I’m passionate about empowering women and helping to close the gender gap in senior leadership. 

I spent 18 years in tech and biotech sales, holding positions as a VP and EVP, Sales. Along the way I introduced many brand new technologies to market, built a commercial organization from scratch, and scaled a hyper-growth team to achieve 9 digit revenue growth in 2 years.

Despite this success, I struggled for years with my transition from Manager to Director to VP, and even asked myself if I was cut out to be a senior executive.  

Finally, I ‘figured it out’ and had the confidence, knowledge and skills that I needed to be an impactful leader. 

My mission at Insights to Action is to help others get there by sharing what I’ve learned.

I want to use my passion to help more women transition to senior leadership and help leaders make that leap from unsure and unfocused to strategic, decisive and outcome driven - all without burning out. My goal is to help women thrive as executives, instead of merely surviving. 

I would love to work with you on your journey and look forward to connecting!

Read about what some of my clients are saying: https://www.insightstoactioncc.com/testimonials

Katy McFee

I help women become execs and thrive in leadership - Former Exec | Certified Coach | Forbes.com contributor

At Insights to Action I help female execs and aspiring female leaders become the leaders they want to be and thrive as executives all without burning out. 

I offer group coaching programs for women looking to break through to executive leadership and 1:1 immersive executive coaching for current execs who want to level up and show up as the amazing, effective leaders they know they can be, while still living a life they love.

My goals don’t include my kids,

I go on vacations without my kids,

I take girls trips that are just for me,

My partner and I have a date night every 2 weeks,

I prioritize my morning meditation and exercise daily,

And I’m still a great mom.

As women, we often feel this pull to be the perfect mom and dedicate every part of ourselves to our kiddos

And a pull in the opposite direction to be the best we can be at work and prove we're all in

It’s damn exhausting
It’s a losing game
And I quit

I adore my kids and love my family

But I am still my own person
I still need my own time
I need my own goals

And I don't apologize for it ✌️💜

PS. And to all the mommas out there, you’re doing great ❤️

Follow me Katy McFee for more posts on women in leadership

#1 in helping women become VPs and thrive in leadership | Former Exec | Certified Coach | Forbes.com contributor | Host of More Women Promoted Podcast

Friendly reminder that you don’t have to:
Go cold turkey on alcohol
Eat 400g of protein
Cold plunge daily
Wake up at 5am
Do ayahuasca
Quit your 9-5
Move to Bali

In fact...

You don't have to delay your morning caffeine 
You don't have to start every day with a savoury breakfast

The goal of life is not 100% optimization of everything!

It's also meant to be enjoyed...

And while social media will have you believing everyone on the planet is doing all of this
(And that drinking oat milk will kill you)

I promise you they aren't
(And it won't) 

Many successful people are doing none of these things

In fact, I became a successful VP and EVP
Without following any of this advice

Literally I did zero of these things.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge proponent of healthy living:

These days I rarely drink
(But I do occasionally when I'm celebrating) 

I try to get 8hr of sleep
(But I usually end up getting 7.5)

I exercise and meditate daily
(But I skip some days)

I think we can go TOO far trying to reach perfection

And we forget to occasionally sleep in, eat the croissant and just enjoy life

So in case you need it... here's your reminder:
You’re not failing if you live life like a regular person

And only you know what is right for you ✌️💜

♻️  Hit Repost if more people need to see this.

Follow me Katy McFee for more posts on women in leadership

Dating advice you can apply to your career:

For a little Friday fun - here's my top 4:

1. Early red flags rarely get better. They usually get worse.

Dating: Too many of us have dated somewhere where we saw the early signs, but ignored them. If there are early red flags, they're going to get a lot worse. 

Career: HR was dismissive in the interview and they took a week to get back with next steps...
Listen to your gut.  This may not be the dream job you were hoping for. 

2. Actions speak louder than words. 

Dating: He says he really likes you, but blows off plans and doesn't text you back...
He's just not that into you. 

Career: Your manager keeps telling you how much they value you, 
But you get passed over at every promotion cycle...

He's not going to promote you unless something changes. 

3. Just because they look great on paper, doesn't mean they're the one. 

Dating: We've all dated the guy who was SO perfect on paper!
Great job, nice to his mom, treats us well.  But you just don't feel it...

Career: This job is so perfect on paper!
Well-known company, great pay, lots of perks. But the culture sucks and people are toxic....

In both cases, move on.

4. Don't rely on someone else to make you happy. Work on yourself. 

Dating: You need to make yourself happy to be happy in a relationship. 
Do the work, the healthy relationship will follow.

Career: Don't rely on your boss to get you promoted. Work on yourself.
If your manager isn't helping to carve the path, take ownership and find mentorship outside of them. 

Do the work, and the promotion will follow. 

What did I miss? ✌️💜

6 more months, and things will slow down

I told my (now ex) husband that more times than I can count

And at the time, I really believed it!!

