I found out my peers made more than me—here’s what I did next

How to deliver impact, make your value visible, and ask for more at the right time

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I thought I was on track—until I found out my peers were making significantly more than I was.

The realization landed like a punch to the gut.

Had I been naive?

Had I mistaken patience for strategy?

I had spent a year waiting for permission. Waiting to be chosen.

The revelation made me salty. I started noticing things I had ignored before—colleagues who seemed to navigate the system effortlessly, who advocated for themselves without hesitation. Some were less experienced, some less committed. Yet they rose faster.

It gnawed at me, but I kept telling myself it was just a matter of time. Until one day, it wasn’t. The numbers didn’t lie—my peers were making significantly more, and the one thing they just don’t tell you about the game is that there are rules—unspoken, but deeply ingrained. I hadn’t been playing by them.

Maybe they made their value visible. Maybe they negotiated more. But one thing's for sure, I had no control over those things and I had been operating under a different, quieter assumption—one that wasn’t serving me.

That’s when it hit me.

I had been waiting.

Waiting for permission. Waiting to be chosen. But promotions aren’t a reward for hard work. They’re a recognition of impact. And I had been too quiet about mine.

The Moment I Realized I Had to Ask

For years, I convinced myself that my work would speak for itself. That if I kept my head down and delivered, someone would notice.

I wasn’t completely wrong. I rose to the Director level quickly. I accepted my promotions and didn’t negotiate. Until I learned that my salary didn’t match the contributions I was making to the company.

I still remember sitting in my performance review, the one where I decided enough was enough. My hands were clenched in my lap. I had done everything right—stayed late, took on extra work, executed flawlessly.

And yet, I wasn’t just being offered more!

My voice cracked as I told my manager, “I don’t feel valued.”

Tears welled up before I could stop them.

I wasn’t just frustrated—I was angry. Angry at the system. Angry at myself. But more than anything, I was done waiting.

If you’re reading this and thinking, “That’s me”, then keep going. When I finally started making intentional moves, everything changed—my trajectory, my confidence, my paycheck.

Here’s what that looked like.

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My Career Trajectory: From Feeling Lost to VP

If you’ve been reading my posts for awhile, you know I’ve said that when I made the leap into tech everything changed for me.

For the first time, I felt aligned with my work. I was energized. I was in my zone. And because of that, I was all-in on delivering results. That focus and commitment set off my growth trajectory. I was promoted up to the Director level for working hard and delivering results (this is important, mastery is an edge). But I also just accepted what was given.

Soon after, I learned about the power of self advocacy and experienced some impactful compensation shifts. Here’s what my growth looked like alongside my percent increases:

• 2014 - Hired as Producer

• 2015 - Promoted to Program Manager (+11%)

• 2016 - Promoted to Program Director (+31%) - bottom of the Director band

• 2017 - Negotiated a raise as a Director (+16%) - but timing wise, 1+ year w/o a raise

• 2018 - Negotiated another raise as a Director (27%) - I cried, still got a raise lol

• 2018 - Joined new company as Senior Director (+39%)

• 2019 - Promoted to VP (+6%)

• 2020 - Joined new company as VP, Product Operations (+18%)

• 2021 - Annual Raise (+6%)

• 2022 - Lateral move, pushed for a raise and eventually got it when the time was right (+15%)

Once I got intentional about my moves and about negotiating, you’ll probably notice a shift. It was important to me that each promotion wasn’t just a title change and that I wasn’t just accepting what I was given. Prior to those conversations, I was focused on delivering impact and value to the companies I worked for, then I broadcasted it. And when it came time to make an ask I had the data and the results to prove that my compensation should match.

When advocating for a promotion or a raise, the most common mistake people make is focusing on effort, qualifications, or previous experiences rather than impact. While those things are important, they don't speak to your current contributions. Instead, you should be thinking about the bottom line, retention, efficiency, even internal culture. Another mistake people make is following TikTok advice and blindly asking for more without putting in the work, delivering results, or knowing the value you add to your organization. Don’t be that person! You should be able to clearly articulate your value.

Why is the business better because of your presence?

So, how do you quantify your impact?

If you can’t answer that question immediately, that’s where the work begins.

Let’s break it down.

The IMPACT Formula: A Framework for Proving Your Value

Use this framework to demonstrate your value when negotiating:

• I - Influence: How have you shaped decisions, strategy, or team dynamics?

