Lately, I found myself in a room full of young professional women. Bright, talented, ambitious. And yet… the air felt tight. The tension was almost physical—like their shoulders were carrying something invisible but heavy. As I began to share my story, the ups and downs of my own career, I noticed something subtle: the room softened. Eyes lifted. Breaths deepened. Something shifted. Later, over coffee, they told me why. Just before our session, they had sat through a career talk where someone told them, “It doesn’t matter whether you get promoted this year or next. It’ll happen eventually.” Meant to be reassuring, perhaps. But what they heard was: “Your ambition…

The interview is going fine. Questions and answers are meandering like a lovely river – the job offering seems to be certain. This is when the applicant asks her bold last question: „What would you have liked to know when you were in my situation?“ I am smiling. „Always choose the person you are working for and not the topic.“ The applicant pauses. „I didn‘t expect that answer“, she admits. We are both sitting in silence for a moment enjoying our thoughts wandering around the idea in the room. Choosing a person. Not a topic. Selecting a teacher. Not a task. When you think of it, it really makes sense.…

Recap from lasts week article: Promotion means that there are people who put you in new roles you cannot get on your own. These people talk in rooms to which you don’t have access. These people cannot be forced to promote you – but they can be won over so that they want to promote you. How do you win people over? Think of the reasons you found for promoting somebody: Please remember that a career is done in a context, which means: other people need to be convinced that you fit the promotion standards – not you. All you can do – and have to do – is, being…