How to Deliver Breakthrough Results in Your Career

Recently I came across a wonderful article: “Playing it safe is the riskiest career move.” That last point in that article hits home: "Growth rarely comes from staying safe." So true. In my career, I've found that the most significant leaps forward came not from one giant, reckless gamble, but from a series of intentional, calculated micro-risks. These are the moments that build the muscle of leadership. The post mentions taking on a struggling project for a turnaround. This resonates deeply. Early in my career, I was asked to lead a team that was struggling with morale, velocity, and quality. The safe move would have been to apply incremental fixes. The micro-risk was to bet on a complete cultural and operational transformation. We introduced Agile/DevOps from the ground up (agile methodology was in its early days at that time), restructured teams into empowered units, and fostered a culture of radical transparency and accountability. It was uncomfortable and challenging existing norms. The payoff? We transformed it into a high-performance unit, delivering a product recognized globally, while reducing voluntary attrition to a negligible level. Another micro-risk that has paid dividends is "Hiring people smarter than you." As a leader, your success is multiplied by the strength of your team. At another organization, while building a 150+ member Product Engineering team from scratch, I consciously hired domain experts in Data Science, Cloud Architecture, and Product Management who were far more knowledgeable in their specific fields than I was. This wasn't about ego; it was about assembling the best possible team to incubate and commercialize an award-winning platform, which went on to generate significant revenue. Their expertise elevated the entire organization. Finally, "Speaking up with a contrarian point of view" is a risk that demands courage but builds credibility. In executive meetings, challenging the prevailing strategy with data and a well-articulated alternative vision might feel risky, but it’s often the catalyst for breakthrough innovation. This approach has been key in roles from large organizations to advising startups, where asking "what if?" has helped pivot strategies toward greater impact. The compound effect of these micro-risks is a career defined not by safety, but by transformative growth and tangible impact. What’s a micro-risk you’ve taken that paid off? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments. #CareerGrowth #Leadership #MicroRisks #ProfessionalDevelopment #Transformation

Career advice I’d give my younger self: Keep a record of your wins Document your accomplishments as you go - not just what you did, but the real impact. (Keep this in a personal repository, not at work.) Most of us move from project to project, thinking we’ll remember the details when we need them. Then, when it’s time for a job search or a performance review, we struggle to articulate our impact. Instead, whenever you start a new project, ask yourself: “How will my future self talk about this?” Think in terms of a story - a problem worth solving, a difficult and challenging solution, and a meaningful transformation. You don’t have to wait until the project is finished to start writing it. Step 1: The problem What problem are you solving? A (business) problem worth solving has the problem itself, which lead to symptoms that, if they aren't addressed, can lead to disaster. For example, you might be replacing a legacy workflow. The old workflow is slow and includes manual steps. This results in errors and customer dissatisfaction, which leads to financial risk (due to errors) and churn, resulting in stagnant revenue and declining market share. You'll get more insight over time, but just start at the start. Write down what you know. Step 2: Document the outcomes you (or your leadership) are expecting or hoping for You may not know the final impact yet, but you have a hypothesis. What will change if your project succeeds? More revenue? Higher efficiency? Customer satisfaction improvements? Write that down. The transformation is often the opposite of the problem: if revenue is stagnant, the goal is growth. If churn is rising, the goal is retention. Define the ideal outcome early. Step 3: Capture the key components of the solution As technologists, we naturally document what we built. That’s fine, but remember—hiring managers and execs care less about features and more about impact. And how you collaborated and persuaded stakeholders to create and keep alignment. Step 4: Update your story as you go As your project progresses, go back and update: ✔ What you learned about the real problem ✔ Changes in your approach ✔ The actual results once customers started using your solution Often, the results blossom in unexpected ways - leading to social proof like customer stories, awards, or internal recognition. Capture those. These stories become the basis of a resume that gets interviews and they're great for performance reviews.

