I sat with an operations manager last month, 8 years in the role, delivered flawlessly on every project, team trusts her completely.
But in the executive steering committee meeting? Silent.
I asked her why afterward. "I don't know how to talk about my work at that level," she said. "I'm afraid of sounding like I'm bragging."
Here's what I told her: Nobody in that room doubts your execution. The question isn't whether you do good work. The question is: what does your work ENABLE?
She reframed one project update using the prompt below. Changed everything.
Next steering meeting, the VP asked her to lead a task force. Same work. Different frame.
The insight: Competence gets you trusted by your team. Framing gets you noticed by leadership.
SMART ASSIST PROMPT
"I'm a [role] with [X years] of experience. I've been delivering consistently, but I realize I haven't always framed my work in terms of what it enables for the business. Help me reframe this project update to show business impact, not just execution: [paste your project update]"
THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE
Use that prompt once. On one update you're sending up the chain. Notice what changes in how people respond to it.
Tell me what happens.
Same mission. Every Monday.
Know someone whose work speaks louder than they do? Send this their way.