Hi! I'm Stephanie! I'm passionate about building impactful partnerships, enabling businesses to grow, and making sure the social impact community thrives. With over a decade of consistently generating seven and eight figure annual revenue for companies, I understand what it takes to drive success.

Over the last 15 years working with non-profit, government and for profit businesses, I've developed a unique process for building community and generating revenue through a partnership growth mindset. I've been fortunate to develop programs and partnerships that have touched lives across the globe, from India to the United States and beyond. I've created thousands of ecosystems and opportunities that unite governments, educators, employers, and donors to make tangible change.

I believe that together we can achieve great things and am committed to paving the way for a more inclusive, impactful future.

Stephanie Wilson

This weekend I’m spending time at the ISET National Gathering, and I want to name how meaningful it is to be here.

Being in this space is a reminder that workforce development is not just about programs, funding, or outcomes on paper. It’s about people, place, and self-determination. Indigenous communities have been doing this work for generations, building pathways rooted in culture, community knowledge, and lived experience.

What stands out most is the care and intentionality behind the conversations. 

Listening comes first. 
Relationships come before solutions. 
Progress is measured not just by numbers, but by trust, relevance, and long-term impact.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn, to listen, and to be present in a space led by Indigenous voices and priorities. 

Moments like this quietly reshape how you think about the work and how you show up when you return home.

#ISETNationalGathering #ISETGathering2026 #Indigenous #WorkforceDevelopment #Community

Thanks to Jelly Academy for organizing such a collaborative space and to Digital Moment | Moment numérique for the opportunity.

Cross-Sector Growth Strategist | $100M+ in Government & Partner Funding Secured | Nonprofit • Tech • Education • SaaS | Founder – The Uplift Collective

The last five days have been full.

Full in the sense of listening carefully, asking questions, and sitting in rooms where people are genuinely trying to figure out how we do this work better.

Across different events, sectors, and conversations, the thread has been consistent.

How do we build systems that actually serve people, not just programs?

How do we prepare for the future of work without losing sight of the humans navigating it right now?

How do we move past performative solutions and into ones that are grounded, inclusive, and durable?

There’s also a reality I’m hearing more clearly now than ever.

Funding is tight. Budgets have been cut. Teams that once sent three or four people to conferences are now sending one. Many are attending virtually, not by choice, but by necessity.

I’m genuinely grateful to conferences and organizers who make that possible. Access matters. So does recognizing that for many organizations, showing up at all right now takes intention and sacrifice.

What that’s changed is the weight of being in the room.

More people are carrying insights back to their teams. 

More responsibility to listen well, synthesize, and translate what matters into action. Fewer spectators. More stewards.

The conversations I’ve been part of haven’t been about trends for the sake of trends. They’ve been about tradeoffs. Priorities. What we protect when resources are constrained.

Spending this time with practitioners, funders, educators, Indigenous leaders, and workforce builders has been a reminder of why this work matters to me.

Not because the answers are easy.

But because when conditions are tight, clarity matters even more.

It was so great to reconnect, meet new people and learn from so many amazing individuals! Until next time friends!
Wendy Baker Darian Kovacs ♾️ Allain Lauzon Mary Stack, BA, CPHR Jasmeen Sidhu, Ph.D. Allan Govender Virginia Gluska Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia Eleanor Hawkins Nausheen Ali Fatima Saadeddine, MBA,PMP,CHRP,ESPT  Jade (Jadelyn) Psutka Allison Bear BComm Barbara Wilson,🍁CCDP® Lisa Stephenson-MBA, CRSP Kelly Johnson

It was unfortunate that so many people had travel cancelled so they couldn't attend after all - I see you!

#Cannexus2026 #ISETGathering2026 #Community #NonProfit #EmploymentServices #Indigenous #Learning

We have a beautiful owl that lives in the trees near our driveway. Usually across the way. Easy to admire from a distance.

Last night, I went out to grab wood for the stove before bed and nearly jumped out of my skin. 

He was sitting right on the front porch railing. Completely still. Just watching. Probably hunting. Definitely unbothered by me.

I froze. Slowly backed into the house. Turned off the lights.

Then I stood in the dining room, in the dark, and watched him for a while.
No noise. 

Just this quiet, unexpected moment of sharing space with something wild and calm and entirely unconcerned with my plans for the evening.

It was incredible.

Sometimes the best moments are the ones that do not mean anything more than exactly what they are.

#Wildlife #NotAPhotographer #CountryLife 

Alyx Parks and Stephanie Martin - I thought of both of you immediately after it happened.