MYTH: "Just do great work, and they will notice." Spoiler alert: They won't. I believed this myth for years, and it made me feel like I was running on a treadmill. Technical skill is the ticket to the game. But strategic visibility is how you win. This lesson hit me hard back in my very first engineering job. I’d finish my huge tasks early, and then, without telling anyone, I'd jump in to fix my slower teammate’s backlog. Why? For “the good of the team." I was doing double the work. But here’s what my manager saw: A team hitting its goals. I got zero extra credit. Zero strategic impact. I was trading my personal energy for invisible effort. So, I started using this simple, practical framework to make sure my effort was impossible to ignore. 1. Stop Being Quiet (Own Your Scope) 🤫 Don't let your work just speak for itself. It's shy! 🤫 Start by explicitly defining what you are crushing and by when. 🤫 When you finish early, immediately close the loop: "I completed Project X two days ahead of schedule, which cleared the roadblock for Team Y." You must own the narrative of your success. 2. Shout When You're Free (The Proactive Ask) 📣 The moment you are done, don't silently grab the next item. That's a fail. 📣 Proactively broadcast your bandwidth to the right people (your manager, a key exec): "My core deliverables are complete. I now have time to tackle a new, high-leverage strategic challenge." 📣 This reframes your capacity as a strategic asset, not just "free time." 3. Get Credit for the Choice (Frame the Impact) 🖼️ The extra work is still the extra work. But now, you get credit for a strategic choice to solve a new, valuable problem. 🖼️ You weren't just "picking up slack." You chose to use your free capacity to deliver additional business value. It makes all the difference when it’s time to talk career growth. We lie to ourselves that being the smartest or hardest worker is enough to lead. It isn't. You need to master the simple science of making your impact visible. #LinkedInNewsUK #TechLeadership #CareerMyth – I share actionable frameworks and real-world stories for tech leaders. 👉 Follow me, Rony Rozen, to get them in your feed.

Every breakthrough I’ve had in my career began with something I thought wouldn’t matter. In 2010, I was stuck. A stable Wall Street job with good pay, a new marriage, and a burning dream to build something on my own. But leaving? That felt suicidal. How could I walk away from safety? I started making small bets. I interviewed experts using my company’s research tools. I freelanced on the side. I built simple financial models to validate my ideas. None of those things cost me much. But each one taught me something. Each gave me a little more courage. And after a year of small bets, I didn’t need to leap off a cliff. Quitting felt inevitable. Like the next logical step. SMALL BETS CREATE SAFETY. BIG BETS REQUIRE BRAVERY YOU DON’T NEED. They don’t just work for entrepreneurs. They work for everything. ⇒ Want a career change? Ask someone if you can shadow them for a day. ⇒ Thinking of launching a product? Test the ugliest, simplest version with five people. ⇒ Struggling with health? Take one 10-minute walk a day. SMALL BETS SHRINK YOUR FEAR. They teach you and give you data. The more you test, the more you learn. And soon, the “big leap” looks like a gentle step. Here’s How to Start. • Write down what you want to learn or test. • Ask, “What’s the tiniest action I can take?” • Take the action. Then learn. Then adjust. • Rinse and repeat. The World Wants Big Bets. Ignore It. START SMALL. KEEP BETTING. WATCH WHAT HAPPENS. That’s how you win.

Hard work alone won’t get you promoted. So what’s the real secret? Understanding the unwritten rules of career advancement. Early in my career, I thought hard work alone would get me ahead. I stayed late, took on extra projects, and waited for recognition. But nothing changed. Then I realised, promotion isn’t just about effort, it’s about strategy. The people moving up weren’t necessarily working harder. They were working smarter. Here’s what I learned about career growth that no one tells you: 1/ Network With Intent Don’t just meet people: ↳ Build strategic connections that open doors when you’re not in the room. 2/ Master Soft Skills Technical expertise gets you in the door: ↳ Emotional intelligence and relationships get you promoted. 3/ Drive Innovation Forward Leaders notice those who make things happen: ↳ Be the problem-solver. ↳ Be the idea-bringer. ↳ Be the change-maker. 4/ Build Your Succession Plan Make yourself replaceable: ↳ Document processes. ↳ Train your team. ↳ Create systems that work without you. 5/ Think Like a Leader Leadership isn’t a title - it’s a behaviour. ↳ Solve problems others ignore, build systems, and show you’re already leading without the official role. 6/ Make Your Impact Visible Stop being the hidden achiever: ↳ Document your wins. ↳ Quantify your results. ↳ Share them strategically. **Your work deserves a microphone! 7/ Link Your Work to Revenue Show how your efforts drive growth, efficiency, and results: ↳ Connect your projects to business goals, and speak the language of impact. Stop waiting for recognition and start creating your own opportunities. 👉 Tell me in the comments: Which of these strategies has had the biggest impact on your career?  ♻ Share this post with someone ready to level up in their career. ➕ Follow me, Jen Blandos, for actionable daily insights on business, entrepreneurship, and workplace well-being.

