53: How Women Leaders Get Promoted From Director to VP episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 23, 2026 · 18 MIN

53: How Women Leaders Get Promoted From Director to VP

from SisterSmart Leadership

Do you keep doing brilliant work and getting warm reviews while the VP title goes to someone you outwork every single day? If you want to know how to get promoted from director to vice president, the answer is not working harder. It is becoming someone your senior leaders can already picture in that next chair.In this episode of the SisterSmart Leadership podcast, executive coach Jill Avey takes you inside one woman's year. The year she went from passed over to promoted. Hidden inside her story are the five things that actually separate directors from VPs. We call them the Big Five of Strategy®.You will learn why a promotion is a bet on your future rather than a prize for your past, what the feedback "be more strategic" actually means and how to let senior leaders watch you think so your best ideas stop staying locked inside your head.Jill also shares research from Yale, MIT and the University of Minnesota on 30,000 employees that reveals the real reason so many high performing women keep getting passed over for promotion.In this episode you will learn:Why being the most capable person on the team can keep you stuck at the director levelThe Big Five of Strategy® senior leaders look for when they fill a VP seat: grasp the present, shape the future, move the system, deliver the results and adapt to changeHow narrating your reasoning out loud changes how leaders rate your potentialWhy one gap in the five is enough to cost you a promotion cycle even when the other four are strongThree shifts you can make this week to become imaginable in the next chairChapters:📚 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEStudy: Potential and the Gender Promotion Gap (researchers at Yale, MIT and the University of Minnesota) : https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4747175Free Big Five of Strategy self-assessment PDF: score yourself across the five and see in black and white which gap to close first : https://sistersmart.kit.com/fae7bb76e5 STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP LAB FOR WOMEN: the six week program where you’ll get the Big 5 of Strategy® Assessment and we build all five of these competencies with a small group of women leaders.Next cohort starts September 11. Register by August 15 to grab the early bird special. https://sistersmart.com/slaWhether you are searching for how to be seen as VP material, how to get promoted to vice president, women in leadership advice, strategic thinking for leaders, executive presence, leadership potential versus performance, how to delegate as a leader or how to stop being the dependable doer and start leading at a higher level, this episode gives you a clear path from director to VP.—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST.A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration —🌟 FREE MASTERCLASS: Achieve Your VP Promotion: 3 Steps to Success in the Next Yearhttps://sistersmart.com/register-sil—✈️ FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast—👩‍💻 APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VPJoin Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP—💻 EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity.Sign Up for a Leadership Course—👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

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