Let's Think About It Podcast

Episode 59: The Real Reason You’re Not Getting Promoted

• Morice Mabry • Season 2 • Episode 59

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EPISODE SUMMARY

Reclaim Your Voice and Rise: Confidence, Clarity, and Career Growth for Women in Leadership

When you’re doing the work and still getting overlooked, the problem isn’t your performance—it’s your visibility. In this episode, Coach Mo sits down with Rosie Zilinskas, founder of No Woman Left Behind, to explore why high-achieving women stay stuck in corporate roles and how to shift that trajectory. Rosie shares how her Promotion Readiness Roadmap helps women become confident advocates for themselves, land promotions, and thrive in leadership—without burning out. From overlooked to in-demand, this episode is a blueprint for women who are ready to speak up, step in, and level up.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • “Really? You never said anything.”
    Rosie’s career pivot started with this one sentence. Learn why visibility—not performance—is often the key to promotion.
  • Confidence comes from preparation, not just personality.
    Discover how Rosie helps women build leadership readiness by mastering feedback, self-assessment, and strategic communication.
  • The post-promotion void is real.
    Getting the job is just the start—Rosie explains how her membership program supports women as they navigate real-time leadership challenges.
  • Resilience is built in the fire.
    Rosie’s backstory—moving countries, surviving divorce, raising kids solo—reveals how adversity shaped her career clarity and coaching mission.
  • Middle managers are burning out in silence.
    Coach Mo and Rosie spotlight the leadership blind spot: unsupported new leaders stuck between executive pressure and team delivery.
Speaker 1:

Welcome to the let's Think About it podcast, where we embark on a journey of thoughtfulness and personal growth. I'm your host, Coach Mo, and I'm here to guide you through thought-promoting discussions that will inspire you to unlock your full potential. In each episode, we'll explore a wide range of topics, from self-discovery and mindfulness to goal-setting and achieving success. Together, we'll challenge conventional thinking and dive deep into the realms of possibility. Whether you're looking to find clarity in your personal or professional life, or seeking strategies to overcome obstacles, this podcast is your go-to source for insightful conversations and practical advice. So find a comfortable spot, chill and let's embark on this journey of self-improvement together. Remember, the power of transformation lies within you, and together we'll uncover the tools and insights you need to make it happen. So let's dive in. Welcome to another episode of the let's Think About it podcast. I'm your host, Coach Mo, and I'm here with another amazing guest. Her name is Rosie Zelinskas. Rosie, how are you?

Speaker 2:

I am doing very well. Today. The sun is shining here in Chicagoland, which is usually either cold or really hot, so I am well and excited to be here, coach Mo.

Speaker 1:

Thank you. Thank you and that's one of the questions that I always ask people is where they're checking in from Chicago, born and raised.

Speaker 2:

I'm not born and raised. So I was born in Chicago but we moved to Mexico City on and off a few years when I was a kid lived in Texas but I've been in the Chicagoland area since I was 19.

Speaker 1:

I love Chicago. I've been there a few times. I love the culture there. I love that it's a sports city. They love their bears, they love their Chicago.

Speaker 2:

Bulls? Yes, absolutely so. Funny because I'm more partial to the Chicago Cubs, which is northern side of the city for baseball. But those Southsiders, man, they are Chicago Sox all the way.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I actually was out there a couple of years ago for the 49ers versus the Chicago Bears. I'm a big Niner fan and we do a guy's road trip every year to catch some away games. And we went. I think it was 2022, I believe, I'm not really sure, but they played the Bears opening game of the season. It was pouring down raining. We didn't expect the rain, it was just crazy, but we had a great time. So tell my audience who you are, what you do and the type of value you bring.

Speaker 2:

I am a Mexican female. I am married, I have two kids. My kids are 24 and 26, and I'm very happy that they are out in the world and they are no longer living at home. I'm one of five in Chicago, and how I bring value to the world now Coach Mo is. I work with women in the corporate world who feel that they may be undervalued, and I help them with a proven roadmap so that they can claim the recognition they've been looking for, so they can step into leadership with confidence. My company is called no Woman Left Behind, and I coach and empower women in that realm.

Speaker 1:

Well, let's rewind a little bit. I coach and empower women in that realm. Well, let's rewind a little bit. How did you get to this point to help advocate for women to get these type of positions?