I just needed to lean in for 6 more months
And then we'd start to see the results we wanted...

And I could:
- Travel less
- Be more present
- Put my phone away
- Stop making work the priority

But you know what?
6 months never came,
And I missed a lot.

I remember leaving for a 10 day 'Euro-tour' 
To meet all of the KOLs in our space in Paris, London and Amsterdam

And truthfully, I was really excited about the opportunity

But leaving for the airport while my not-even-1-year-old was pulling himself up on the ottoman

Practically broke my heart

And I discovered the concept of everything being a trade-off 

This is your friendly reminder that when you put your real life on hold 
For 6 months,
Or a year
Or more

You miss out on real things

That doesn't mean you should work hard for what you want
But ask yourself what your non-negotiables are

And make those trade-offs with intention

Because - believe it or not - you can have both hustle and boundaries 
And save some regret along the way ✌️💜

3 rules for an exec with ADHD

Because the truth is, conventional advice may not work for you!
(A lot of it didn't work for me...)

Before I knew I had ADHD, I beat myself up because I assumed that my lack of executive function made me a failure or a bad leader. 

But once I figured out how to harness the good and mitigate the rest, everything changed. 

These are what helped me go from struggling to crushing it:

1. Stop trying to strengthen your weak areas

Seriously. Instead, spend as much time as possible in your zone of genius.

We have a brain of interest, so spending time doing things we hate is a recipe for low productivity or a crappy work product.

One of the best things I ever did was get serious about outsourcing, automating and delegating the things I hate. 

My impact increased significantly once I did that. 

2. Rely on systems, not your brain

I could come up with a great strategic insight, but always forgot that appointment.
This drove me bonkers. 

Hard truth: Yes, you may lack in executive functioning, 
But that doesn't mean you get to drop the ball. 

It means you need to create systems to ensure things get done. 

Find what works for you: a Trello board, your calendar, a VA... and use it diligently. 

3. Don't eat the frog first!

We've all heard the leadership advice to 'eat the frog first,' which means to tackle that big task that you don't want to do before anything else. 

This does NOT work for people with ADHD! 

We already lack dopamine, so we often need a fix before we're ready to eat the frog...

Instead, pick a dopamine-producing task to do first, 
Then move on to the big daunting thing you'd rather not do. 

For me, this would involve checking my sales dashboards and metrics, 
Then tackling the task I didn't want to do. 

I learned that you CAN be a successful executive with ADHD
But sometimes that means throwing conventional wisdom out the window

If you're getting leadership advice that doesn't work for your brain, forget it

Lean into what makes you great,
And outsource, delegate or automate the rest

You've got this ✌️💜

I've met tons of bright, ambitious and hard-working women
Who are crushing it, in terms of talent

But using language and mannerisms that undermine their skills and abilities.

And I'll be blunt - this is preventing them from landing the roles they want.

Here are 5 examples that you should watch out for:

1. Constantly apologizing
Why: Over-apologizing undermines your authority

2. Raising your voice at the end of a sentence (ie. uptalk)
Why: Makes you seem unsure and unconfident

3. Twirling your hair in meetings 
Why: Can convey a lack of seriousness and distracts your listener

4. Sharing ideas as questions
Why: Makes you seem less confident and unsure about the idea.

5. Using filler phrases and qualifiers
Why: Your ideas will be taken less seriously

When it comes to language, here are 3 to avoid starting today (seriously):

"This may be a dumb idea but...."
"Does that make sense?"
"I'm not the expert but..."

Remember: it's not only the quality of your ideas that's important...

The WAY you share them is equally important
Maybe even more important!

As women, many of us have been conditioned to use these communication styles so we are seen as less dominant. 
We don't want to be 'bossy'.

But once you hit the workplace, holding on to these habits can mean:
- You're less likely to be seen as a leader
- Your ideas won't get the credit they deserve
- People won't take you as seriously

I consciously began using more empowering language (and body language) and saw a real difference.

You can too ✌️💜

Has anyone else caught themselves doing any of these things and decided to break the habit?

♻️  Repost to share these tips!

PS. Check out the comments for my free guide on simple language reframes you can use to start communicating like a confident and collaborative leader!

My job didn't suddenly become toxic - I'd ignored the red flags 

The first ones were there even in the interview process

- It had felt like the day from hell
- 2 senior interviewers were rude and aggressive to me
- I felt judged by many of the people I interacted with - even over lunch!

But I told myself that it wasn't a big deal...

- I wouldn't be reporting to the managers who were so rude
- I'm sure that 'vibe' I felt didn't mean anything
- This was such a great opportunity

In the end, I was gone within 2 years.

6 months after I was hired, I started reporting to one of those managers
And the other one was his boss!

