In many corporate environments, career growth is still closely tied to formal promotions. For women in particular, this creates a limiting narrative. If a promotion is not available or accessible, development feels stalled. But career progression does not begin and end with job titles. It often begins with the bold, strategic choices made within your current role.
At senior levels, I often see women who are highly capable but have been told to “wait their turn” or who believe that growth is only valid when tied to an official advancement. In reality, the most effective leaders I work with understand that growth is proactive, not reactive.
Understanding The Bold Move Myth
A well-cited Hewlett-Packard internal study, popularised in Harvard Business Review (2014), found that women tend to apply for roles only when they meet 100% of the qualifications, while men apply when they meet around 60%. This pattern has been consistently observed across industries.
The implications are significant.
When women wait for certainty before pursuing a new role or project, they often miss out on stretch opportunities that develop leadership capacity, increase visibility, and build critical experience capital.
In other words, playing it safe can quietly slow your career trajectory.
What Makes A Career Move Bold?
A bold move is not necessarily a promotion. It is any action that pushes you beyond the familiar and into a space of new capability and recognition. These types of moves often build more influence than a new title.
Here are examples of bold internal moves:
- Leading a cross-functional or high-profile project
- Taking the initiative to present to senior leadership
- Volunteering to solve a business problem outside your usual scope
- Rotating into a different function to expand your operational perspective
These actions send a signal. They say: “I am capable of leading, adapting, and thinking strategically.” For many women, they also create the visibility that too often comes second to performance in advancement decisions.
Experience Capital vs. Worthwhile Experience Capital
Not all experience is created equal.
It is possible to stay busy, work hard, and take on additional responsibilities without that effort translating into meaningful career growth. This is where the distinction between experience capital and worthwhile experience capital becomes critical.
Experience capital is the sum of your skills, achievements, and visibility.
Worthwhile experience capital is the subset that actually positions you for the next step in your career.
Worthwhile experience capital is visible, valued, and strategically aligned. It includes:
- Projects with measurable business outcomes
- Roles that expose you to decision-makers
- Work that builds high-demand skills
- Contributions that influence organisational direction
Taking on more tasks, more hours, or more pressure without these elements is not strategic growth. It is unpaid expansion of your role.
Women, in particular, are often encouraged (explicitly or implicitly) to “step up” informally without promotion, pay, or recognition. Experience capital is not a euphemism for that dynamic. It is a tool for career leverage, not another avenue for invisible labour.
How to Make Bold Moves That Build Worthwhile Experience Capital
In my Experience Capital workshops, we guide participants to look beyond job postings and promotion cycles. One of the key reflections I invite is: What is your Point B? That might be 12, 24, or 36 months from now.
From there, we work backwards.
What skills, relationships, and experiences will help you reach that point?
What are the visibility gaps between where you are now and where you want to be?
By mapping this out, women can begin to actively shape their professional story through targeted stretch moves. You are no longer waiting for opportunity. You are preparing for it and positioning yourself for it.
If you want to grow in a way that matters, here are practical ways to identify and act on meaningful stretch opportunities:
- Map your Point B
Identify where you want to be in 12 to 36 months. Be specific about the role, influence, or scope you want to reach. - Audit your current position
What skills, relationships, and visibility do you currently have? What is missing? - Look for strategic stretch
Target opportunities that align with your goals. This might include leading a project, influencing a broader stakeholder group, or building a skill outside your function. - Track impact and visibility
For each bold move, ask:
Did it result in a business outcome?
Did the right people see it?
Did it build a story I can use in future advancement conversations? - Negotiate recognition early
If you are stepping into a stretch role, clarify expectations. Will it be reflected in your performance review? Can you agree on support, visibility, or future scope changes?
This is not about doing more for the sake of more. It is about working smarter toward a future you have deliberately designed.
Why This Matters for Women in the Workplace
Lateral moves are a powerful and often under-utilised strategy for women navigating the complexities of corporate environments. While they may not come with a new title, they offer something equally important: the chance to expand influence, deepen capability, and gain visibility in new parts of the business.
These moves build experience capital in ways that traditional vertical promotions cannot, positioning women more strategically for future leadership opportunities.
This is especially important in light of research on the Broken Rung – the idea that the first step up to management is where women are most often held back. McKinsey’s 2025 article, How Women Can Win in the Workplace, highlights how fewer early promotions compound over time, limiting women’s representation at every subsequent leadership level.
While traditional advice often encourages women to wait for advancement, lateral and cross-functional moves offer an alternate path: one that builds influence from within. These experiences shape the narrative others have about your leadership potential and readiness.
By choosing the right lateral move, you may open more doors than any title change ever could and crucially, they give women agency to lead their careers on their own terms.
Final Reflection
Building experience capital is not about doing more work without compensation. It is about being strategic with your time, energy, and contribution.
Every worthwhile move you make should take you closer to a role, a voice, or a seat at the table that aligns with your ambitions.
If you are ready to start designing your next chapter with purpose, I would love to support you.
Support for Designing Strategic Career Moves
Experience Capital Workshop
An interactive session for leadership teams and high-potential talent. This workshop equips participants with a framework to identify growth gaps, pursue strategic stretch opportunities, and increase internal mobility and retention.
Intentional Leadership Canvas Development
A structured coaching experience for women looking to grow with purpose. Together, we will clarify your career goals, map out your experience capital, and plan lateral or upward moves that align with your long-term vision.
Both options are built to support women in strategically shaping careers with clarity, confidence, and strategic intent.
References
“How Women Can Win in the Workplace,” Harvard Business Review, March 2025. Based on McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace research.
Mohr, T., “Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified,” Harvard Business Review, August 2014.
