Route Planning: Close the Gaps That Are Holding You Back

Progress Requires Precision

Once you know where you are and where you are headed, the only thing standing between intention and promotion is your route. Many women assume that working harder will naturally close the distance, yet career acceleration rarely happens through effort alone. It happens through targeted development. The route you choose determines how efficiently you move, how visible your growth becomes, and how confident you feel stepping into larger rooms.

Gaps are not flaws. They are signals. They reveal what must be strengthened for your next level to become sustainable. When you treat gaps as information instead of inadequacy, you shift from self-doubt to strategy. This stage of the Career GPS journey is about identifying what truly matters, not everything that could improve. When you focus on the right gaps, momentum becomes inevitable.

Capability Gaps - What You Can Do Versus What Your Future Role Requires

Capability gaps exist when your current skill set no longer aligns with the demands of your desired position. Many women excel at execution while leadership roles demand influence, delegation, and strategic thinking. This mismatch keeps high performers in place because their success is built on strengths that no longer stretch them.

Practical Tips

• Compare your strengths with leadership competencies in your organization.

• Identify which skills you avoid because they feel unfamiliar

• Prioritize growth areas that directly support your destination role.

Action Steps

1. Select one leadership skill to practice intentionally this quarter.

2. Seek a project that requires that capability.

3. Request feedback after completion.

Visibility Gaps - When Your Value Is Hidden

You may contribute extraordinary work that never reaches decision makers. Visibility gaps occur when impact remains behind the scenes. When leaders do not see your value, they cannot advocate for your advancement.

Practical Tips

• Track where recognition currently comes from.

• Notice who speaks when outcomes are reviewed.

• Share progress updates that connect work to results.

Action Steps

1. Identify one recurring meeting where you can contribute more visibly.

2. Prepare one insight to share during the next session.

3. Follow up with stakeholders to reinforce your contribution.

Influence Gaps - When Your Voice Lacks Weight

Influence gaps appear when your ideas are overlooked or revisited only after others repeat them. Influence is built through trust, consistency, and strategic relationships. Without it, your expertise does not convert into authority.

Practical Tips

• Observe who shapes decisions before they are finalized

• Build relationships beyond your immediate team.

• Position ideas in terms of business outcomes.

Action Steps

1. Schedule a relationship building conversation with a key influencer.

2. Practice framing recommendations around organizational goals.

3. Track when your ideas are adopted.

Closing Gaps Creates Leverage

Your route becomes clear when you understand which gaps truly matter. Capability builds confidence. Visibility creates opportunity. Influence multiplies impact. When you close the right gaps, you stop chasing advancement and start attracting it. This is how careers accelerate with purpose rather than pressure.

At Level Up Empowerment Coaching we help ambitious women protect their power and lead with bold clarity. Need help closing the gaps that are holding you back? It’s time to Book a Strategy Session to help you formulate your strategy.

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