Episode
You’re Pulling the Wrong Career Lever
- Podcast
- Leadership Language
- Published
- Jul 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 404
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Summary
Every time you feel stuck, you work harder. And that instinct may be the exact thing holding you back. In this episode, I’m talking about one of the most common traps I see with technology leaders: responding to being overlooked by doubling down on execution. Most IT leaders who get passed over are not short on effort. They deliver, they lead, they put in the work. The harder truth: the skills that made you the best operator are the same ones keeping you out of the executive seat. The business sees a technologist, not a leader. And no one ever explains how to change that. That is the work I do. I help IT Directors and VPs make the jump to the executive level. It starts with a short private diagnostic. It shows you which of the things holding you back is costing you the most, and where you stand against the leaders who already made the jump. For the right fit, it opens into the Executive Leap Session: A private 45-minute session, one on one with me I read your full diagnostic before we talk A straight read on where you actually stand The one or two things holding you back, specific to you The move that matters next 45 minutes with a former CIO, normally something leaders pay for. Take the diagnostic and find out where you stand. Take the diagnostic → https://www.tingleleadership.com/ You stay later. You take on another project. You go deeper into the technical details. You become the person leadership calls when something breaks. It feels responsible. It feels like proof. But more output does not always answer the doubt that keeps you stuck. In many cases, it reinforces the same story leadership already has about you: strong operator, keep them where they are. The next level does not require less effort. It requires different effort. I’ll show you why hard work can beco…