The vibe I felt was very real, and trust on the team was low
Constant gossip and backstabbing

My dream job had become a nightmare

But it taught me a valuable lesson:

To treat the interview process as an opportunity to learn the people and culture
And see if it's actually somewhere you want to work

I was so dead-set on landing the role, 
I wasn't even asking myself if this was the right company for me

So, this is your friendly reminder:

The interview process goes both ways
They are evaluating you, 
And you should put your best foot forward,

But you are also evaluating them
And if you don't like what you see during the interview process
It's probably not going to get better once you start

Pay attention to the red flags friends
They rarely turn green ✌️💜

♻️ Repost if more people need to hear this

As women, we get some terrible career advice!
Here are my top 3 for worst advice we give women:

#3. "Just advocate for yourself"

Ummm... years of conditioning and workplace bias would argue it's more complicated than that.

Better advice: Implement a process to create visibility into your work and career goals, in a way that feels good. 

(This is possible - I teach women to do this all the time)

#2.  "Don't be too assertive" (you'll be seen as a b!*ch)

This advice keeps women small, and makes it impossible to confidently share your ideas and opinions. Frankly, women who aren't assertive are also not promoted. 

Better advice: Pair confident, assertive language with empathy and curiosity. Assertive does not have to mean aggressive. 

#3. "Find a mentor"

This seems like good advice, but women actually have more mentors than men do! People LOVE to tell us what to do. We don't really need more of it. 

Better advice: Find a sponsor, or develop a mentor into a sponsor. The difference is that a sponsor will champion you, open doors and advocate for you in the rooms you're not in.  

What's the worst career advice you've ever received??  

✌️💜

I became a successful executive (with ADHD)

And it came down to a single change I made:

I started playing to my strengths
And delegated, minimized or outsourced the rest

This is a really important concept 
That many of us overachievers don't seem to get

We think we need to do it all
And do it all perfectly

We often spend years trying to improve weaknesses
With minimal results

But once we get honest about where we are great and where we aren't

We can focus there and see a huge difference in our impact!

This was one of the pivotal changes I made that helped me go from struggling as a Director to a successful VP

Here's your Friday reminder: 

Whether it's ADHD, the way you grew up or any other thing that you think means you can't be an exec,

It's only true if you let it be

I'm living proof ✌️💜

♻️ Hit repost to spread the word!

There will always be more "qualified" men for that VP or C-level role

It's true.

Because even when there are an equal number of men and women coming in at the entry-level:

- Men are promoted on potential, and women on experience
- Women lose opportunities when pregnant or just back from mat leave
- Men are more likely to have sponsors due to the affinity bias
- Men are encouraged to apply for positions even when they don't meet all of the criteria 

The 'promotion gap' starts at the very first promotion to manager, 
(This is referred to as the 'broken rung')

This means more men make it to mid-level manager positions, 
Which increases the pool of available men for senior-level positions

And so on...

And the gap is even larger for white men and women of colour
With 'white men' being the only group that is overrepresented in the C-suite

So here are some 'wild' ideas:

1. Stop relying on years of experience in a role as your hiring criteria!

Instead, focus on the skills and traits you need
Which are typically more effective for finding a great candidate

2. Focus on culture add vs. culture fit
Don't hire the same people over and over

3. Consider a first-time female VP 
Who may not have been in the position before but is crushing it as a director 

Guess what? She's probably ready to make that leap

4. Encourage the young women on your teams to apply for positions they want, even if they aren't 100% qualified

Until we get serious about making these changes, the gap will continue to exist...

And the gap will continue to widen as you go up in a company.

My goal is to help narrow this gap 
Even a little bit

Who's with me? ✌️💜

♻️ Hit repost to spread the word

There's a real cost to being the 'only'
 
The only woman on the leadership team
And the only exec (or leader) in your friend group
 
Not only is this lonely,
It also puts you at a huge disadvantage!
 
I remember feeling like I was on an island
 
Because I had no one in my life who really understood what I was going through
 
I was balancing being an exec and a single mom
While all of the men on the team had stay-at-home wives
 
My friends were teachers and stay-at-home moms
And they didn't really even understand my job!
 
I think this is a conversation that needs to be had
So in today's newsletter, I do a deep dive on the real cost of being the 'only'
And what you can do about it
 
Happy reading ✌️💜

The following is an excerpt from my FREE Weekly Insights Newsletter. Subscribe now, and you’ll immediately get the full article delivered to your inbo

Open article: The real cost of being the 'only' by Katy McFee • 3 min read

Women spend 200+ more hrs per year on non-promotable tasks, 

Compared to our male counterparts

These tasks include things like:

- Organizing the Christmas party
- Informally onboarding new hires
- Taking notes or ordering lunches
- Volunteering for extra committees
- Emotional support for colleagues and reports
- DEI or culture work WITHOUT authority or budget

Ladies, if this is you, 

And especially if you've been trying to land a Sr. Director or VP role

This is not serving you!
In fact, it's holding you back. 