Speaker 2:

I was 40 years old and I was, at the time, expecting a management role, a leadership role, when I was sitting at my desk thinking, okay, any day, now someone's going to come and tap me on the shoulder and say, hey, rosie, you want to be a manager? Nobody ever came, and I noticed younger employees than I was at the time were getting promoted. I was like what is wrong with this picture? What am I doing wrong? Because at the time I was a high performer, I was volunteering, I was doing all the things, and when I finally went and I talked to an executive and I said, hey, I'd like to be considered for management, the response was really and I was like what do you mean? Oh, really, I'm doing all these things. And they said you never said anything. And that was a huge waking up moment for me, because I just thought that people were going to notice the work that I was doing, but, in essence, nobody was paying attention to what I was doing other than me and then maybe my manager.

Speaker 2:

My downfall was that I was not advocating for myself and as so, I stepped into management right after that and then, the next time that I went to get a role as an executive vice president, I started campaigning for me, and once I actually got into that EVP role, I was responsible for onboarding new talent women and men that were just graduating on to a full timetime position, and I noticed that the women were not answering questions.

Speaker 2:

They were very quiet, not vocal, and I was like, oh my goodness, it's not just me. And so I started doing internal work while I was there in the corporate world just to help the younger women understand that they need to speak up. And after that, in 2019, I started volunteering. I joined National Speakers Academy, I joined Toastmasters and I started volunteering for different organizations, and then one day I was like you know, I think I want to do this into a business. So I did my side hustle for a few years, and a couple of years ago in September, it'll be two years that I left the corporate world and now I'm doing this full time.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that's great. And one word that I can summarize from everything that you just said and shared in your story. I'm going to say resilience. Help my audience understand. How did you develop that? Because I can imagine you busting your ass to prove your worth and there's biases, there's maybe some discrimination, I don't know, but you're just easily overlooked sexism, all of that stuff. How did you build that resilience for yourself to keep propelling forward?

Speaker 2:

Well, when I was a child so I was born in Chicago my dad moved our family to Mexico City back and forth a couple of times. So I think I was I started kindergarten in Mexico, then I did Mexico kindergarten through third grade. Then I was in third grade and he moved us to the United States and then when I was in eighth grade he moved us back. So it was like back and forth and every time, coach Mo, it was that word you summarized my life in a perfect word, because every time we're going back and forth it's the fear, the unknown. When I was a child it wasn't as bad for me, other than the language, because I do remember starting kindergarten being fluent in Spanish and not knowing English at all. And then when I started fourth grade, I was fluent in English and I knew how to understand Spanish, but when I started fourth grade in Mexico, I didn't know how to read it or write it. I understood it. So every few years there was this massive change in my world. It's not just moving houses, moving countries. And then we left Mexico again, started high school, freshman year. They were like welcome class of 1987. And I had no clue what that meant. I didn't know what a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior was. So I feel that my whole life was just one big resilient thing, because every few years I was like, finally in my stride in that, oh sorry, we're going back to Mexico, we're going back to the United States.

Speaker 2:

And when I got older was when it really impacted me. I started high school. My parents didn't go to high school in the United States so they couldn't help me. It was my guidance counselor and to this day I wish I knew who that person was. I don't even remember. Everything was such a blur for me at the time. I don't even remember if it was a man, woman, whatever. But they said your grades are really good, so I'm going to put you on the college preparatory track. And I was like, okay, I had no idea what that was Learning, going with the flow, understanding.

Speaker 2:

When I got a little bit older and wiser, researching things, becoming knowledgeable, I put myself through school. My parents had no, they were zero help. God bless, not that they didn't want to. They couldn't help me. Not only that, but the language barrier. They didn't know what a college credit hour was either. So it was me learning, understanding, trying to figure out what the next step. Literally, I feel I was like scratching, climbing that ladder, trying to understand, and I got myself through college and then into the corporate world. So that's a little bit about my backstory, because, you're absolutely right, every few years it was like that resilience of I'm going to figure this out. Gosh darn it.

Speaker 1:

And then that's an excellent segue into how do you help your clients be established that resilience, because I'm listening to you and there's a parallel with leadership and the leadership journey. One minute you're on this path and you're thinking, yes, I made it, and then a monkey wrench is thrown in there and it just throws everything off. What do you do to help these women establish resilience in their journey?

Speaker 2:

In 36 or so, I went through a really horrible divorce where I ended up financially destitute. I had to move in with my parents and then, at the end of the divorce, I had these two little kids, four and six, that I was solely financially responsible for. And that's when the resilience kicked in within me. That's when I was like I need to make more money because now I have to take care of these two little kids. So I think a lot of times that word resilience comes out of need, out of the necessity to either take care of yourself or take care of somebody else.

