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When I started my career twenty years ago, I thought leadership was about being the expert.
So I worked harder than anyone to know more than anyone. I made it my job to always have the right answer. I built my reputation on it.
I moved up… at first. But then, I felt the momentum stop.
No matter how much expertise I built, the bigger opportunities kept going to other people. I couldn’t figure out why. I was the most prepared person in the room.
I knew what I was talking about. Wasn’t that what leadership was?
The answer came years later… where I stumbled on it, accidentally.
Different sponsors, different moments, but I kept hearing a version of the same thing: “I took a chance on you because of your tenacity. You genuinely care, and you don’t give up.”
Not “because you had the right answer.”
Not “because you knew more than the others.”
Because of how I tackled big challenges that mattered to me, without anyone asking me to do it.
The surface level advice you hear:
Build credibility. Upskill. Network. Be visible.
“Remember, being valued and being rewarded are two different things.”
Here’s the deeper understanding:
Stakeholders trust expertise. Expertise gets you respect.
But they sponsor and advocate for people.
Your conviction, your energy for the work, the part of you that actually cares about the outcome, is what makes them decide you should also have a louder voice, a bigger role, the next opportunity.
A few questions to consider:
- What part of how I show up am I hiding because it doesn’t fit the “expert” frame?
- Where am I leading with knowledge when I could be leading with conviction or excitement?
The expert in the room gets trusted with the work.
The leader in the room gets sponsored for what comes next.
“Remember, being valued and being rewarded are two different things.”
Carla Harris
Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley
