positioning.

You’ve outgrown the way you communicate your leadership.

Sign 5: Others get opportunities you’re more qualified for

You watch peers — sometimes less experienced, sometimes less capable — get tapped for opportunities while you remain the safe pair of hands.

This is usually the clearest sign that your potential is invisible.

Not because you’re lacking it —

but because the system hasn’t been taught to see it.

Sign 6: You feel like you’re constantly proving instead of growing

If you find yourself endlessly validating your worth —

solving the next fire, delivering the next project, raising the bar again and again —

you’re caught in the proving loop.

Leaders don’t get promoted for proving.

They get promoted for projecting leadership.

You’ve outgrown the “prove myself” strategy.

Sign 7: You’ve become indispensable at the wrong level

This one stings —

because it feels like a compliment.

“You’re so important to this team.”

“You’re the glue.”

“We rely on you so much.”

Being indispensable is lovely…

until you realise it anchors you in place.

If the company “can’t afford to lose you” where you are,

they won’t move you where you want to go.

This is the ultimate sign you’ve outgrown your role and your strategy.

If you recognised yourself in even one of these —

you’ve outgrown the strategy that got you here.

Not because you’re failing —

but because you’re succeeding at the wrong level.

The problem isn’t your skill.

It’s that your leadership strategy hasn’t evolved with your capability.

Before we wrap today, I want to give you a moment to self-reflect — because awareness without reflection just becomes more noise.

These questions are designed to help you get honest with yourself about where you are, why you’re stuck, and where your leadership strategy needs to evolve.

If you can, take a breath… slowly breath in and out, place your feet flat on the floor as you reflect on these questions. 

Prompt 1: Where am I relying on overperformance instead of leadership?

Think about your week:

Where did you jump in to save something?

Where did you take on extra work because you “couldn’t leave it”?

Where did you carry more than your share?

And ask yourself:

Is this the work of the next-level leader I’m becoming…

or the work of the role I’ve outgrown?

Prompt 2: Who actually sees my leadership? (Not my output — my leadership.)

Which senior stakeholders have seen your:

• decision-making?
• strategic thinking?
• influence?
• ability to lead under pressure?

And if the list is short…

that’s not a failure —

it’s a roadmap.

Prompt 3: Where am I still proving, instead of positioning?

Where in your work do you find yourself justifying, explaining, defending, or trying to “earn” credibility?

And what might shift if you replaced proving with:

• clarity,
• brevity,
• confidence,
• outcome-first communication?

This is the start of executive presence.

Prompt 4: What’s one conversation I could reframe using strategic language this week?

Think of a meeting, a proposal, a 1:1, a cross-team discussion.

Instead of leading with detail or execution,

commit to leading with:

• outcome,
• impact,
• alignment,
• trade-offs.

Just one conversation.

One small experiment.

You will feel the difference — and so will everyone else.

Prompt 5: What would become possible if I let go of the Workhorse Identity?

If you stopped being the fixer…

the rescuer…

the one who holds everything together…

What space would open up for you?

What opportunities?

What boundaries?

What growth?

What power?

This is where your next level begins —

not by doing more,

but by doing differently.

You’ve outgrown the strategy that got you here.

And that’s not a problem — it’s a sign of growth.

A sign you’re ready for more.

And if this has you realising that you’ve been stuck because you’ve been too good at the wrong things, next week we’re going to explore exactly how to shift that — and what support might look like if you’re ready to lead differently.

Your next level isn’t about effort.

It’s about evolution.

So as you walk away from today’s episode, I want you to hold onto one truth:

You are not stuck because you’re not good enough.

You’re stuck because you’ve outgrown your old strategy.

And outgrowing something isn’t a failure.

It’s an invitation.

An invitation to lead differently,

to be seen differently,

to step into a new version of your leadership —

one that isn’t powered by overperformance,

but by clarity, presence, influence, and alignment.

If you’re feeling that shift — that moment of:

“Okay, something needs to change… and I’m ready to look at this differently,”

then make sure you’re with me for next week’s episode.

Because we’re going deeper into the mindset that keeps you stuck — the internal loop that makes you overperform, overthink, and underestimate what you’re truly capable of. 

We’re going to talk about:

• where your self-doubt actually comes from (it’s not what you think),
• how your brain reinforces the stories that keep you invisible,
• and how to break the cycle so you can walk into 2026 with a completely different level of confidence and self-trust.
  
  

If today was about understanding your stagnation…

The coming episodes are all about transforming into the most successful version of you yet. 

And if you’re thinking,

“Yes, this is me — I can’t keep doing this alone,”

then you’re in exactly the right place.

Because the tools, the support, and the strategy you need?

That’s the work I do every day with women in tech who are ready to lead at a higher level — sustainably, strategically, and with confidence that doesn’t shake.

But for now…

Take a breath.

Let the insight from today settle.

And remember:

Your next level isn’t about effort.

It’s about evolution.

And you’re already on your way.

I’ll see you in the next episode.