Yes, everyone appreciates you
The team would fall apart without you

And you're also not getting tapped for that next role
Because this type of 'irreplaceable' is also unpromotable

This week's episode of More Women Promoted dives into this very topic
AND I give you some actionable and tactical next steps you can take today

Check it out anywhere you get your podcasts 
I'll link it in the comments

Time to go from helpful to promoted ladies! ✌️💜

It’s not your boss’ job to promote you
It’s your job to show them you’re ready

It’s not your partner’s job to make you happy
It’s your job to make yourself happy

It’s not your trainer’s job to get you in shape
It’s your job to do the work every day

Once you start to take real accountability for your life and career
The magic happens.

No one to blame. 
No excuses.

And no limit to what you can accomplish. ✌️💜

PS. If you're a woman looking to land a director or VP role and you're ready to do the work, join my free masterclass today (or tomorrow)

I'll help you figure out exactly what's blocking you today and how to get to that next level.

Sign up here: insightstoactioncc(dot)com/masterclass 

Follow me Katy McFee for daily posts for women in leadership

Ever been told you need to be more 'strategic'? 
 
I have! 
 
I knew it was standing between me and a VP role, 
 
And the hardest part was that I had no idea what I needed to do to come across as more strategic. 
 
Every time I asked my manager (our CEO) 
I got some kind of vague answer, 

And because of this it took me years of trial and error
To finally learn what it took to become an exec
 
Years later I was thinking about this and it hit me, 
 
He didn't tell me what I needed to do, because HE didn't know either! 

He knew I wasn't quite there yet
But he didn't know how to coach and mentor me to get there
 
The truth is, sometimes you need help outside of your manager. 
 
That's where I come in. 

Join my free masterclass today where I help you pinpoint what's holding you back and what to do about it.

This is exactly the type of clarity I wish someone had given me!

Grab your spot here: insightstoactioncc(dot)com/masterclass

Curious why wealth tends to be passed down through generations?
 
Yes, there are advantages, like going to a good school
But the biggest thing is the access
 
The people we spend time with and learn from have a huge impact on our success
 
The good news is, even if you didn't grow up with money
You can intentionally surround yourself with people who inspire and motivate you
 
I credit so much of my success to the people I've met and learned from
 
And this is true in my business today
 
In today's newsletter, I talk about the power of finding your people
- I share the 3 types of people and groups who have impacted my success most
- And how you can start finding them
 
Happy reading ✌️💜

The following is an excerpt from my FREE Weekly Insights Newsletter. Subscribe now and you’ll immediately get the full article delivered to your inbox

Open article: The power of finding your 'people' by Katy McFee • 3 min read

My LinkedIn engagement is WAY down, and yet...

I've just had the highest revenue month in my business to date
And the month isn't even over yet

My business is growing super fast
And I'm seeing real-world impact for my clients
DMs about VP promotions every week!

But if I were just looking at the performance of my content
It would look like things are just so-so

Why am I telling you this?

Because - just like you - I can get distracted by metrics that don't really matter
Instead of focusing on what's really moving the needle

If you want to be a social media influencer
Then yes, focus on all of those metrics that we call 'vanity metrics' 
Because they matter for things like brand sponsorships 

But if you're trying to build a business
Or become a thought leader while working in corporate

These metrics probably aren't worth stressing over

Focus on helping just one person
And you'll resonate with the right people

I know many examples of people with highly successful businesses
Who aren't crushing it when it comes to LinkedIn content

And I know many people with high engagement and big followings
Who are struggling to grow their businesses

My 2 cents?
Decide what truly matters and focus on that ✌️💜 

PS. It is snowy and freezing where I am, but I'm posting a photo of where I wish I was right now!

Hard truth: It may not be your fault you're struggling

But it IS your responsibility to fix it

And that sucks, but the sooner we learn it
The sooner we can take action to change things

No one teaches us how to navigate our careers
And no one teaches us how to become an executive

We're left to just figure it out on our own

So it's no wonder most people get stuck and aren't sure how to advance
They hit the dreaded career plateau and have no idea what to do

It hit one as a manager, and then again as a director

Here's what I see happen:
Early in your career, you work harder than everyone else
And you do the work you're assigned perfectly,
As a result, you get promoted

So you keep trying to outwork your colleagues,
Putting up your hand for extra projects
Executing on your goals flawlessly

But this time... nothing

You're waiting for that next promotion because you're doing ALL the things. 

You're working crazy hard. 
You're doing exactly what you've been told to do.

And the promotion isn't coming

Maybe your colleague gets promoted ahead of you, even though he started a year after
And works half as hard as you do

Or they decide to fill the role externally

The truth is, what got you here, won't get you there.

But here's another truth: 
YOU need to be the one to change

If what you've been doing isn't working
You're the one who needs to start doing things differently

The good news is: this is 100% learnable!

Find a mentor or sponsor who can give you some real guidance

And this is exactly what I do with the women I work with.

Curious to know more?
Send me a DM and let's chat. 

✌💜

I didn't stay in my director role out of loyalty!

The truth? It was out of fear. 
Fear that I just wasn't that good. 

I had stopped growing in my current role 
And I knew that I wanted to become a VP

But I didn't feel as though I had crushed it
Because we were consistently falling short of our goals

And I was continuously being told I wasn't ready for the next step

In my mind, if I couldn't get promoted at my current company
It meant that I was not VP material anywhere else either

This was just not true!

I discovered that the stage and culture of a company 
Have a huge impact on your success

This is exactly what happened with me
At company A I struggled to grow revenue to a few million ARR
At company B I grew the existing revenue by 8 figures! 

Some people crush it at early stage startups
Some shine at scaling stage companies (like me)
And some do best at large, multi-national companies

If you're feeling stuck where you are
Consider that it may not be a 'you' thing

You may just be in the wrong place

And as scary as it may feel
The best things you can do is to move on ✌️💜 

♻️ Give this a repost if more ppl need to hear it!

Too many 'nice' women are giving away their promotion
 
You're saying 'yes' to every little thing
You're doing it yourself because it's faster and you'll do a better job
You're making sure that you do your job 100% perfectly, to make your boss happy
 
And... when promotion time comes
You watch your colleague land the role that you know is right for you
 
In today's newsletter, I dive into 3 pitfalls -
Things that, as women, we do that we think are helping
But are actually hurting us and our promotability
 
Learn what they are,
Why they're hurting your career,
And what to do instead
 
Happy reading ✌️💜

Open article: The 3 pitfalls that keep talented women stuck by Katy McFee • 3 min read

The 3 pitfalls that keep talented women stuck

Being the hardest worker does not get you promoted

In fact, no amount of knowledge, skills, or work ethic matters 
If you aren't sharing your ideas in the right way
And creating visibility into what you do

Hard truth. 

Here are 3 things that will help you advance better than working harder:

- Delivering your opinions and ideas with confidence
- Creating visibility into your wins and accomplishments 
- Taking control of your career path and investing in yourself

Working hard with your head down and hoping someone will notice may feel like the 'nice' thing to do...

But it's not. Really.

The 'nice' thing to do for your company is to share your ideas. 

The 'nice' thing to do for your colleagues is to challenge them when needed.

The 'nice' thing to do for yourself is to take control and create the career you want.

If you struggle to speak up and create visibility,
The good news is that you can learn to do this!

You can get a coach,
You can do the mindset work,
You can make it happen for yourself

You've got this ✌️💜 

PS. We talk about this topic a LOT in my program!! If you want to learn more about how I can help you go from invisible to promoted, send me a DM!!

When we wrapped up a recent cohort, 3 of the women said that it was more valuable THAN THEIR MBA!

You’re building a thriving business and are amazing at what you do.

But social media doesn’t seem to work for you. 
You struggle to communicate your impact and value online and attract the right clients. 

Wasting time and effort creating content and chasing prospects to only hear crickets. 

If this sounds familiar, I can help.

Through storytelling and content, I managed to turn my consulting side hustle into full-time from LinkedIn after only 3 months after starting.

Combining my experience working in marketing and sales within Meta and Pinterest with my passion for storytelling and content creation, I grew a community of 30,000 on social media 100% organically, built a consulting business on my own from scratch, and built authority.

💰Now I teach others how to get similar results and monetize their audience with proven systems.
💰With an average of 700K-1.1M monthly views, I help brands and products get more exposure and traffic through sponsored posts ➡️ DM “Partner” if interested

Some clients highlights:
🔥a Freelancer client started to attract inbound opportunities (including a job offer) within the first week of working together on their profile and marketing strategy.
🔥 Agency Founder brought 2 high-ticket clients from LinkedIn within the first two strategic sessions. 
🔥Business Strategist reduced their time on LinkedIn from +4 hours to +35 min daily while getting more results out of it following my systems.
🔥Bestseller author and Founder got new speaking gigs from LinkedIn within 3 weeks of working together on their networking and engagement strategies. 

Other facts about me:
✅ Featured and ranked 2# on LinkedIn Sales Stars 2021
✅ Ranking on Favikon, Spring 2023:
- 37th on Marketing & Sales LinkedIn Worldwide
- 57th Female LI Content Creator Worldwide
- 22nd Personal Branding & Audience Building Worldwide 
✅ Grown a community of 30K on LinkedIn in <10 months of intentional work
✅ Reached 700K-1M monthly content views and 1% SSI. 
✅ Monetised my online presence in < 4 months of creating content intentionally. Left my 9-5 to go full in with business after 6 months. 

If you want to start building a brand intentionally and drive impact and attract the RIGHT opportunities inbound

DM "Inbound" to learn more.

PS. I am a digital nomad, not in London right now

Debora Prossomariti

Executive Director & CEO @ Personal Branding Atelier | Helping you move from unknown to visible and credible online.

New bio coming soon. In the meantime, check out my content and follow me if my posts resonate ❤️

Personal Branding & Strategic Marketing Consultant | Content Creator | Influencer marketing

You don’t need to be a celebrity or an expert to build online.

Whether you’re a successful executive employed at a company or working for yourself establishing authority online and credibility will open up new doors and attract opportunities.

Having more options will give you more confidence and leverage, and with that, the freedom to choose and live the life on your own terms.

Get a more impactful personal brand. Here's why:
- You’ll attract your ideal clients inbound without chasing them
- You’ll save a ton of money on ads
- You’ll start getting life-changing opportunities coming directly to your Inbox
- You’ll stand out from the mass and get more credibility and authority
- You’ll stay top of mind and become the go-to person when they need the type of support you offer
- You’ll build leverage and with that you’ll have more options, more freedom and the possibility to charge more.

DM for strategic 1:1s or corporate training.

Debora Prossomariti, M.Sc.

6 thoughts to leave in 2025 (personal branding edition):

- “I’m not enough {adjective} to reach this goal”
You can still be a beginner and learn. But you need to drop your ego and freaking start somewhere.

- “the market is already saturated. My voice won’t be heard”
according to the internet everything is always already saturated or d3ad at least every other week, but you still see new people showing up and building successful online empires, so why not you? Your voice will never be heard if you keep silencing yourself. 

- “I’m scared of the competition”
having competition is a GOOD thing! It means there is interest and a market willing to pay. You can differentiate yourself without trying to reinvent the wheel. 

- “I’m too old/young to start”
That’s a lie. There’s no fixed timeline. You can always change your life and your career. And even upgrade your identity. 

- “they are ahead of me” 
It’s not a race, stop comparing yourself to a manufactured version of someone else. You know 1% of others’ life and you don’t even know if what is shared on social is real (>90% of it is not).

- “what if I am seen and.. I am exposed and I stop being safe and liked?” 
This has to do more with your limiting beliefs and fears than the actual truth. Being liked doesn’t equal being respected. Owing your voice and bringing the power back to yourself is in fact safer than outsourcing your authority and being miserable doing what you’re supposed to do but didn’t choose. 

Any of these resonating with you?

I spot the patterns and invisible loops affecting your brand and performance so you can move forward faster | Featured on Business Insider

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Business is a game so you might as well play your cards too. 
Use your strengths and “unfair advantages”. 

Because here's the truth:
Life is not fair. If you are not resilient enough the world will eat you alive. 

You have a network from your previous job?
Use it.

You were born in a city full of opportunities?
Don’t take it for granted.

You have a pretty face people are naturally drawn to? 
Take advantage of it.

Look at successful people around you.
They're not waiting for permission to use their advantages.
They're not feeling guilty about their privileges.
They're not apologizing for their connections.
They're not downplaying their natural talents.

And you know what?
That's exactly what you should do too.

You don’t need to make things harder for yourself.
Stop believing success only counts if you struggle.
(Spoiler: it’s probably a limiting belief you inherited from your childhood) 

Your advantages are part of who you are.
They're your tools. Your stepping stones.

People will call you lucky regardless if you succeed and they are not putting in the work (they will project) but you know the truth and what it took, even with your privileges.

6 LinkedIn rules I am following in 2026: 

- protect my energy 
unfollow, mute and block accounts that drain my energy and don’t add any real value, chronic liars and “I make X and I am better than you” posts and pod users

- protect my time 
irrelevant cold outreaches from strangers don’t need my energy and time. No time wasters. Greater pre-qualification filters.  

- create more than I consume 
less time on the feed (not hard to do lately as the content is 90% AI, boring and soulless). No doomscrolling. 

- be way more selective with whom I work with 
No job or client is worth my mental health. Good money is not enough to justify an unhealthy work relationship.

- avoid comparisons
Everyone shares highlights and according to the feed it looks like your career and growth should be linear. Well, it’s not. Entrepreneurship is messy and there are nuances. 

- allow breaks
Hard to do as a high performer. this feels wrong but it’s right. Period. 

What are yours?

♻️repost if this resonates

The other day I had a conversation with a business owner who told me they want to be more visible online and build authority.

“I want to be a thought leader online and drive impact” they said.

But when I looked at their behavior, there was a gap: no original posting, a few reposts of quotes, "safe" comments without a real POV shown. 
 
"They lacked strategy" you might think.
Nope, strategy is the easiest part.

There was a mismatch between who they claim they are and who they internally believe they are (unconsciously or consciously).
 
When the two versions don't fully match there is cognitive dissonance and our self trust drops.

From a neuroscience perspective, behavior is driven by the brain’s internal model of “who I am” and “what someone like me does.”

The brain doesn't care about our success, it wants to keep us "safe"
It favors actions that are consistent with that model and resists those that contradict it.

This is why relying on motivation or inspiration is a gamble. 

Without an internal belief system that supports being seen, visibility remains a concept that can be performed for some time but it's often not sustainable as the foundations are missing. 