Goals are just wishful thinking without Systems – It is Systems which really determine your Success James Clear the reputed expert on Habits says ““You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” While goals inspire, it is your daily systems and habits that lead to outcome. Clear says if you wish to make lasting changes in your life, do not depend just on willpower or motivation. Concentrate on building better systems that support the change. Most ambitious professionals chase goals like distant mirages, exhausting themselves without real progress. There are many who spend 60-hour weeks hustling, thinking pure effort would catapult them to leadership. Instead, they may burn out, stuck in the same position year after year. The game-changer? Building deliberate and robust systems. Think of your career like a precision machine. Goals are the destination, but systems are the engine. It's not about working harder, but creating repeatable processes that compound your efforts. For one of my coachees, that meant designing a 30-minute morning routine: strategic networking, skill development, and reflective planning. These micro-actions gradually reshaped his professional trajectory. Your systems protect you from the real enemy: random, unfocused effort that leads nowhere. A key step you need to take is not just define the outcome with the metrics linked to your goal, but also define the sub-steps with process metrics that measure your progress. For instance, if your outcome is to secure a director-level role in 18 months, you need to break it down to intermediate steps with process metrics: Strategic visibility: Lead 2 cross-functional strategic initiatives with measurable business impact: - Leadership skill development: Attend advanced leadership training - Network expansion: Build strategic relationships with 15 senior leaders across the industry - Thought leadership: Publish 3 industry-recognized articles or present at reputed conferences Start today. Choose one daily 30-minute block and design a system around building a specific professional skill and connection strategy. Watch as consistent, small actions transform your career landscape. #LifeCoach #CareerCoach #Leadership

If you’re just polishing your resume, you’re missing 70% of what matters. Most people think a new template or a few extra keywords will finally get them noticed. They update the headline. Tweak the bullet points. Push out more applications. Then nothing. No offers. No callbacks. No progress. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Working hard doesn’t guarantee you’ll stand out. Staying loyal doesn’t mean you’ll move up. Job boards rarely get you in front of real decision-makers. I learned this the hard way. Early in my career, I thought effort and loyalty would speak for me. Seven promotions later, I know what actually works. Here are the five steps I use with every client who breaks out of the waiting game: 1/ Get clear on your real value → Write down three strengths (not the usual buzzwords) → Ask peers what problems you solve best 2/ Define your career target → Make a list of roles you want (not just what’s open) → Find out what skills and results matter at that next level 3/ Build your story—don’t just list tasks → Collect real examples where you delivered outcomes → Quantify results whenever possible 4/ Start real networking (not just sending LinkedIn requests) → Reach out to people in jobs you want → Share insights, wins, and let your impact do the talking 5/ Build your brand—loud and clear → Post about what you’ve learned leading teams → Talk about the value you bring, not just your duties Results? People land dream roles. They pick from multiple offers. They feel valued—finally. Don’t let your resume be the only thing speaking for you. Want the full guide I use with my clients? Message me “TRAINING” and I’ll send you my step-by-step playbook. What’s held you back most—visibility or opportunity?