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The Uplift Collective

https://www.upliftcollective.ca/the-partnership-blueprint-five-proven-steps-for-forging-successful-partnerships

the-uplift-collective

I grew up in a small town in rural eastern Ontario.

When I finished high school, I had no idea what I wanted to be. I just knew one thing very clearly. I did not like school the way it was structured. Sitting still. Being talked at. Memorizing instead of doing.

So I took a year off after high school to try to find my way.

It felt uncomfortable. Most of my friends knew exactly what they wanted to do. Everyone was heading off to university. I felt behind. A little lost. Like I had missed some memo everyone else received.

After that year, I still did not know what I wanted to be “when I grew up.” But I did know I needed some form of post secondary education. I needed skills. I needed momentum.

I chose college and enrolled in executive administration.

It was hands on. Practical. I learned a lot. I worked three jobs to cover rent and school. I learned how to manage money because I had to. Those years shaped my work ethic and my sense of responsibility in ways I still carry with me.

After graduating, I got a job working for a municipal councillor. What started as a role turned into six formative years. It exposed me to government, policy, community, and how decisions actually get made. That path eventually led me into the nonprofit world, where I found my purpose. That part of the story is for another day.

For a long time, I was embarrassed to say I did not have a university degree.

I was screened out of jobs automatically because it was mandatory. I questioned myself more times than I can count.

Do I regret not going to university?

Yes and no.

No, because I do not think I would have thrived there at that point in my life.

Yes, because there were real opportunities I never got access to because I did not have that piece of paper.

Both things can be true.

I am sharing this because I see so many people feeling pressure to follow a single definition of success. A single path. A single timeline.

Education matters. Credentials matter. But lived experience matters too.

Learning by doing counts. Working your way through school counts. Taking a longer or different route counts.

There is no one right way to build a career.

Chart your own path. Pay attention to what energizes you, not just what looks good on paper. 

Choose the pathway that works for how you learn, how you move, and who you are becoming.

#CareerPath #Employment #FindYourOwnPath #NonProfit #Education

Photo is me from 2008, still trying to figure things out.

Some of the most valuable parts of my work live in the things I no longer consciously think about.

After years of building, reviewing, defending, and negotiating government budgets, so much of what I do has become instinctive. 

You stop noticing the hundreds of small decisions you make because you have internalized how funders think, where flexibility actually lives, and which details quietly matter most.

Recently, I had the chance to sit with that experience and write it all down. 

Not the big frameworks or the obvious rules, but the small things you only learn by doing the work. 

The wording choices that reduce scrutiny. 

The assumptions that do not need to be over engineered. 

The places where people think they are locked in, but are not.

There was something unexpectedly grounding about translating years of lived experience into something clear and usable for a client. 

Not to impress. 
Not to overcomplicate. 
Just to make the work easier and less stressful for the people doing it.

This kind of work reminds me why I enjoy what I do. 

Helping smart teams feel more confident, more capable, and less constrained by rules that often feel heavier than they actually are.

If you have ever felt weighed down by process or rules that seemed immovable, I promise there is often more room to breathe than it appears.

#BudgetDevelopment #ProposalDevelopment #NonProfit #GovernmentFunding

One thing I think everyone should try at least once is learning someone else’s job.

Not the polished version. The real, day to day work. The setup. The decisions no one talks about. The small things that keep everything moving quietly in the background.

When you work in teams, so much of that effort becomes invisible. Systems run. Tools connect. Processes exist. You rarely stop to think about how much experience and judgment it takes to make things feel that seamless.

Until those people are not there.

And you have to do one small piece yourself.

You realize how many choices live inside what once looked simple.

Lately, I am spending an absurd amount of time learning tools.
Not the exciting kind. The tiny, fiddly ones. Payment systems. Tool connections. Settings I did not even know existed.

Learning to do something you have never done before, or something that was always someone else’s role, builds more than skills.

It builds appreciation.

It changes how you show up the next time.

#ProfessionalDevelopment #GrowthMindset #Entrepreneurship

I really hate getting a no.

Not because I expect everything to work out, but because I put a lot into the work. Time. Thought. Energy. And more than that, belief. I care deeply about what I do and about the teams and ideas behind every proposal. That makes the no’s land harder than people realize.

Early on, I took them personally. Every declined submission felt like a judgment, not just of the work, but of the care behind it. And honestly, I still feel that sometimes. Loving the work makes you more exposed, not less.

What changed over time was not the feeling. It was what I did with it.

I started sitting with the no’s longer. Looking for patterns. Paying attention to what funders questioned, what they ignored, and what clarity actually meant in practice. Every no taught me something I could not have learned any other way.

That learning adds up. Today, more than 40 percent of what I work on gets approved. Not because the no’s stopped hurting, but because I stayed curious instead of shutting down.

Lately, there have been a lot of yes’s for clients. And I feel genuinely excited for them every single time. 

I also know the no’s will come again. They always do.

When they do, I will feel them. And then I will learn from them.

Because caring about the work is not a weakness. It is the reason the yes’s mean so much when they arrive.

#GovernmentFunding #BusinessDevelopment #ProposalDevelopment

I’ve learned that authenticity isn’t about having a fixed identity. It’s about staying honest as things shift.

I have spent years being the reliable one. 

The person who could hold a lot, absorb uncertainty, and keep moving anyway.

That works. Until it does not.

Because eventually you realize how much energy it takes to live up to a version of yourself that was built for other people’s expectations.

Letting go of who you think you are supposed to be does not mean losing drive or ambition. It means releasing the pressure to look a certain way while you are building something real.

Authenticity is not a reveal or a brand decision.

It is a daily choice to show up aligned, even when that alignment keeps evolving.

And that choice changes everything.

#BeTrueToYourself #Authenticity #Leadership #NonProfit #StartUp

One of the best parts of a panel on AI and the next generation at the AI Policy Conference yesterday was that it did not try to wrap anything up neatly.
Instead, it named the complexity.

AI is already embedded in education, work, and daily life. Young people are forming relationships with systems that shape how they think, learn, and see themselves. Institutions are trying to respond in real time, often without data, shared frameworks, or room to pause.

At the same time, many of the loudest predictions about jobs and disruption have not fully materialized. Change is happening, but unevenly. Slowly in some places. Abruptly in others.

What emerged was a quieter but more useful set of questions.

How do we equip young people to be creators, not just users?

How do we protect without pretending we can stop what is already here?

How do we build literacy, judgment, and human skills that remain valuable no matter how tools evolve?

There was no single answer, and that felt right.

This is long-term work. It requires humility, collaboration across disciplines, and a willingness to sit with uncertainty without defaulting to fear or hype.

If there was a through-line, it was this: the future will be shaped less by the tools themselves and more by how thoughtfully we choose to integrate them.

Panel participants:
Justin Hendrix, Tech Policy Press
Shingai Manjengwa, Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
Namir Anani, P.Eng., ICTC-CTIC
Laurent Charlin, Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
André Côté, The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University 

Thankful to Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute for access to the AI Policy Conference and for putting together such a great event!

#AIPolicy #YouthAndAI #Talent #GovernmentofCanada

Creativity is my word for 2026.

Creativity in how I approach work, rest, and everything in between.

Creative problem solving.
Creative contracting.
Creative time off.
Creative experiences.

Creativity is what lets you ask better questions instead of accepting the default answer. It is how you find options where others see constraints. It is how you design work and life in ways that actually fit.

In 2026, the only box is that there is no box.

More room to experiment.

More permission to rethink how things are done.

More trust in the idea that there is almost always another way.

Here is to a year of curiosity, flexibility, and building something that feels as good as it works.

#Focus #GrowthMindset #HeresTo2026

I never thought I would be an entrepreneur.

In fact, quite the opposite. I was convinced I did not have the “it” that founders and leaders are supposed to have. 

I wanted stability. The person who imagined working for others my whole life and being perfectly content doing that.

And for a long time, that made sense.

What I did not realize then is that entrepreneurship does not always look like taking big risks. Sometimes it looks like taking responsibility. For your values. For your time. For the kind of work you want to put into the world.

I did not wake up one day wanting to start something of my own. I arrived here slowly, through experience, through necessity, and through a growing understanding of what I needed in order to feel grounded and aligned.

Entrepreneurship was not a goal. It was a response.

And maybe that is the part we do not talk about enough. Not everyone sets out to build something. 

Some of us end up here because staying the same stopped being an option.

Did you ever picture yourself doing what you are doing now?

#Entrepreneuship #CareerFocus

Woke up to a weirdly satisfying thing this morning.

I’ve had a watch since July that tracks something called body battery. 

I’ve seen it end the day at five more times than I’d like to admit.

Today I woke up at one hundred. First time ever.

That’s it. That’s the post.

#WeekendVibes #QuietWins #SlowDown

READ THE QUOTE IN THE IMAGE!

Now read it again!

Who. You. TRULY. Are

NOT the version that feels easiest to explain.

NOT the version that keeps everyone comfortable.

NOT the version that fits neatly into a role you learned to play well.

Being yourself is not about being loud or visible all the time.
It is about being honest. With your values. With your limits. With what actually matters to you now, not who you were five years ago.

I have learned that the more energy you spend trying to meet expectations that are not yours, the dimmer everything feels. The work. The relationships. Even the wins.

The moments where things start to open up again usually come from a small shift. 

Saying no when you would normally say yes. Choosing alignment over approval. 

Letting yourself evolve without needing to justify it.

Your light is not something you manufacture.
It is something that shows up naturally when you stop hiding parts of yourself to fit the room.

And the right rooms do not require you to dim it in the first place.

#BeYourself #BeAuthentic #ISeeYou #Leadership #Teamwork #BetterTogether

One thing I keep coming back to in conversations lately is timing.

A lot of organizations are doing the right work. Strong ideas. Capable teams. Real demand. And still, things are not moving the way they expected.

Not because they are doing something wrong.

Because the system itself is in motion.

Calls are delayed or quietly reworked.
Programs get folded into other initiatives.
Priorities shift before anything ever reaches a public intake.

From the outside, it can feel confusing. Like you misread the landscape or missed a signal. In reality, the rules are still being rewritten.

This is where patience becomes strategic.

Not passive patience. Active patience. The kind where you keep preparing, strengthening, and paying attention while resisting the urge to force momentum.

A lot of the work right now is helping teams sit with that uncertainty without spiraling. Adjusting plans without abandoning them. Staying ready without trying to rush a system that is not ready yet.

Sometimes the smartest move is not to push harder, but to hold steady until the timing catches up to the work.

#FundingStrategy #GovernmentFunding #NonprofitLeadership
 #StrategicPlanning #SystemsThinking

Join an upcoming FREE workshops to better prepare for what's coming!  https://lnkd.in/e_KQt4jg

Stop beating yourself up!!!

Don’t think you do that?
Here’s what it actually looks like in real life:
- Replaying a conversation on the drive home.
- Second-guessing a decision you already made with the information you had.
 - Assuming a mistake says something about who you are, not just what happened.
 - Feeling like you should have known better, been faster, clearer, stronger.

Sound familiar?

We’ve been taught that self-criticism equals accountability.
That if we’re hard on ourselves, we’ll improve faster.
That pressure produces excellence.

But more often, it just produces exhaustion.

Beating yourself up usually shows up when expectations are high, outcomes are uncertain, and you’re carrying more responsibility than anyone sees.

It’s a signal.
The problem is that self-criticism rarely makes us better.
It just makes us smaller.

So how do you stop when you catch yourself doing it?

1️⃣  Name what’s actually happening.
 Instead of “I screwed this up,” try “This didn’t go the way I hoped.”
 Facts calm the nervous system. Stories inflame it.

2️⃣ Separate intent from outcome.
You can have good intentions and imperfect results at the same time.
Both can be true. Only one needs fixing.

3️⃣  Ask one forward-looking question.
Not “What’s wrong with me?”
But “What’s the next small adjustment I’d make if this came up again?”
That’s it. No spiral required.

If you’re trying to be a good person and you try to do the right thing, that's all that matters.

Growth doesn’t require punishment.

It requires honesty, rest, and the willingness to keep going.

And if you’re reading this thinking, “This sounds like me” then it probably is.
You’re not alone, and you’re not doing it wrong.
Be a little kinder to yourself today.

#BeKind #PersonalGrowth #FallingNotFailing #SelfImprovement #Leadership #Teamwork

You may not control the events that happen to you
 but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

That choice is one I see leaders, founders, and builders struggle with more than almost anything else.

Because a setback can quietly turn into a story about who you are.
A hard moment can shrink your confidence if you let it.
One decision, one missed opportunity, one tough season can start to feel permanent.

But it isn’t.

You’re allowed to be impacted without being defined.

You can acknowledge what hurt without letting it harden you.

You can learn from something without carrying it as proof that you’re not enough.

Resilience isn’t pretending things didn’t affect you.

It’s choosing not to let them take more than they already have.

If you’re in the middle of something heavy right now, this is your reminder

You’re still standing.
You’re still growing.

And YOU get to decide what this chapter means next.

#NonProfit #Leadership #StartUp #GrowthMindset #Resilience #NonProfitLeadership

I watched a video and could not stop thinking about how early we learn to edit ourselves.

Kids start out loud, curious, unapologetic. They ask strange questions. They take up space. They are fully themselves without checking the room first. And then, slowly, they learn when to quiet down. When to blend in. When to stop standing out.

What stayed with me is how familiar that feels in the professional world.

At some point, many of us learn the same lesson.

Tone it down.

Stick to the playbook.

Do not be the odd one out.

Over time, that sparkle does not disappear. It just gets managed. Contained. Brought out only when it feels safe or appropriate.

And yet, the work that actually moves things forward is almost always shaped by people who think differently. 

The ones who question defaults. 

The ones who see patterns others miss. 

The ones willing to sound a little strange before they sound right.

If you have ever felt yourself shrinking to fit a role, a title, or an industry norm, consider this a reminder. 

That part of you is still there. It has just been waiting for space.

BRING BACK THE SPARKLE!!

Step off the well worn path.

Nothing meaningful has ever been built by people who only followed the herd.

https://lnkd.in/emWvkws2 
His Youtube Channel to give him a follow: https://lnkd.in/ehb-AESd [I couldn't find the above video on the channel]

#BringBackTheSparkle #BeYourself #BeAuthentic

If you have ever hit a word limit halfway through answering a funder’s question, this is for you.

One of the hardest parts of writing proposals is answering every part of a funder’s question while staying inside a tight word or character limit.

Especially when appendices or extra attachments are not allowed.

You cannot skip components. You also cannot explain everything.

So when space is tight, here is a rule that helps.

Every sentence must do more than one job. Ideally three.

A strong sentence should:

 1 describe what you are actually going to do

 2 signal eligibility and alignment to the funder’s priorities

 3 imply milestones, outcomes, or credibility

If a sentence only does one of those things, it is a candidate for removal or compression.

This is how you stay compliant and persuasive without running out of room.

It is not about writing less.

It is about making every sentence work harder.

If you have ever hit a word limit and wondered what to cut, start here.

#ProposalDevelopment #GovernmentFunding #NonProfit #Charity

Growth is what you do with what happens.

That is how better decisions get made over time.

#WednesdayWisdom #GrowthMindset

One thing I wish more people understood about funded projects is how messy they usually are behind the scenes.

From the outside, a successful contribution agreement looks clean.

A defined plan. 
A neat timeline. 

It gives the impression that everything is stable and predictable.

That is almost NEVER the case.

Most funded projects are delivered while markets are shifting. 
Project timelines wobble. 
Plans get pulled forward or pushed back. 
Teams make trade offs in real time, often without the luxury of perfect information.

What funders are really assessing in those moments is not whether risk exists. It is how it is understood and managed.

Strong applications and delivery organizations are not the ones pretending everything is fine. 

They are the ones that show judgment.
An ability to adapt without overreacting. 
A plan that can flex while still holding together.

There is a skill in knowing what to surface and what to hold steady. 
In demonstrating resilience without amplifying uncertainty. 
In showing that the work will continue even when conditions are not ideal.

Funding success is rarely about having a flawless story.
It is about proving you can keep moving when the story changes.

#Resilience #NonProfit #GrowthMindset #StartUp #GovernmentFunding

The Strategically Selfish Coach | Helping overlooked people pleasers become strategic players | Follow for weekly tactics to put YOUR career first

If you’re a mid-career high-performer in a large organization, this will feel familiar:

You do excellent work.
You’re trusted.
You’re relied on.

And yet…
You’re overlooked in the rooms where promotions are decided.

I help mid-career pros turn reliability, trust and emotional intelligence into professional equity instead of career ceilings.

Most of my clients aren’t underperforming.
They’re over-functioning.

They hold back ideas to avoid friction.
They over-explain to sound prepared.
They quietly absorb work to keep things running smoothly.

Those patterns get rewarded early in your career.
Mid-career, they quietly stall you.

The moment everything changed for me

For years, I believed the same thing my clients do now:
Work harder and it will pay off.

It didn’t.

What did change everything was being invited into C-suite talent discussions inside a Fortune 100 company.

I wasn’t in the room as “high potential.”
I was there because I was trusted.

That meant I heard the unfiltered truth behind closed doors:

-who gets fast-tracked

-who gets labelled “solid but not quite ready”

-why hard work alone stops being the deciding factor

That’s when it clicked.

Being "visible" isn’t enough.
Doing great work isn’t enough.
Even being trusted isn’t enough.

You have to be strategic on purpose.

What I help you do differently:

I don’t help you become louder, harsher, or political.

I help you:

-shift how decision-makers interpret your behaviour

-name your ambition without apologizing for it

-stop being indispensable in the wrong role

-make promotion the path of least resistance

This isn’t about ego.
It’s about positioning.

What my clients actually experience:

Some get promoted. Many do.

But more importantly, they stop:

-shrinking themselves

-leaking energy into proving their worth

-waiting to be noticed

They feel grounded.
Visible.
In control.

They’re finally seen as strategic thinkers, not just dependable doers.

After 15 years in a Fortune 100 company and coaching 100+ professionals, here’s what I know for certain:

• Your boss is thinking about their career, not yours
• HR protects the company, not your ambitions
• “Team player” is often a ceiling, not a compliment
• Being liked doesn’t move careers forward
• Being strategic does

If you’re tired of doing visible work while feeling professionally invisible, you’re in the right place.

I share what decision-makers actually respond to and how careers really move behind the scenes. Feel free to DM me for career strategy session (or book a time at the link in featured section).

Cassie Lincoln

"I hate that I can't trust the company to protect me the way I protect it every day."

A client said this to me recently.
It stopped me cold.

That sentence holds so much quiet grief.

Not anger.
Not entitlement.
Just exhaustion.

It's what happens when someone...
• Shows up consistently
• Carries more than their share
• Acts with integrity, even when no one's watching

...And slowly realizes the loyalty is one-directional.

Here's the reality of the situation:

Companies are built to protect the system.
You are responsible for protecting yourself within it.

That doesn't mean becoming cynical or doing the bare minimum.

It means:
• Building leverage, not just goodwill
• Creating visibility, not just value
• Developing options, not just loyalty

You can be committed and self-protective.

You can do meaningful work and manage your risk.

You can care deeply without outsourcing your safety.

That's not selfish...
It's professional maturity.

When did you first realize the loyalty wasn't mutual?

💫 Save this for the moment you need the reminder.

🌻 Follow Cassie Lincoln for career strategies for people who care deeply but refuse to be expendable.

Career Strategist for High-Performers who get overlooked | Helping mid-career professionals position trust & reliability for advancement

The scariest employee isn't the angry one:

It's the loyal one that goes quiet...

Loyal people don't rage-quit. 
They don't threaten. 
They don't make ultimatums.

They explain. 
They adjust. 
They give the benefit of the doubt.

Again. And again. And again.

Until one day… they stop caring.

That's when leaders get blindsided.

"She didn't say anything was wrong." 
"They seemed fine last week."
"He never complained." 

What actually happened:

Their loyalty went unnoticed.
Their effort went unrecognized. 
Their boundaries went unprotected.

And eventually, caring became too expensive.

For leaders: 

Loyalty isn't infinite. It's built- or depleted- by how people are treated when they do care.

For professionals: 

If you've reached the point where you no longer care, it's not a character flaw.
It's data.

And it might be time to listen to it.

Have you ever reached that point? 
What finally made you stop caring? 👇

💫 Repost to help a leader see this before it's too late
🌻 Follow Cassie Lincoln for bold career honesty

Career Strategist for Mid-Career Professionals | Insider moves to build bankable professional equity | Follow for tools, scripts & AI prompts that get you promoted

I counted once.
Fourteen times in a single meeting...

“Just wanted to check…”
“Just following up…”
“Just a quick thought…”

I thought I was being polite.
Respectful.
Easy to work with.

Here’s what leadership heard instead:

Unsure.
Apologetic.
Easy to dismiss.

The word “just” is people-pleasing in disguise.

It quietly says:

Don’t be threatened by me.
I know my place.
Please still like me.

But here’s the reality of the situation:
This isn’t a confidence issue.

It’s a language habit you likely picked up in environments that punished you for being direct, decisive or “too much.”

That habit protected you once.
But now it’s limiting how you’re perceived.

Because you don’t get promoted into rooms you keep apologizing for entering.

The slides break down common phrases that shrink your authority and what to say instead.

Which phrase did you recognize immediately? 👇

💫Share to give others a communication uplift

🌻Follow Cassie Lincoln for more career strategies

The quiet phrase hindering your growth

Being endlessly accommodating feels noble.
It’s also career-limiting...

One of the biggest career myths I see high performers fall for:
Thinking helpful = promotable.
It doesn’t.

The people who advance fastest aren’t the most available.
They’re the most intentional.

They’ve learned how to disappoint strategically.

Not by being careless.
Not by being difficult.
But by being clear about where their time creates the most value.

That intentionality shows up in:

-how they protect their calendar
-which projects get their best energy
-what they say no to without over-explaining

And:
where they choose to be exceptional instead of everywhere

Meanwhile, people-pleasers do the opposite.

They avoid disappointment at all costs and quietly pay with focus, energy, and visibility.

Here’s the reality of the situation:

You don’t get promoted for being available to everyone.

You get promoted for being exceptional at something that matters.

Strategic disappointment isn’t unkind.
It’s how you signal that your work has purpose.

If this made you uncomfortable in a familiar way, it’s probably pointing at a boundary that wants your attention.

Which slide hit closest to home? 👇

💫Save this for when you need a reminder
🌻Follow Cassie Lincoln for career strategies

Strategic disappointment is a skill

Saving the day is a terrible career strategy:

You were told your entire career that reliability leads to success.
So you became indispensable.

And now you’re stuck.

Here’s the reality of the situation:

Your boss isn’t ignoring your potential.
They’re relying on your output.

When you become the person who handles everything, you make it very easy for leadership to keep you exactly where you are.

That’s the trap.
What got you here won’t get you there.

The professionals who break through don’t work harder.
They work differently.

They stop being the person who saves the day...
and start being the person who sets direction.

The difference isn’t just effort-
It’s leverage.

The slides break down five ways to stop being “too useful” and start being undeniable in the room that matters.

Which one are you ready to try first?

💫Repost to help others grow this year!
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You're stuck because you're too useful where you are

My mentor pulled me aside after a meeting:
"You apologized six times in there... 
Only one of them mattered"

I was confused.
Wasn't being apologetic... polite?

He pulled out his notes:

"Sorry to interrupt, but..."
"Sorry for taking up time."
"Sorry, one quick question?"
"Sorry for the confusion earlier."
"Sorry, can I just add something?"
"I'm sorry, I missed the deadline..."

Only the last one was a real apology.

The rest? Self-sabotage disguised as manners.

I created these rules to banish my over-apologizing habit for good:

→ Stop apologizing for contributing
"Can I add something?" works fine.
You're not interrupting. You're participating.

→ Stop apologizing for asking questions
Questions show engagement, not ignorance.
Drop the "sorry" entirely.

→ Stop apologizing for existing in the room
Your presence has value.
Stop diminishing it with unnecessary apologies.

→ Save apologies for actual mistakes
When you genuinely mess up? Apologize clearly.
"I missed that deadline. Here's my plan to fix it."

That's the one apology that mattered in my meeting.
The other five just made me sound uncertain.

Three months after that conversation, I reflected on my progress.

My ideas started landing differently.
People listened more. Questioned less.

Not because I changed what I said.
Because I stopped apologizing for saying it.

Your expertise doesn't need an apology.
Your questions don't need permission.
Your voice doesn't need a disclaimer.

Save "sorry" for when it actually counts.

What unnecessary apology are you ready to drop?

💫 Save this for when “sorry” tries to sneak in again

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I once asked to change who I reported to....
And it changed my entire career:

I was running a critical department-wide project. But I reported to a team supervisor.

The challenge?

She was busy managing her team.
My updates weren't her priority. 

Plus, every decision had to get vetted through the department manager anyway.

So, I was constantly chasing her down. 

Getting last-minute feedback. 
Watching timelines slip.
It was frustrating for both of us.

I decided to propose something different.

I got my supervisor's support first. 
Then I scheduled time with the department manager and made my case:

"For the duration of this project, I'd like to report directly to you."

To make it easy for her to say yes, I proposed:

1. I would provide a weekly one-pager with updates and decisions needed.

2. She'd respond within one business day

3. I'd leave it to her whether we needed to meet

4. I'd return to my original reporting structure when the project ended

She agreed!

The project stayed on schedule. 
Everyone's time was protected. 
The arrangement was a success.

And here's the part I didn't expect:

When the project ended, I didn't go back to my old structure.

A new role was created for me- reporting to a more senior manager.

That one conversation became a turning point.

Here's the reality of the situation:

Your reporting structure isn't set in stone.

But if you want to change it, don't complain about what's broken.
Propose what could work better. 

Make it easy for leadership to say yes. 

And frame it as solving a problem- not creating one.

Have you ever negotiated who you report to? 👇

💫 Repost to help someone rethink what's negotiable

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High-leverage careers aren’t built by accident:

Most people are taught to build their careers by being reliable, helpful, and saying yes.

That works… for a while.

But over time, effort stops compounding.

Burnout creeps in.

And you start wondering why working harder isn’t moving the needle anymore.

That’s usually when leverage becomes the missing piece.

A high leverage career isn’t about doing more.

It’s about building work that:
• compounds instead of resets
• scales beyond your personal capacity
• gives you more control, not less
• makes your expertise harder to replace

Here’s the reality of the situation:
Many high performers (especially people pleasers) delay leverage because it feels uncomfortable.

Asking for ownership feels risky.
Narrowing your expertise feels limiting.
Building a network feels political.

So they keep over-delivering… without changing the structure of their work.

Leverage isn’t something you arrive at.
It’s something you design over time.

And the earlier you start thinking this way, the less likely you are to burn out trying to prove your value through effort alone.

Which of these feels strongest in your career right now? 👇

💫 Save this & use it as a gap finding tool
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*******

P.S. The first 2026 edition of my email newsletter goes out next Wednesday. I have so much planned for you all this year! Make sure you're subscribed. I share a career leverage tool in it every week.

I learned the rules AFTER I paid the price:

The coworker who took credit for my idea accidentally did me a favor.

I was angry for weeks.
Then I realized something irritating:

They could only take credit because I had handed the idea over quietly.

The real issue wasn’t their audacity-
(though… let’s be honest, it was a little).

It was my invisibility.

I shared ideas one-on-one.
They shared them in the room.

Guess whose contribution leadership remembered?

Here’s the reality of the situation:

Many people-pleasers avoid visibility because it feels like self-promotion.

So they give ideas away privately, hoping integrity will speak for itself.

But integrity without visibility doesn’t travel.

Helpful people get appreciated.
Strategically visible people get promoted.

Stop beating yourself up.
You weren’t naïve.
You were operating with integrity in a system that doesn’t always reward it.

Once you understand the rules, you get to choose how to play.

The slides break down practical ways to protect your ideas and make sure your work is attributed to you

(without becoming someone you’re not)

Has someone ever taken credit for your idea? 
One word: how did it feel? 👇

💫Save this to protect your next big idea
🌻Follow Cassie Lincoln for strategies that get your work seen

The co-worker who stole my credit did me a favor

People-pleasing wasn’t my problem.
Pleasing everyone was:

Everyone told me to stop people-pleasing. 
That advice almost stalled my career. 

I tried being “less helpful.” 
Speaking up more. 
Saying no reflexively. 

And it felt wrong...like I was performing a personality that wasn’t mine. 

Here’s the reality of the situation: 

People-pleasing isn’t the problem. 
People-pleasing with no boundaries or strategy is. 

I was giving my best energy to: 

Coworkers who never returned the favor 
Managers who would never advocate for me 
Peers who only remembered me when they needed something 

I was loyal to everyone which meant I was strategic with no one. 

The real shift wasn’t becoming colder. 
It was becoming selective. 

Now I’m intentional about where my best effort goes: 

My sponsor 
My manager’s manager 
A small number of peers who champion my work behind closed doors 

Everyone else still gets professionalism. 
They just don’t get my highest gear. 

Same warmth. Same instincts. 
Completely different career outcomes. 

You don’t need to filter out the people-pleaser in you. 
You need to aim them. 

The slides walk through how to do that without becoming someone you’re not. 

Who are you working far too hard to please right now? 
(No names needed.) 

💫 Save this for the next moment you feel the urge to over-give.

🌻 Follow for career strategy rooted in leverage, not burnout.

Start people-pleasing strategically

Not everyone wants you to be promoted...
Even if they like you-

That doesn't mean everyone is out to get you.
And it doesn't mean you should become cynical.

Here's the reality of the situation:

Workplaces are human ecosystems.

Sometimes resistance has nothing to do with the role itself.
It has everything to do with:

👉Identity:
Your rise might challenge how they see themselves.

👉Status:
Hierarchy shifts feel threatening.

👉Comfort with change:
Your growth disrupts their normal.

👉Influence:
Your advancement means someone else loses leverage.

You can outperform everyone and still get passed over.
That's not a flaw in you. It's a feature of the system.

Career growth isn't just about performance.
It's about understanding dynamics and navigating them with purpose instead of confusion.

Not everyone who blocks your path wants what you're going for.
Some are just invested in you staying where you are.

That's not a reason to hold back.
It's a reason to be strategic.

Do you agree? Let's talk in the comments.

💫Repost for those confused by workplace dynamics
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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Stephanie Wilson's LinkedIn Performance

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