Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. And yet, I watch brilliant executive women repeat the same career strategies year after year, wondering why nothing changes.
They send hundreds of CVs into what I call the “dark void of nothingness.” They work themselves to exhaustion hoping leadership notices and promotes them. They wait patiently for recognition that never comes. Then they wonder why they’re still stuck in the same place decades later.
I hear it constantly from women who finally come to me for executive career coaching for women: “I wish I’d known you ten years ago.”
Listen carefully, my darling: if you keep doing things the way you’ve always done them, you are not going to get new results. Old ways don’t open new doors. And as a women’s negotiation and career coach who has helped hundreds of senior professional women transform their careers, I can tell you that the approach matters far more than the effort.
Let me show you what I mean.
Old Way: Traditional Recruitment
Send CV after CV. Fill out endless online applications. Hope the algorithms pick you up. Compete with hundreds of others. Wait for someone to recognise your magic through a two-page document.
Keep doing this, and you will never completely level up. You are competing for scraps while the real opportunities happen behind closed doors, and Bob down the corridor is already in the room.
New Way: Strategic Relationship Building
Identify companies and roles that genuinely interest you. Connect directly with decision-makers. Have authentic conversations about their challenges. Position yourself as the solution. Co-create roles that did not exist before. This is what strategic career negotiation actually looks like.
One of my clients spent nearly a year sending 400 applications with zero results. Three weeks into working with Women of Agency? She had three offers for exciting roles.
Old Way: Work Harder to Get Promoted
Put in longer hours. Take on more projects. Prove your dedication through exhaustion. Hope your boss notices and rewards you accordingly.
Keep doing this, and you will burn out long before you break through. Ask me how I know. Hard work alone does not guarantee recognition or advancement, especially for women in leadership who are consistently promoted on past performance while their male counterparts are promoted on potential.
New Way: Work Strategically and Communicate Value
Identify what actually matters for advancement in your organisation. Focus your energy on high-impact activities where you excel. Proactively communicate your results to the right stakeholders. Negotiate your worth rather than waiting to be offered it.
One of my clients was exhausting herself trying to do everything. Once she learned to work strategically and advocate for herself through our women’s career coaching program, she secured two promotions in 18 months.
Old Way: Apply for Existing Roles
Scroll job boards hoping something decent appears. Tailor your CV to match whatever is advertised. Compromise on what you really want because “that’s what’s available.” Accept roles that are “close enough.”
Keep doing this, and you will always be settling for what someone else decided to offer rather than getting what you actually want.
New Way: Role Co-Creation
Design your ideal role based on what lights you up and what you are brilliant at. Identify organisations that need what you offer. Build relationships with key stakeholders. Demonstrate how you solve problems they are struggling with. Negotiate a role designed around your strengths.
This is role co-creation, and it is one of the most powerful negotiation strategies for women at the mid-to-senior level.
One of my clients was planning to spend EUR100K on an MBA to pivot from IT to leadership. Instead, she worked with WOA and secured a two-level promotion into banking. No expensive degree required.
The Pattern Is Clear
Old ways keep you reactive, waiting, hoping someone else recognises your value. New ways make you proactive, strategic, and in control of your own trajectory. Old ways have you competing in broken systems designed to keep you small. New ways have you bypassing those systems entirely and creating your own path.
The WOA career advancement coaching program is a radical departure from traditional career advice. And it works. Consistently. For hundreds of professional women who were stuck doing things the old way.
But here is what breaks my heart: the women who tell me, “I wish I’d known you twenty years ago.” Because they are right. They spent decades using strategies that were never going to work, wondering what was wrong with them.
Nothing was wrong with them. What was wrong was their approach.
So I am asking you directly: how much longer are you going to keep doing the same things and expecting different results? How many more years will you waste on strategies that have not worked yet and will not suddenly start working now?
Ready to stop repeating the same patterns and start negotiating your worth? Book a call today with my team to learn how Women of Agency can help you take the next steps.
Your future self is counting on you to make a different choice today.