• M - Metrics: What measurable results have you delivered (e.g., revenue growth, efficiency improvements)?

• P - Profitability: How have you helped the company save or make money?

• A - Accountability: What high-stakes projects have you owned and delivered on?

• C - Culture: How have you improved team morale, retention, or workplace collaboration?

• T - Transformation: How has your work created lasting change or innovation?

It should go without saying, that if you can’t answer any of these questions your efforts are best spent delivering impact.

Quantifying Your IMPACT: Role-Specific Examples

Many professionals think, “I’m not in sales; I don’t impact the bottom line”. But that’s false. No matter your role, you have a measurable impact—you just need to learn how to articulate it.

Here are examples of how to showcase your impact based on different roles:

• UX Designer: Led the redesign of the company’s website, resulting in a 25% increase in user engagement and a 15% increase in conversions.

• Project Manager: Spearheaded process improvements that reduced project timelines by 30%, leading to faster product launches and increased revenue potential.

• Customer Support Lead: Implemented a new support ticketing system that decreased response time by 40%, improving customer satisfaction scores.

• Software Engineer: Developed a feature that improved system efficiency, reducing server costs by 20% and improving load times.

• Marketing Manager: Ran a campaign that increased website traffic by 50% and generated 200 new qualified leads.

• HR Business Partner: Designed and implemented a leadership training program that improved manager effectiveness, leading to stronger team retention (90% in 2024) and fewer escalated HR issues.

Your goal? Identify how your work directly contributes to growth, efficiency, customer satisfaction, or cost savings. Notice, in the HR example anecdotal evidence is okay. You don’t always need all hard numbers to make a case.

The Winning Formula for Asking for More

Once you’ve identified your impact, structure your ask using this simple formula:

1. State your achievement quantitatively.

• Example: "Over the past year, I led [initiative] that resulted in [measurable outcome]."

2. Connect it to business goals.

• Example: "This directly contributed to [company objective], aligning with our [growth, retention, efficiency, etc.] goals last year."

3. Make your case for what you want.

• Example: "Given this, I’d like to discuss my growth within the company. I’d love to be promoted to [desired title] and I’d like to discuss adjusting my compensation to reflect my contributions."

Pro-tip: Make sure the ask looks and sounds like something you would say or write, you’re not me lol. Take the framework and make it work for you! And whatever you do, write it down in addition to having a coherent verbal case. A strong written case goes further than you know!

Why This Works

Framing your ask around impact does three things:

1. It shifts the conversation from effort to results. Instead of proving you worked hard, you prove why you’re indispensable.

2. It makes your value undeniable. Numbers don’t lie. When you tie your contributions to measurable outcomes, decision-makers see your worth clearly.

3. It positions you as a strategic thinker. Leaders don’t just execute; they understand how their work moves the business forward.

Your Next Move

This week, write down three ways your work has created impact. Trying journaling your wins or creating a spreadsheet to track them.

The more you document, the easier it becomes to advocate for yourself. You’ll also make it easier on yourself to present a written case (or plan) when the time comes.

The biggest career growth mistake?

Assuming that people just know how valuable you are. They don’t—until you tell them or show them.

I still remember encouraging a colleague a few years back to think through the pieces above and advocate for a promotion that she was well-suited for. She was surprised that I recommended it but we talked it through and she brought it up with her manager, who brought it up with the CEO. The CEO’s reaction was “wow - I didn’t know she was interested in taking on more responsibility?!” This is someone who was at the company for 7 years. A few months later, she was promoted to a VP with an expanded scope.

I learned the hard way that if you’re delivering, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. So don’t wait until you’re in tears at a performance review. Just ask.

See you next week.

—Ashley

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Just for you - The Career Influence Index

After 600+ hours of deep work with high-performing leaders and 10 years in leadership, I created the Career Influence Index—an assessment to gauge how well you’re positioning yourself for career growth and the benefits that come with it (like promotions, raises, more responsibility, etc).

If you’re great at your job but have felt undervalued, overlooked, or unsure of how to advocate for yourself, this will show you exactly where you stand—and what to do next.

Take my quick 10-question Career Influence Index now and start making moves.

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Work With Me

Your career progression should reflect the impact you create. I help high performers stop waiting and start negotiating.

In just 3-6 months, my clients have:

• Negotiated 5-6 figure raises

• Landed executive promotions

• Become the kind of leaders companies can’t afford to lose

You ready? Let’s make it happen.

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