Speaker 2:

It's interesting because a lot of the women that I coach and I teach, they come to me and they're like hey, rosie, can you help me figure out how to get promoted? But first I need to be confident, I need to be able to advocate for myself. I have now learned that the way you can become confident, the way you can start advocating for yourself, is through preparation and self-discovery. So a lot of times they come to me and they say can you help me? And I say yes, but first do you want to help yourself, do you want to really look at yourself? Because if you don't, then I'm not gonna be able to help you. So it's a matter of having a lot of time to reflect and really understand what is it that they aspire to do.

Speaker 2:

Once they figure that out, then we go into different components of assessing their skills, whether it's their resume, their LinkedIn, skills assessment, all those things getting advice from people. And people are always like I get advice all the time. I'm like, yeah, but do you ask? Do you intentionally ask for feedback? And I always say feedback is fuel. Feedback a lot of times can hurt our souls, because if somebody tells you that you're doing something wrong or gives you that constructive criticism, it can sting your soul. And then the last piece is advertise, which is where I went wrong, because I did all those other steps but I didn't tell people hey, I'm interested in becoming a manager. So I walk them through what I call the promotion readiness roadmap, and it literally is a roadmap because it takes time. But when women are done with the roadmap, it's a self-discovery process and they become so much more confident. They're able to articulate how they can help others solve their problems and it's a transformational journey and that's what I lead my clients on.

Speaker 1:

For sure Success story. I want to hear one.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, last year I started working with a young woman. She's probably early thirties and my ideal customer or client is about 25 to 45. Those women that are wanting to advance in their career or stepping into leadership. And my client she was in human resources and she had just gotten laid off. We did our coaching program and it was so beautiful because it's a 12 week program and it's very intensive, but every week I would see her one thing about herself. It would just click into place. And then it would click into place and you're like, oh my gosh, I didn't realize that the perspectives. I am a client as well, because I have coaches. Anytime a coach coaches me, I'm like, oh wow, that's a great perspective and that's what I do for my clients.

Speaker 2:

We ended the program and probably within the month she got a job and she said the beautiful part was that you know what, rosie? I walked into networking events and it was completely different. I knew what to say. Of course, you get a little nervous anytime you do something that you're not used to, but she said I knew what to say. I was much more comfortable, I had great conversations and she got hired eventually and then, since then, she's had a couple of other jobs that she's left, whether they downsized her or whatever. But she had the tools and she got now three jobs from the time that we started working together and she found her ideal job. She's really happy. She's excited about contributing, so that's a success story, that is.

Speaker 1:

But I want to dig a little bit deeper on that. And the women that you help, so you help them. You take them through your program. They get this confidence they're able to get the job right. But then once you get the job, that's a different animal right. When they go through that program are they cut off at that point? And then they're expected to navigate their own career after that point. Because when you enter that leadership role, there's just these new dynamics that they may not have ever thought is lining up to come at them. And the first thing that comes to my mind is having difficult conversations.

Speaker 1:

Typically we're put into these high-level positions Walking into the door. You've got personnel issues that you automatically got to deal with, right. And then if you are maybe a frontline employee that's just getting promoted to that supervisory role, it's expected you got to go have this conversation and sometimes, and certainly it says you're getting pressure from upper management to do something about it. And then you're carrying this fear how am I going to handle this? And then the fear is so deep that I can't tell my supervisor that I can't handle it, because then they're going to think that they hired the wrong person. I'm just going to have to figure this out, and it's just overwhelming weight that's on their shoulders that makes them very hesitant to move forward. And so my real question is after these women get into these roles, are they still connected with you to manage that, or how do they survive in their leadership role after working with you?

Speaker 2:

I love that question because absolutely we stay connected and the way we stay connected is after they finish their program, because these are generally VIP programs, meaning private programs, so it's private coaching, one-on-one.

