There’s a reason why when I run my group program, the first two sessions focus on mindset. This surprises many women who come to work with me, as they expect to jump right into skill-building or tactical steps to land a promotion.

But this is very intentional, because I’ve learned (the hard way) that no number of steps or skills will help you if you’re not “showing up as a VP”. And often the first step to changing how we show up is self-awareness into how we're showing up today.

You can't fix what you don't see.

When it comes to demonstrating to others that you're ready to be a VP, you need to assume the identity first. And frankly, this trips up a lot of women because they believe they will grow into the identity of a VP after they get promoted.

But that’s not how it works.

You don’t get promoted into a new identity. You get promoted because you’ve already assumed it. And when you assume it, you become the no-brainer choice once it’s time to hand out the official title.

In today’s newsletter, I want to explore this topic with you, because for many of you, it may just be the key thing holding you back from your full potential.

Let’s dive in…

The Two Ceilings

When someone feels stuck as a Director, they often assume they’re hitting an external ceiling: Bias. Politics. Budget. Timing.

And sometimes those are real. I’ve experienced them myself.

But more often, they’re sitting under an internal ceiling. Here’s the difference:

An External Ceiling means:

  • Org structure limits
  • Budget constraints
  • Headcount freezes
  • Manager politics

An Internal Ceiling is:

  • Still identifying as “operator”
  • Over-indexing on competence
  • Avoiding conflict
  • Needing validation before acting
  • Hesitating to own authority

Take a moment and ask yourself which of the ceilings you are really up against, or whether it’s a combination of both.

Spoiler alert: if you work to break through the internal ceiling, you often find a path through the external ceiling as well. That may mean a new role created, an external opportunity or a number of other options that suddenly present themselves to you. Trust me, it’s like magic.

What Identity Actually Means at This Level

You know that I hate vague advice, so let’s dive into what identity at the VP level looks like on a practical level. Here are some of the elements of embodying this identity:

  • You see yourself as accountable for organizational outcomes
  • You assume your voice carries weight
  • You don’t wait to be invited into strategic conversations
  • You think in trade-offs (we covered this in a recent newsletter!)
  • You’re comfortable being misunderstood occasionally
  • You prioritize direction over approval

Instead of spending your time worrying about:

  • Saying the wrong thing
  • Overstepping
  • Being seen as ‘too assertive’

You focus your energy on:

  • Missed opportunities
  • Poor resource allocation
  • Strategic drift

One way of thinking about it is that at the Director level, your concerns are primarily focused on yourself and how you’re being perceived. At the VP level, your priorities shift to the organization as a whole, and this is reflected in your focus.

Here Are Some Subtle Signals of Identity

So how can you identify this in yourself? Look at the following scenarios, and notice which one feels more true to you:

A) A Director thinks: “Do I have enough proof yet?”

B) A VP thinks: “Is the organization clear on my direction?”

A) A Director asks: “Am I ready?”

B) A VP asks: “Is the business ready for this decision?”

A) A Director waits to feel confident and asks for approval.

B) A VP acts, then calibrates as needed.

These micro-shifts all come down to your mindset. They have nothing to do with your credentials or even your title. And the sooner you can start thinking this way, the sooner you’ll be seen as a VP who just doesn’t have the title yet.

The Internal Ceiling

One of the biggest blocks I’ve noticed with women I know is that many high-achieving women are still subconsciously seeking permission at the Director level: Permission to take space. Permission to own outcomes. Permission to assert boundaries.

And many of you are even seeking permission to take on more authority! But what you don't realize is that executive roles require assumed authority. This isn’t something that’s requested, and only you can make this shift.

This is why skill development alone doesn’t get you that promotion.

You can learn stakeholder mapping. You can refine executive communication, and you can improve delegation.

But if you still internally identify as ‘proving yourself’ and keep asking permission, you will continue to unconsciously operate from that place.

That’s the mindset piece.

Here’s a great exercise you can do right now:

Ask yourself, if you were already a VP today, what would change about how you show up tomorrow?

What would you stop tolerating?

What would you stop over-explaining?

What would you decide faster?

What would you delegate immediately?

Write these down, and then tomorrow start to take steps in that direction, without asking permission first.

Because the VP title formalizes the identity, but the identity must come first.

Think of it as an identity upgrade that you need to work on along with the skill upgrades. And that’s exactly the work we do inside ​Own Your Seat at the Table​.

If you want to learn more about how you can experience this,​ ​book a call with me personally to learn more​​. It’s my mission in life to help more women get their seat at the table, and I’ve become pretty great at it.

Let’s add you to the list.

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy