From "Get It Done" to CEO: How a Feedback Culture Shaped My Leadership Journey

When people ask how I made it to the CEO chair, they're often expecting some story about perfect timing or knowing the right people. The reality? I learned to embrace feedback—even when it stung—and that changed everything.

It changed my understanding of how others perceived me, my own blind spots and challenged my thinking on what it would actually take to deliver as a senior executive.

Growing up professionally in an organisation that highly valued feedback wasn't always comfortable, but it was the single most important factor in my career progression. Let me share what that journey taught me and how you can create your own feedback ecosystem to take control of your own career, regardless of your current environment.

The "Get Stuff Done Girl" Trap

Many of us, especially women, build our early reputations on being reliable executors—the person who delivers when nobody else can. I played that role for years. What nobody tells you is this: while you're serving others brilliantly, you're simultaneously capping your own growth.

I see it constantly in the talented women I mentor—brilliant executors who become the unicorns everyone depends on. *Sarah joined our team and within months became the person who could deliver the impossible. *Gail turned around failing projects so consistently that everyone brought their emergencies to her desk.

What nobody tells these high-performers is this: while they're serving others brilliantly, they're simultaneously capping their own growth.

Their superpower becomes their cage.

I watched *Christine hit this ceiling. "They keep giving me the hardest projects," she told me, "but I'm still at the same level after three years." Of course they did—she was too valuable where she was.

Finding Balance Through Feedback

I was fortunate to have sponsors who saw beyond my execution skills. 

One pushed me into a strategy role when I felt completely unprepared. Another bluntly told me I needed to stop doing and start directing. Their feedback wasn't always delivered perfectly, but it was exactly what I needed to hear.

I realised my own story wasn't just about execution—it was also about sustainability. The feedback that transformed my career centered on finding balance between what I expected of myself and what was physically possible.

I remember one mentor who saw me working impossible hours and said, "You're modeling behavior that will break your team." Another pointed out that by never saying no, I was actually making poorer strategic choices. Their honesty forced me to confront my own patterns.

Creating Your Feedback Ecosystem

Not everyone has built-in mentors, but everyone can create their own feedback culture. Here's how:

1. Seek specific, not general feedback. Instead of "How am I doing?" ask "Am I delegating enough? Where could I trust my team more?"
2. Find your truth-tellers. Identify people who will be honest without agendas. They might be peers, not bosses.
3. Welcome the uncomfortable. When feedback makes you defensive, that's often where the growth lies. Ask yourself what part of the feedback triggered you and why?
4. Create feedback loops. Make feedback regular, not event-based. Schedule it, normalize it. Make sure others know you are actively seeking it.
5. Distinguish between style and substance. Some feedback addresses how you're perceived; other feedback addresses actual skill gaps. Both matter. Make sure you ask a follow up message - What do you mean? Don't assume you know what they are saying.
6. Change your Relationship with Feedback. Your own strategy needs to be driven by the same objective assessment of status quo. Just like when you are developing a company strategy - the starting point is knowing where you are, knowing where you want to go and then making the choices on how to get there.

Owning Your Agency

The most powerful lesson I learned—and now teach my mentees—isn't about receiving feedback. It's about owning your response to it. No more excuses about difficult bosses, unsupportive cultures, or industry biases.

Yes, those challenges exist, but waiting for perfect conditions means waiting forever.

I now help my delivery superstars understand this balance. Mia struggled with holding people accountable versus doing everything herself. Our breakthrough came when she realized that by doing it all, she was actually hindering her team's growth.

Your career growth is ultimately your responsibility. Feedback is just information—you decide what to do with it.

I didn't become CEO because I worked harder than everyone else. I became CEO because I learned when to push and when to pause, how to set boundaries, and how to build sustainable teams rather than heroic individuals. Feedback showed me the gaps I couldn't see myself.

What feedback have you been avoiding? What balance might propel your career forward? Your next level is waiting on the other side of that conversation.

Ready to Take Control of Your Own Career?

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The Intention Code is for you. Our next cohort closes on Sunday February 23rd. Click to join.

*these names are all changed to protect the wonderful leaders!

I want to thank DALL-E for the image of our leader growing from her excellent feedback.