Female Execs, You Might Be Doing Too Much

I was saddened to hear a client tell me that her colleague (I’ll call her Maria) lost a promotion in their private equity firm because Maria’s supervisors thought her work was subpar. According to Maria, that assessment was probably right. She didn’t know how to say “No” when asked to take on more and more work and so she ended up overloaded and not able to give her best effort to anything.

She wasn’t any less capable than anyone else—in fact she was smarter than most—but she had trouble setting boundaries.

Sound familiar?

If it is your instinct to be agreeable and you are concerned that saying "no" will be perceived negatively, you could actually be setting yourself up for failure in a fast-paced, male-dominated environment.

As you take on more and more work, others may be using their time to focus on their highest-visibility projects, or getting facetime with the CEO, or conducting other career-boosting activities--all of which you should be doing.

What to do?

The next time a colleague asks for help when you are truly overloaded, practice saying this: “No.” Or even, “I wish I could, but no.” And use that sliver of time you would have found for them to remind your boss how great you are, or share your new idea with a senior executive, or in some other way boost your visibility and credibility in the organization.

Remember, the more senior you get in your organization, the more able you will be to make decisions that are helpful to other people. And you won't get there just by doing a lot of work; you'll get there by being strategic. Use your time and effort now to elevate yourself so that you can make a real difference in the future.

Need help with your career journey? Learn about Breakthrough Coaching here.