Speaker 2:

Then I roll them into my monthly membership and then that's where they get the support and they can stay on in the membership as long as they need to. And just last night we had our membership and my membership is we meet twice a month and then the last Wednesday of the month it's open office hours and that's the beauty about my membership because you can come in even if you don't want to attend the lectures or the teachings or the webinars, whatever. They can come once a month, talk to me. They still have access to me and they can pick my brain on whatever. But it's a really beautiful way to four basic needs and the purpose of life and how it's important to stay connected with your peers and your loved ones and share what your career journey or your job search journey is, because it could be a heavy lift and if you're not sharing with others where you are and what you're going through, it could be so isolating. And that is another reason why I have my membership and people come and we have amazing conversations.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love that because I'm in the process of establishing a membership as well. It's called the inner arena and that's a space where leaders can get together and work on their reps work on those intangible reps. I like the concept of inner arena because you can come into the locker room, take off your armor and just get real and raw and then it's all focused on developing reps on things that you don't really get training for in the leadership world. But as we gain experience, you have to develop and manage ways of how you, let's say, manage burnout, because different things in these leadership roles is coming at you at different angles. You just got to experience it. And when you're in a space like you've created and I think that's awesome of the leadership, of the membership that you have, the membership that you have where people can collaborate, share their experiences and really go back into the field and execute certain new things that they learn, I think what you're doing is very powerful the new generation of women coming up. It's much needed right.

Speaker 2:

Yes, especially because I'm sure you've noticed this, but I have a 24 and a 26 year old and they do not want to call people, they want to text, they want to do everything online and they do not want to have any interactions, let alone confrontations, with people. But I wanted to mention I love the name of your membership, and my membership is called Unlock the Leader Within, because a lot of times women don't see themselves as leaders, even though they're leading their families, their communities, their schools. I really hope that women are in community with any kind of membership. That's outside of work, because you can come and talk about work in a very confidential way without having to worry about judgment or retaliation or anything like that at work.

Speaker 1:

And that goes back to the power of the work that we do as coaches, right, we create a confidential space for people to be vulnerable and create a trust environment, and sometimes in some organizations that's difficult to find. And then, if you particularly, I love I really do love helping new supervisors, because they come in with like a little chip on their shoulder that they have to prove themselves to their manager, to their supervisor, and I mentioned this before. They're coming into this role. They're excited, but then there's a lot of fear, right, they can't share that, at least that's what they feel. They can't share that, because if my manager thinks I'm not a good performer, then you know I'm ass out, then they're going to look at me in a certain way.

Speaker 1:

I can't talk to my employees because I have, I'm supposed to portray myself as the person that knows, has all the answers and that is extremely confident.

Speaker 1:

So now they're in this island. That they that you mentally create for yourself because of the judgment and thinking that I can't talk to my supervisor about this because they're going to view me this way. I can't talk to my employees about it because I'm going through this with them. I can't talk to my peers about it, because I don't want to feel embarrassed that and they do know it, and so they're just in this isolated form, right, and they just carry it. And then they struggle, and then things start to shift into more burnout, stress, worry, doubt, and then it starts to show up in the work and then the team feels the energy, they feel the resistance. So guess what their team is going to do? They're going to protect their egos and become resistant to the energy that you're showing up with and it creates this cycle that you're in until you decide to break it and reach out for help, whether it's through a mentor, a counselor, therapist, coach, trusted family member, whatever. That's how it typically is broken, and then you propel forward.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, Sounds like you've been there, Coach Mo. I'm thinking back to my career. I'm like yep, check, check, check. And the other unfortunate thing, too is about corporations, businesses is that the upper leadership expects that middle leadership to develop the people at the desk. And it's very unfortunate because instead of the upper leadership having programs coaches like you and I to come in once a month or whatever to help develop those people, those middle managers, man, they really have it tough because they have to make sure that the people below them do their jobs and also figure out how to develop them, and it is impossible to do all of that in a regular eight to five day. So it's not how we feel that these middle managers can do it all.

Speaker 1:

And then they carry a certain expectation that I have to work 60 hours a week to get this done. And then now they're becoming burned out and the senior managers doesn't actually know all the details of the work that they do. And then at the middle manager, they're afraid to communicate that up because they don't want to use judgment on them and the fear that if I speak up I may lose my job. So let me just keep my head down and make sure I do everything correctly. It's a cycle, but you're right. It starts with the manager, the senior manager, creating a culture, a culture of learning and developing, and that's where coaching can really come in to help shift and grow that culture.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. And also the other thing that I always say this because that senior leader why are they not willing or able to come and sit with someone that is doing the job at the desk decisions and they never know how it's going to impact the people at the desks, even if it's once a year? Come and talk to the people, not just your managers. So that is to me that's something that's a no brainer that they can actually do.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. It goes back to, as leaders, right to get out of our own way number one and look out for the organization and the people within that organization by creating these cultures, particularly at that age range like you said, 24 to 45, because at some point these women is putting their foot down early and saying you know what? I'm ready to put myself out there, I'm ready to give this a shot, rosie, help me. So that's powerful.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love it. And also just throughout my career as a speaker, as a coach, as a mentor, I've done a little bit of research and unfortunately, girls' confidence peaks at age nine, like nine years old, and that is so sad to me. I was actually judging an event. It's called DECA, which is a nationwide event where they try to help high school students get a leg up into their careers in college and stuff like that. So I did an event where eight young people were assigned to me. I was the judge. They had to do a marketing competition.