I'm going to tell you a secret. 💬 Advancing your career isn't solely about individual performance; it's about strategically positioning yourself within your organization's ecosystem. While personal achievements are important, aligning your contributions with the success of others, especially executives, can significantly accelerate your career trajectory. A mentor/sponsor once told me that once I understood "the system" my career would take off. I have never forgotten this discussion, because he also said there will be a time when he would end up reporting to me. At the time, I was a Senior Product Manager, and he was a EVP in Azure. I dismissed it as unnecessary flattery, and literally told him to stop blowing smoke up my a$%. 🤭 Over time, I came to realize that career advancement often hinges on how well you can support and elevate others, particularly those in influential positions. Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE believer in individual recognition for hard work, and impact but when it comes to large Corporations, that just doesn't guarantee new opportunities or promotions. Managers typically have limited resources for bonuses and promotions and must advocate for their team members amidst many others within a function, an organization and then a enterprise. If your team, and your manager are your only advocates it's a uphill battle. To truly advance, you need to advocate for yourself. This involves engaging with your manager's peers understanding how your work aligns with their objectives, their choke points and how you might deliver results that contribute to their success. Expanding this approach to include skip-level managers and their peers can further enhance your visibility and influence. When it comes to managing my own team, I have always been extremely transparent about how the system works. Who we need to influence, where I see impact they can bring and help create relationships. A good leader will help you understand the system, and learn to apply it to your own success story. Once I adopted this strategy the following happened for me. ✔️Every role I have had in the last 14 years were explicitly made for me. ✔️I shifted from a Sr. Product / Program Manager to a Chief Data & AI Officer in 8 years. ✔️My last five promotions were all out-of-cycle, with C-suite executives advocating, and sponsoring my impact. This included one promotion where I skipped two levels, requiring CEO approval. Research supports the importance of self-advocacy in career advancement. A study published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology found that self-assertive efficacy positively influences workplace advocacy behavior, which in turn affects career satisfaction and organizational rewards growth. https://lnkd.in/g9g_d9Pq? #careerdevelopment #promotions #leadership #advocate #system #corporations #career #growth #secret #datafam #ai #awareness #network #influence #layoffs #opportunities

Your biggest breakthroughs lie in mastering your time, energy, and technique. The Results Venn was inspired by studying high performers—from marathon runners to corporate leaders. Every breakthrough came down to three forces: 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲. One key insight? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀. A marathon runner once shared that without hours of training (time), proper fueling (energy), and constant refinements in her form (technique), she couldn’t improve. In my 25 years at Microsoft, I managed a 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘅 despite handling thousands of emails. The secret? Learning and applying 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁-𝗶𝗻-𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀. By mastering these three forces, I spent less time, conserved energy, and amplified results. Breakthroughs can come from time or energy, but 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿. By managing time with strategies like timeboxing, aligning tasks with energy, and focusing on proven techniques, I unlocked levels of performance I didn’t think were possible. The Results Venn has been one of my most important tools that I've taught for high performance at Microsoft and beyond. How do your time, energy, and technique align to Microsoft and beyond. #GettingResults #productivity #Microsoft  

They’ll never know unless you tell them. At work, your silence is invisible. Your achievements won’t speak for themselves. Your boss has bigger fires to fight. HR isn’t tracking your growth story. If you don’t advocate for yourself, no one else will. Waiting quietly for recognition is not a career strategy — it’s a trap. But here’s the challenge: How do you let people know what you’re doing without looking like a show-off or making it awkward? Here are 5 subtle things that I've seen work: [1] Use “we” language, but highlight your contribution. When recapping a project win, say: “The team pulled off a great launch — and personally, I learnt a lot when I solved X challenge.” This balances teamwork and personal credit. [2] Share your learnings, not just your outcomes. Instead of “I crushed this target,” say, “This quarter taught me a lot about solving Y — happy to share tips if anyone’s tackling similar issues.” You position yourself as helpful, not boastful. [3] Update your manager regularly — even if they don’t ask. Send a brief, structured update (weekly or monthly) summarizing wins, progress, and next steps. You’re not bragging — you’re keeping them informed. [4] Talk about impact, not just effort. It’s not “I worked late every night,” it’s “The extra analysis I ran helped us uncover an overlooked cost-saving opportunity.” People care about outcomes, not hours. [5] Make sure your LinkedIn (and internal profiles) reflect your best work. Many managers do check — give them something accurate and impressive to find. Remember: Your career doesn’t advance just because you work hard. It advances because people know the value you bring. Speak up — thoughtfully, strategically, and often. #career #work #business #life