You’re ready for your next promotion.

You’ve been doing the work. You’re showing up as a leader. And it’s clear you’re capable of more.

But there’s just one problem…

Your manager isn’t advocating for you.

They might say they support you.

They might even say they’re working on it.

But nothing’s moving. And when you try to push the conversation forward, you get answers like:

• “It’s not the right time.”
• “We’ll revisit this after the next big project.”
• “We just don’t have clarity right now.”

Sound familiar?

You’re not imagining it—and you’re not alone. Many of the women leaders I work with face this exact challenge.

Here’s the good news:

• You don’t have to stay stuck.
• You don’t have to leave your company.
• And you don’t have to hope and wait for someone to recognize your potential.

Here are 5 proven strategies I teach in my promotion pathway to help you take ownership of your advancement—even if your manager won’t step up.

1. Build Your Advocate Network

If your manager won’t push your promotion forward, they don’t have to be the only one in your corner.

Start building relationships with other senior leaders in your organization. Get curious about their work. Ask smart questions. Look for ways to be helpful. Over time, you’ll become visible as a valuable contributor—and they may advocate for your advancement.

One woman I know used this strategy and it took her all the way to the C-suite.

Now, let’s be real. This can feel awkward. Many women were raised to worry about keeping “the teacher” or “the boss” happy. We’re taught to please and not disappoint.

That can make it feel like going “around” your manager is a betrayal. But it’s not. It’s strategic.

And if you’re going to succeed as a senior leader, you have to get comfortable building cross-functional, cross-hierarchical allies in your organization. This is just step one.

2. Decode What Drives Your Manager

You may be showing up as a leader. But are you doing it in a way your manager can see?

Different managers recognize different things. Some care about data. Others care about loyalty. Some are conflict-averse and don’t want to advocate for anyone.

The women leaders I coach often come in with a limited Influence Toolkit. Once we expand that toolkit—everything changes.

Because when you can speak your manager’s language, you can position yourself in a way they actually hear. That’s what unlocks the next level.

3. Make a Clear and Direct Ask

This one sounds obvious. But it’s one of the most common mistakes I see.

Many women think they’ve asked for a promotion. But when I ask them what they actually said? It’s often something vague like:

• “I’d like to grow in my career.”
• “I’d like to be in senior leadership someday.”

Here’s the thing: If you don’t ask for the specific role you want, you’re unlikely to get it. And if you don’t make your ask directly, your manager won’t have the clarity or urgency to act.

This is especially important for women, who are socialized to be indirect. We’re often taught not to rock the boat or appear too ambitious.

But when you don’t make a clear ask, not only do you not get the promotion—you usually don’t find out why. Because maybe there is a gap between you and the role you want. Maybe you’ve been focusing on the wrong things to prove your value.

When you are really clear about what you want you can finally have an honest conversation about what may be missing.

4. Define the Promotion and Guide the Process

Another mistake? Hoping your manager will do the heavy lifting of paving the path to your promotion.

Even if you present a compelling case for advancement, if you don’t spell out the role you want—and how it aligns with the company’s goals—you’ll be putting all the work on them.

You might be surprised how often this happens. One of my clients put together a multi-page deck highlighting all of her accomplishments. But she never said what promotion she wanted. She left it to her leaders to figure out where she could go. It was a complex question and they didn’t want to do the mental work of figuring it out for her.

But it’s not just about defining the role you want. It’s also about defining what needs to happen to get it approved.

As women, we’re often more comfortable following clear steps in a formal structure. We do well in school, where there’s a syllabus and a rubric.

But at the leadership level? Success is based on unwritten rules.

You have to understand how decisions actually get made—and guide your manager to take the right actions.

That’s why I teach my clients how to uncover those rules, identify the decision-makers, and craft a promotion plan including telling their advocates exactly what to do or say to whom—that makes it easy for their advocates to champion them.

5. Boost Your Outside Reputation

Want to change how you’re seen inside your company? Get recognized outside your company.

I’ve helped clients trying to advance bring in new business, speak at conferences, or get approached for roles at other companies.

And guess what? When your current company sees your outside credibility, they often reconsider your value.

This is especially powerful for women, who are often socialized to wait for permission before promoting themselves externally.

But here’s what I hear from leaders I coach all the time: They wish people would take initiative.

So stop waiting. Go show your value. And then use that visibility to spark a re-evaluation inside your org.

Even just one of these strategies might be the difference between continuing to wait to be chosen—and getting the new role you’ve been wanting for years.

Want to know which of these will make the biggest difference for you?

Take my 5-minute quiz: What’s Holding You Back from the Next Level of Your Career?

You’ll get a personalized assessment that pinpoints your biggest growth edge—so you know exactly what to focus on to move forward.

Take the quiz here →