Speaker 2:

So they had a scenario. They had 10 minutes to figure out what they were going to present. They would come to me and present it for about five minutes, and five they were 17 year old males. They presented, they showed up, their voice carried strong eyesight, or they're looking into my eyes, so the contact was very good. And then the three young women they were 17 years old as well. They came in and their shoulders were down their hand. It was like that dead fish handshake and I left that day and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is exactly what happens, Because when girls' confidence peaks at age nine and they typically don't pick it back up until their mid twenties to late twenties when they're trying to get promoted. I reached out to DECA and I said, hey, I would love to come in and do some kind of training free of charge, because I am very vested in trying to help women just make sure that they are able to support themselves and their family, regardless of whatever happens in their life. That's great.

Speaker 1:

And I appreciate the work that you're doing out there for the universe and the world. We need more women like yourself. That continues to do that. As we get ready to sign out, any lasting thoughts that you would like to share?

Speaker 2:

Yes, I always end, usually whether it's my podcast or anything on social media with be brave, be bold and take action. And the reason I do that is because it takes courage for you to. Number one, start looking at yourself, do some self-reflection, do some self-journaling. There's a great book that they publish every year. It's called what color Is my Parachute, and just going through that book and doing those exercises can really start helping you discover who you are, what you want, all that stuff. Being bold means really speaking up for yourself, taking the time to understand how you are coming across. And then the last one is take action. And it's that promotion readiness roadmap, whatever the roadmap is. Get somebody to help you figure out what is the next step that you can take in your career to prepare yourself for whenever that promotion comes to or that opportunity lands in your lap, that you already have your resume done, your LinkedIn done, that you're ready for that interview. And then I'll leave.

Speaker 2:

Another little advice that I always say is people come to me and they're like, hey, can you help me? Just give me an overview of my resume. I'll try to do it on my own. I'm like you could pay, like for my company. We charge, just to be transparent, $580 to write a resume. I know that's a lot of money, it's an investment, but I would rather you spend those 10 or 20 hours that you're going to take to write your resume, to prepare for the interview. So the tip there is hire a resume writer so that they can do the heavy lift and then you take that time to prepare for the interview so that you know exactly what you're going to say during the interview.

Speaker 2:

We've all been in situations where you walk into a meeting and you're ultra prepared and you're like, yes, I've got this. And then we've walked into meetings where you're like, oh crap, I forgot that I needed to do whatever. Just think of those two differences of how you feel when you're ultra prepared and when you're not prepared at all. And I want you to walk into that interview feeling that I am, I've got this, I'm ultra prepared and I can show my value and show people how I can help them solve the problem. And that's what people are looking for in interviews. So those are my final words. Coach Mo, I think that's amazing. How can we find you? Yes, so very easy. They can go to my website. It's nowomanleftbehindcom and it's W-O-M-A-N. And also I'm on LinkedIn under either Rosie Zelinskas or Rosie Career Coaching, but I'm on LinkedIn every single day, so those are the two best places for people to find me.

Speaker 1:

Rosie, thank you so much. I really enjoyed today's conversation.

Speaker 2:

Thank you as well, and I appreciate all the work that you're doing as well, coach Mo, so thank you for having me.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for joining me in this episode of let's Think About it. Your time and attention are greatly appreciated. If you found value in today's discussion, I encourage you to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Remember, the journey of self-improvement is ongoing and I'm here to support you every step of the way. Connect with me on social media for updates and insights. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook, at Coach Mo, coaching or LinkedIn, at Maurice Mabry, or visit my website at mauricemabrycom for exclusive content. Until next time, keep reflecting, keep growing and, most importantly, keep believing in yourself. Growing and, most importantly, keep believing in yourself. Remember, the most effective way to do it is to do it Together. We're making incredible strides toward a better and more empowered you. So thank you, and I'll see you in our next episode.