You’re delivering great work. You’re reliable, capable, and the person people come to when something needs to get done. So why does it feel like you’re invisible when promotion decisions are made?
This is one of the most common patterns I see in the women I coach, and one I lived for years in my own career. You put your head down, do excellent work, and wait for someone to notice. But that strategy has a ceiling, and it’s lower than you think.
In this episode of From a Woman to a Leader, I sat down with Lalitha Madhugundu, a Senior Engineering Manager at Atlassian with over 20 years in software engineering. Lalitha has led large-scale cloud transformations, built resilient teams, and learned firsthand that the skills that get you hired are not the same skills that get you promoted.
What came out of our conversation is something I think every woman in tech and leadership needs to hear. Here are the key insights.
1. The myth of “my work speaks for itself”
One of the most expensive beliefs you can hold in your career is that doing great work is enough. Lalitha put it plainly:
“We feel getting the work done is enough and the work speaks for itself. That’s definitely not always true. You still need to build that network and connections.”
This is something I hear from the women I coach all the time. They’re focused on execution, they’re delivering results, and they’re quietly waiting for someone, usually their manager, to recognize them and hand them the next opportunity.
But here’s what most people don’t realize: your manager is busy. And as you grow into more senior roles, your manager is not the only one making the decision about your promotion. There’s usually a committee, a group of stakeholders, and if those people don’t know who you are and what you’ve contributed, your manager is fighting an uphill battle alone.
How to apply this: Stop assuming your results are visible to the people who matter. Ask yourself: beyond my manager, who else in the organization knows what I’m working on and the impact I’m making? If the answer is “no one” or “very few people,” that’s the first thing to change.
2. You don’t need a title to lead
Lalitha shared a story from early in her career that perfectly illustrates what leadership actually looks like before anyone gives you the title. She was about three or four years into her engineering career when she noticed a teammate who was struggling. Nobody asked her to help. It wasn’t part of her role. She didn’t have a leadership title.
She sat down with that person anyway and worked through the problem with them. It slowed the team down at first. But then the team’s velocity doubled.
“Leadership is a skill which you naturally have it and you develop it. I didn’t have to be told that this is not part of my role. Stepping up and doing that extra thing for the greater benefit of your team, that is one of the leadership qualities.”
I see this pattern with the most successful people I’ve worked with and coached. They don’t wait to be told. They see a problem, and they step in.
In my own career, I formed an architecture working group with senior engineers across different groups. Nobody asked me to do that. There was no directive from leadership. I saw it was needed and I took the first step. That initiative was a significant factor in my promotion to director.
How to apply this: Look around your organization. What problems exist that no one is solving? What conversations should be happening but aren’t? You don’t need permission to start. Pick one problem that excites you and take the first step this week.
3. How genuine curiosity creates opportunities you never planned for
One of the most powerful stories Lalitha shared was about how genuine curiosity, not strategic networking, opened a door she wasn’t even looking for.
She was working on a project for a client and became curious about what happened to her team’s work after it was handed off. How did the client integrate it? What did the end user experience? Nobody asked her to care about this. She was just curious.
She started asking questions, sharing ideas with counterparts on the client side. And something happened:
“I have done nothing different. The ideas which I was sharing was something which we do day to day. It’s just that I was curious, I was asking questions, so that is what built that connection and the person was advocating for me.”
That curiosity led to her being invited into client meetings, then being advocated for by someone on the client side, and eventually landing a relocation opportunity she never planned for.
How to apply this: Be curious about what happens beyond your immediate scope. Ask questions about how your work fits into the bigger picture. Talk to people in other teams, other functions, other parts of the business. You’re not networking. You’re learning. And the relationships that grow from genuine curiosity are the ones that last.
4. Why sponsors matter more than you think
Lalitha made a distinction that I think is critical and often overlooked. Building connections doesn’t just help you learn faster or do better work. It creates something far more valuable for your career: sponsors.
“You’re silently having some sponsors who can speak up for you on behalf of you in the space where you are not present. That is so fundamental in anybody’s career growth.”
A mentor gives you advice. A sponsor puts their credibility on the line for you. And you often don’t get to choose when or how that happens.
I experienced this firsthand. When an engineering manager position opened up, I was eight months pregnant. I took the initiative to nominate myself for the role. But then I went on maternity leave. And while I was home, a former manager of mine, someone who knew my work and believed in what I was capable of, went to the hiring manager and spoke on my behalf.
I didn’t know it was happening. And if it weren’t for that person, I wouldn’t have gotten that opportunity.
That’s the power of building genuine relationships. You do the work, you show up with curiosity and real value, and then, sometimes at the exact moment you need it, someone shows up for you.
How to apply this: Think about who in your organization knows your work well enough to speak for you in a room you’re not in. If you can’t name anyone beyond your direct manager, start building those relationships now. Not by scheduling networking calls, but by being genuinely helpful and curious about what others are working on.
5. The promotion reality: what happens when only your manager knows your name
Lalitha shared a specific example that every high-performer should hear. Out of roughly 10 promotions in a group of 100, a couple went through based purely on the work, with the manager as the only advocate.
“The amount of effort it takes to get those promotions through is much harder and it is whole and solely on the shoulders of their manager and their genuine interest. People got to be lucky to get such nice managers.”
And the cost wasn’t just the difficulty of the promotion process. When those promotions came through, there were far fewer congratulations from across the organization. Fewer people knew these individuals well enough to celebrate them. That loss of recognition and community is something people don’t talk about enough.
I lived this from the manager’s side. I had an incredibly talented, very quiet engineer I was trying to promote. And it was nearly impossible because no one outside his immediate team knew how good he was. The people who needed to approve the promotion had never seen his work, never heard him speak, never interacted with him.
How to apply this: Ask yourself honestly, if your manager changed tomorrow, would anyone else in the organization be able to advocate for your promotion? If not, your career growth is more fragile than you think. Start building visibility now, not as self-promotion, but as professional responsibility.
6. Imposter syndrome is the real reason we stay invisible
Lalitha called imposter syndrome “the mammoth in the room.” She said she still experiences it. Senior leaders and public speakers she’s spoken with have told her the same thing.
“It is all about understanding in what scenarios that surfaces and how you can overcome it.”
Here’s what I’ve learned from my own career and from coaching hundreds of women: imposter syndrome is not the problem. The problem is when imposter syndrome makes your decisions for you. When it tells you that putting yourself out there is bragging, that you should just focus on your work, that you shouldn’t bother building relationships.
That voice is the reason so many capable women stay invisible. Not because they don’t know visibility matters, but because something inside tells them they shouldn’t need it.
How to apply this: Next time you feel that voice telling you to stay quiet, ask yourself: am I making this choice because it’s genuinely the right call, or because imposter syndrome is deciding for me? Just noticing the difference is the first step to acting despite it.
What to do this week
If you’re reading this and recognizing yourself, here are three concrete actions:
- Get clear on what you want and share it with your manager. Even a general direction is enough to start the conversation. Ask them: What am I missing? What skills should I develop? What experiences should I look for?
- Take initiative on one problem no one else is solving. It could be forming a working group, improving a process, or helping a teammate. Do something visible that’s beyond your immediate role.
- Build one genuine relationship outside your team. Not a networking call. Find someone whose work you’re curious about and start a real conversation.
You don’t have to figure this out alone
This is exactly the work I do with my clients. I help women in tech and engineering leadership get clear on what they want, build the strategic relationships that matter, and create a plan to get promoted, without burning out or becoming someone they’re not.
If you’re ready to stop waiting and start taking ownership of your career growth, book a promotion strategy call with me: Book a call
Listen to the full conversation
🎧 Listen to the full episode with Lalitha Madhugundu
🎧 Listen to my solo companion episode: I Was Passed Over for Promotion. Here’s What I Learned.
📺 Watch on YouTube: Guest episode | Solo episode
📝 Read the deeper, personal version on my Substack
About Lalitha Madhugundu
Lalitha is a Senior Engineering Manager at Atlassian with over 20 years in software engineering. She’s led large-scale cloud transformations, built resilient infrastructure teams, and actively mentors women through Tech Leading Ladies in Australia and ShiTu internationally.
Connect with Lalitha: LinkedIn
FAQ: Career Visibility and Promotion for Women in Tech
Why am I not getting promoted even though I do great work? Doing great work is necessary but not sufficient for promotion. If the people who make promotion decisions don’t know who you are and what impact you’re making, your manager is fighting for you alone, and that makes promotion significantly harder. Building visibility through strategic relationships, taking initiative, and being curious about the broader business is what closes the gap.
How do I make myself visible at work without bragging? Reframe visibility as providing value rather than self-promotion. Share what you’re working on with your manager in terms of impact, not just tasks. Take initiative on cross-team problems. Build genuine relationships with stakeholders by being curious about their challenges. You’re not talking about yourself, you’re contributing, and people notice the difference.
How do I find a sponsor at work? You don’t usually find sponsors by asking someone to be your sponsor. Sponsors emerge from genuine relationships where you’ve demonstrated your capabilities and provided value. Focus on building real connections with people who can see your work, and over time, some of those people will choose to advocate for you.
What’s the difference between a mentor and a sponsor? A mentor gives you advice and guidance based on their experience. A sponsor actively advocates for you, often in rooms you’re not in. Sponsors put their own credibility on the line to vouch for you. Both are valuable, but sponsors are the ones who directly influence promotion decisions.
How do I tell my manager I want to be promoted without sounding pushy? Frame it as a development conversation, not a demand. Say something like: “This is the direction I want to grow. What skills do I need to develop? What experiences should I look for?” This shows intention and maturity. Most managers appreciate knowing what their reports aspire to because it helps them support you more effectively.
How do I deal with imposter syndrome at work? Recognize that imposter syndrome is a signal that you’re stretching into something new, which is actually a sign of growth. The goal isn’t to eliminate it but to notice when it’s making decisions for you, like keeping you quiet when you should speak up. Building a support network of people who believe in you also helps counter the internal doubt.
How do women in tech build confidence to advocate for themselves? Start small. Take initiative on one visible project. Share your perspective in one meeting where you’d normally stay quiet. Have one honest conversation with your manager about your aspirations. Confidence builds through action, not through waiting until you feel ready. Public speaking, even within your company, is also a powerful confidence builder.
What should I do if I keep getting passed over for promotion? Have a direct conversation with your manager about what’s missing. Ask for specific, actionable feedback. Then look honestly at whether people beyond your immediate team know your work and impact. Often the gap isn’t skill, it’s visibility. Build a promotion plan that includes not just skill development but relationship building and visible initiatives.