Getting promoted - overcoming systemic barriers
Barbra Carlisle • March 12, 2026
Navigating barriers to promotion - when you don't see anyone like you in leadership
When I interviewed Learie Gonsalves of Blackbird Property Solutions
on the Unlikely Executive podcast, he talked about the challenges he had faced in the housing sector trying to secure promotion and leadership roles.
It really resonated for me because I heard this often when I was Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for a design and engineering consultancy firm.
Securing promotion when you can't see others like you is psychologically a hard thing to navigate.
Learie built a career in building surveying and architecture, industries where, as he put it, he simply didn’t look like the people around him. And that came with real consequences.
“When you’re in an arena where they don't see many people like yourself…”
“I came from a community or area that didn't know anything about building surveying or architecture. So when you're in a sort of arena where they don't see many people like yourself, either from a working-class background or being black, dare I say, when you're around, there's challenges around that.”
It affects confidence, visibility, opportunity, and progression.
Many leaders assume that those who “don’t get promoted” need more ambition or better performance.
Often, the reality is simpler: the system wasn’t built for them in the first place.
Three Strategies Learie Used to Break Through
1. Ruthless self-belief
When you’re the “only one,” you can start doubting whether you belong.
Learie didn’t pretend that confidence was easy.
What he developed instead was self‑belief as a discipline. Holding onto the truth of his capability even when the environment didn’t reflect it back.
Leaders who break the mould need internal reference points, not external ones.
2. Continuous curiosity
Learie talked openly about how learning became his biggest lever.
Not formal qualifications alone but curiosity:
Asking questions
Shadowing colleagues
Trying things before he felt “ready”
Building technical skill through practice
Curiosity becomes a career accelerator when opportunity isn’t handed to you.
3. Building authentic relationships
This can be transformation, someone in your team, fighting your corner - helping you to see that you can rather than you cant. Relationships that have the potential to create visibility, open doors, and influence your trajectory.
Why Learie’s story matters for leaders today
If you're a business owner, team leader, or senior exec, you influence who progresses and who doesn’t.
Remember that
- Talent doesn’t always look like the last person who was promoted.
- Confidence can be misread when someone is navigating a culture not built for them.
- Curiosity and potential can sit quietly in the background unless someone sees it.
Leaders who create conditions for people to grow, not just those who “fit” build stronger, more resilient organisations.
Learie didn’t break the mould by becoming someone else.
He broke it by staying authentically himself, developing his skills, and forming relationships that saw beyond assumptions.
Promote who people are not who the system expects them to be.
And if you’re the one feeling like the outsider?
Take Learie’s example:
Believe in your capability, stay curious, build genuine connections and push forward anyway.
As leaders, we shape the environments that either limit people or lift them. If you’re committed to creating a culture where diverse talent thrives and where potential is recognised beyond the usual markers, that work starts with you.
If you’re ready to lead with more clarity, confidence and conviction, my 1:1 Bold Leadership Programme
helps you step into a stronger leadership identity so you can build teams who grow, perform and progress because of the culture you create, not in spite of it.
If you want to lead differently, start boldly.
Book a clarity call
to explore whether it’s the right next step for you.
Ideas and thoughts on how to lead well through complexity and change
Senior leadership comes with an unspoken contract. Be decisive but do not intimidate people. Be confident but do not dominate the room. Be passionate but tone it down. Be resilient but do not show strain. One senior leader described it like this: “People want you to be assertive but not assertive. Strong but weak. Passionate but not showing too much passion.” If that sounds contradictory, it is. And yet this is what many experienced leaders carry every day, quietly. When experience does not equal belonging In a recent conversation with a Technical Director who has spent over 20 years in a male‑dominated industry, one question stayed with me: “When do I get to belong?” This was not said from a place of insecurity or inexperience. This was someone who: - leads large, complex programmes - manages global teams - has built capability from the ground up - is objectively successful And still feels the need to prove herself again and again. That constant internal checking, am I being too much, am I not enough, is exhausting. Not because leaders cannot handle pressure. Because the rules keep shifting. The pressure nobody notices Many senior leaders normalise the strain. They tell themselves: - this is just the job - others have it worse - I can push a bit longer Until the body intervenes. One moment shared was stark. Working across multiple major projects, sleeping badly, always saying yes. And then the body simply stopped cooperating. A breakdown that arrived without warning. Not drama. Not failure. Feedback. What resilience actually looked like The shift did not come from wellness slogans or better time management. It came from three grounded changes. 1. Capacity boundaries A clear rule. If something new comes in, something else must move out. Not because of weakness. Because leadership requires judgement about capacity, not endless commitment. 2. Progress over perfection Daily focus on what can realistically move forward. Two completed tasks is not underperformance. It is momentum. 3. Perspective under pressure A recurring reminder in difficult moments: “No one is going to die.” This is not dismissive. It is grounding. It brings leaders out of panic mode and back into proportion. The quiet truth about senior leadership At the top, pressure does not disappear. It simply becomes less visible. Strong leaders are not struggling because they lack resilience. They struggle when they are expected to absorb contradiction, manage everyone else’s comfort, and never acknowledge the cost. Leadership is not about being everything at once. It is about being clear enough to lead without erasing yourself. If this resonates, it is not because you are failing. It is because you are carrying more than most people see.
There’s a moment in many leadership careers where promotion comes with a quiet trade‑off. Not made explicit. Not negotiated. But keenly felt. You’re rewarded for your expertise – and then slowly pulled away from it. In my latest podcast episode, I spoke with Dr Nike Folayan MBE (PhD, CEng., FIET, HonFREng), Technical Director at WSP, who manages a team of 40+ engineers and remains fiercely committed to technical excellence. Her experience mirrors what I see repeatedly when coaching senior leaders in construction and engineering. “I knew my strength was technical. But I was put into non‑technical interface roles – and it almost destroyed me.” This is where many leaders break. The hidden cost of “helpful” roles Nike described being moved into interface management on a major infrastructure project. On paper, it looked like exposure. In reality, it stripped away her professional identity. She was no longer recognised as an engineer – but as someone who was “good at organising”. It was a form of professional dilution. And it happens more than people think. Engineers promoted into coordination or management Specialists turned into generalists Experts trapped in meetings while others do the work they want to do Eventually, they disconnect – or leave. The issue isn’t all about capability. It’s clarity and showcasing. What allowed Nike to rebuild wasn’t luck or resilience clichés. It was brutal clarity. “You have to be very clear what you want to do – even when you’re doing roles you don’t want.” She stayed alert. She watched for technical re‑entry points. She refused to let one misalignment define her career. That’s leadership agency. For senior leaders reading this If promotion has pulled you away from the work that gives you authority and credibility, ask yourself: Where am I adding value – and where am I merely being useful? What assumptions have others made about what I should do? What am I quietly tolerating that’s costing me energy? Promotion without authorship isn’t advancement. It’s erosion. If this resonates, it’s probably time to recalibrate. You don’t need another role. You need a clearer one. Listen to the full podcast episode here or watch on You Tube here
