If you've spent your career in a male-dominated industry, "not playing politics" often becomes code for staying quiet, staying small, and letting other people take credit for work you did.

I coach women who are done with that self-defeating loop. They want to lead in a way that's honest, that earns positive influence, and that doesn't cost them their integrity to get it. Here's a case study of what that looks like in action and words.

The SECRET SAUCE to effective self-advocacy isn't to convince -- or to contort your communication tactics inauthentically, or to push your perspective on others in an aggressive and unethical way.