Your identity gets to upgrade.

A simple LinkedIn DM got me in front of the VP of a $1.76 billion American company as a student in my early 20s. 

I was a European postgraduate student with less than 1000 followers on social. No network in the US or Canada yet.

But I had a mission and I believed I could get whatever I wanted in life if I was delusional enough. 

So I sent a total of 3 DMs to the executive board of a business I respected oversea.
One of them landed. The VP replied. 

She suggested getting on the phone 1:1.

I run a 1-hour interview with them, virtually from Lisbon to their Toronto HQ, and got a strong case study for my Masters’ thesis out of it. 

How did I get a reply? 

I was a total stranger and looking just a little girl (some things never change😆) I was just a student. Why should a VP care and spend time with a random 20-something year girl from oversea?

Here’s why my outreach got a reply anyway. 

1. I was deeply delusional and I believed everything was possible 

2. The message was:
- Clear
- Relevant
- With context

3. And even as a student I built credibility and positioned myself as a top performer in marketing and strategy backing up my message (the topic was business strategy)

I focused more on the quality of the message and the targeting vs copy pasted low quality template to lots of people 

It was pre-AI but the rules are still the same today. 

People are going to ignore you if they don’t have any reason not to.

Do you give them a reason to reply to your DMs? But even more important, are you delusional enough to believe you can make it? 

-

Hi I’m Debbie, follow me for more stories about my entrepreneurial journey and marketing insights

Silence is leverage. Use it strategically

Build a brand that reflects the real you | neuroscience driven frameworks | Featured on Business Insider

I used to think money was evil because there are so many men in power doing terrible things for humanity. I changed my mind.

Last year I moved my business to Dubai and met extremely wealthy people who were also genuinely kind, real, and generous. Building legit businesses, taking a slow but sustainable and honest approach.

At the same time, I watched “colleagues” in the personal branding space hit seven figures by lying, faking friendships to exploit others, buying features, engagement and followers pretending they were earned.  

Using their fake social proof to become “big players” and sell more lies. 
Here’s what I realised: 
Money is not evil. Money is an amplifier.

It doesn’t change people. It reveals them.

People with low integrity often grow faster because they are willing to cut corners and exploit others. 

Their lack of ethics accelerates results in the short term. Money simply makes that visible.

On the other side, there are people who build wealth slowly, ethically, and honestly. When they get rich, their values scale too. Their generosity, fairness, and responsibility expand with their resources.

Money doesn’t make you a bad person.
It makes the mask fall.

It amplifies who you already are.

I opened doors for people who slammed them in my face.
And you know what? 

I don’t regret it. I did what I could with the information I had at that time.

I rise by lifting others. 

I don’t want to assume people always have opportunistic motives by default because if I start doing it, I cannot keep an open heart at the same time. 

If last year taught me anything, it is that nobody is coming to save you.

If you’re a giver, takers will take.

That’s how their operating system works. 

The solution is not to become like them or to close your heart.

It’s to keep your values and change your filters.

Not assuming bad intent by default does not require giving everyone the same level of access, energy, or benefit of the doubt. 
An open heart and strong boundaries are not opposites. 
They are different systems.

You can stay a giver and still:

- Give selectively, not reflexively
- Let people earn depth, access, and support over time
- Help without overextending
- Notice patterns instead of isolated stories
- Exit earlier when reciprocity is missing

So here’s the biggest lesson I learned the hard way: 
Not everyone deserves the same level of access to you

There's a cognitive bias that you need to be aware of (and once you see it you cannot unsee it):

It's called confirmation bias:

According to neuroscience, your brain does not process reality neutrally.

When you hold a belief, whether you are aware of it or not, your attention system prioritizes information that fits that belief and filters out much of what does not. 

As a result, you notice more evidence that confirms what you already think and miss or downplay evidence that challenges it.

In simple terms: your brain looks for proof of what it expects to be true, then treats that proof as reality.

So if you believe: "I cannot share my voice online, it's not safe."

Your brain will scan for anything confirming your belief.

Every troll. Every criticism. Every person who got canceled.

Ignoring the thousands who are thriving, dismissing the opportunities, overlooking the connections you could be making.

And six months later, you're still invisible online while complaining that "it doesn't work for people like me."

Your belief becomes your reality.

So if you want to change your reality, you get to reframe the narrative and the stories you’re telling yourself about who you are. 

PS. I don’t have capacity for new retainer projects (normally in the 5 figures) at the moment but I am reopening my calendar with 1:1 power sessions for a fraction of it for a small number of professionals who are ready to break through their limiting beliefs and finally show up online in 2026, after years of “I want to do this, but… ” and self sabotage. 
Check it out here:
https://lnkd.in/dSPsVvdJ

I went from selling €200 sessions on 1-hour calls to closing €42K deals in 20-minute casual conversations.

