Episode Details

Are you trying to figure out how to get promoted to VP but feel like you are missing pieces of the puzzle? This episode is the career strategy for women in leadership that no one talks about openly.

April Little is an executive career coach and promotion strategist who helps senior women leaders build executive-level influence, positioning, and decision authority inside complex organizations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s degree in Human Resources. Prior to launching her coaching practice, April served as Vice President of Human Resources at a venture-backed startup. Immediately before that role, she led senior-level recruiting and talent strategy, advising executive teams on leadership selection, organizational design, and succession planning. She brings over 15 years of experience in human resources, recruiting, and leadership development.

In this conversation, Jill Avey and April Little cover the exact executive career strategy that gets women promoted faster. You will learn what executive presence for women really means, how to master strategic storytelling as a leader, how to communicate at every level of the organization, how to navigate the broken rung, and how to know when it is time to stop waiting and start looking for a new opportunity.

Whether you are a director aiming for VP or a senior manager ready to break through to the C-suite, this episode will give you a clear and actionable roadmap for your next career move.

0:00 --- Introduction: April Little's background and what makes her executive promotion expertise unique

2:32 --- How to assess your executive readiness using the 10 steps to building executive level influence

4:34 --- Executive presence for women: what the internal uniform concept really means and why consistency is everything

5:43 --- Storytelling and strategic communication: the leadership skills that drive influence at the executive level

10:16 --- How to tailor your communication style at every level of leadership from your direct manager to the C-suite

13:03 --- Breaking through the broken rung: shifting your mindset and using what you already have to rise into leadership

15:03 --- Sponsors, mentors, and peer networks: how to build the relationships that get your name in rooms you are not in

20:22 --- How to map your career path and determine what advancement is realistically and ambitiously possible in your organization

23:23 --- When to stop waiting and start looking: recognizing when your organization does not have a path forward for you

27:44 --- Education vs. executive coaching: what actually moves the needle when you want to get promoted to VP

In this episode you will learn:

• How to assess where you stand on the 10 steps to building executive level influence
• Why executive presence is really about consistent and predictable leadership behavior
• The 3 back pocket stories every leader should always have ready
• How to communicate differently with direct managers, skip levels, and C-suite executives
• Why the broken rung exists and the mindset shift you need to move past it
• The strategic difference between a sponsor, a mentor, and a peer network
• How to build sponsor relationships that get your name in rooms you are not in
• How to determine a realistic and ambitious career path inside your current organization
• The 18 to 24 month rule for knowing when it is time to leave
• Why doing your leadership development work before your job search gives you a competitive edge
• The honest truth about whether an MBA or executive coaching will actually get you promoted faster

Topics covered in this episode include women in leadership, how to get promoted to VP, executive presence for women, career advancement strategies, women in executive roles, how to get promoted as a woman, executi