It took me about 6 months to learn this. These are the 8 rules I follow:

1. Disengage fast when needed
If your non-negotiables are not met, it’s okay to move on. Sometimes it’s simply not a match. Bad deals are often more harmful than no deals at all.

2. Cut the noise
Unsupportive people. Energy vampires. Dismissive friends. Anyone who laughs at your goals or subtly pulls you down.

3. Build a strong personal brand and clear positioning
Higher brand equity → higher trust → higher rates

4. Put in the real work
Not the aesthetic version. There will be trade-offs you need to accept. 

5. Be delusional AF
If you lack conviction and self-belief, it shows. People feel your energy before they analyze your offer.
If you doubt your value, the market will mirror that doubt back to you.

6. Do the math and create a no-brainer offer
ROI matters. It’s an exchange of value. Stop overexposing and justifying your standards 

7. Talk to the right people
You’ll always feel like “too much” with the wrong audience.
This rule applies to business and life.

8. Leverage relevant proof
Previous wins with a similar audience beat random awards every time.

Bonus rule: Treat rejection as data, not a personal attack
Feedback, not identity.

♻️repost if you found it helpful

- 

Hi I’m Debbie and I help executives and founders build a brand that stands out and drives real impact and revenue.

Let me deinfluencing you on how your life and business are “supposed” to look at your age.

We internalise beliefs about where we should be by now. 
That we should be having more, reaching certain milestones, scaling faster by some specific age.
The world we live now is not the same as it was 30 years ago. Not even 10 years ago. 

Success is not linear and I am tired of people pretending it is.

Because social media is an ongoing highlight but it doesn't show everything. 

Take some celebrities and public figures as an example.
Kristy Sarah, big influencer with 9M followers. Until a few months she looked like having the best family and life. 
This month, her divorce was all over the news. 

Liz Wizard before her. 
The Beckham family drama now. 

I don't care about celebrity drama and avoid the news but social media doesn't let me (lol) but these are clear examples. 

Everyone wants to protect their image and their reputation so we get into this comparison loop because we only see what is shown to us. 

Forgetting about the fact that we also do the same.
We hide our struggles. We curate our wins. We unknowingly feed the same cycle we feel trapped in.

And we end up chasing an invisible, unrealistic timeline and beating ourselves up for not matching it.

This is your friendly reminder to stop doing this to yourself.

Life is not fair and success is not linear.
Ups and downs are normal. 
Failures are part of the game.

Live your life your way. 

♻️repost if this resonates

How you can manifest luck and abundance in 2026 (you might want to save this):

Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Here’s how I train myself to get lucky:
-I prepare like the opportunities are already on their way
- I rewire my thoughts to filter for possibilities
- I focus on what most people overlook

Why does this work?
→ Most people wait for opportunities to show up
 → They’re not mentally ready when a chance appears
 → They miss signals because their brain isn’t trained to look for them
But when you expect opportunities, your perception changes.

You start seeing them everywhere:
→ In conversations others dismiss as irrelevant
 → In problems others complain about
 → In people others underestimate

The difference between “lucky” and “unlucky” people?

Lucky people prepare before they need to.

They condition their minds to notice what’s possible.
They place themselves where opportunities naturally circulate.
So when the moment arrives, they don’t freeze.

They step into it because they’ve already become the person who can hold it.

That's how you get “lucky.”

Some time ago I had a new ghostwriting client who was hesitant to start working together.

Here’s why: 

He was burned in the past by an agency that made clear that they couldn’t care less about his results and reputation.

His story was disheartening. 

He wasted thousands of dollars for a mediocre job: 

- Soulless posts which were clearly copy-pasted templates written by AI without personality and even worse, without a strategy behind

- An increased engagement… coming from (probably fake) accounts in low income countries not filling his Ideal Client criteria

- An increased following base.. from other irrelevant accounts attracted to his profile as a result of the increase (irrelevant) traffic 

It turned out they were put in an engagement pod without them knowing about it (being relatively new on LinkedIn) 

Their reputation became at risk.

And their only fault was trusting a scammer, a very popular LinkedIn creator, with a lot of engagement and whose name was on the most popular “top 1%” lists.

And this client’ results? 
On the surface, they were doing great.

They had more followers, more likes, but the few inbound enquiries that came in where only from people who would never afford their services. 

They saw the red flags and canceled the contract, limiting the damage. 

But the lack of overall confidence remained. 

So I offered them my entry-level, low commitment offer first so they could have an idea of what it looked like working with me and have first-hand experience first before committing long-term. 

Reassured, they signed off on the core program and we continued working together. 

Sometimes it’s okay to take a step back and offer flexibility.

Show empathy and that you get them. 

In most cases, it’s not about you. 

But more about their history and experiences.

~

Ever been burned in the past? How did you overcome your skepticism?

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Katy McFee

Debora Prossomariti, M.Sc.

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The Battle

Katy McFee

Debora Prossomariti, M.Sc.

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