In 2014, if you’d asked me where my career was going, my answer would have been fuzzy at best.
I was good at my job. Really good. The reliable one, the one who figured it out, the one who cared about the quality of everything she touched.
(I still have my written goals from the 4th grade. One says “excelling to excellence.” Not much has changed.)
I had drive. I had zero direction. And I assumed the way forward was the one I’d always known: keep your head down, do excellent work, and the work will speak for itself.
Then my manager called me into a room and showed me a future I had never once pictured for myself: skipping a level, becoming a Director, and eventually, in her words: “One day, I want you to take my job.” I walked out with one question that changed everything: what did she see in me that I didn’t yet see in myself?
That day I learned careers don’t actually run on output.
So I went and tested the things I learned were necessary. And they worked. I became a Director before 30, leading people more experienced than me. VP at 33, the youngest at my company. As a Black woman, non-technical, in tech, almost always “the only” in the room, learning the unwritten rules by collision because nobody was passing them to me over drinks.
Here’s what all of it taught me and what I now believe more than anything:
Being good at your job and being promotable are two different skills.
Most brilliant people were only ever taught the first one.
So they get told to “be more strategic” with no instructions, watch people they trained get promoted past them, and quietly conclude something’s wrong with them.
Nothing is wrong with them. Nothing is wrong with you.
Reframed is where I make the invisible game visible. Every week I break down what actually moves careers at the top — promotion decisions, visibility, negotiation, politics — for readers in 75 countries, including leaders at Google, Netflix, Meta, and A24.
My manager showed me my future in one conversation. This newsletter is me doing the same for you.
One edition at a time.
Where to start, based on what's happening to you right now
1. You just got passed over — or can feel it coming.
2. Review season is coming and your work needs to land.
3. You just found out what your peer makes.
4. The feedback stung and you’re spiraling a little.
5. You’re “the only” person like you on your team, department, or at your company.
REFRAMED READERS WORK AT THESE COMPANIES
Readers and clients love Reframed
Here’s what Reframed readers and my clients have to say about me:
Reframed is one of my favorite newsletters! Ashley has an ability to make intimidating concepts and scenarios feel very approachable. Sometimes it's like she's reading my mind and giving me the little push I need to do the thing!
I look forward to reading it when it hits my inbox because it is full of valuable insights written in a clear, fun, and relatable manner. It's not just a regurgitation of trendy jargon and acronyms. I find value in all of the newsletter editions, even the ones I didn't think applied to me.
Since working with Ashley, I've developed greater confidence speaking up in meetings with senior leaders and in rooms where I've historically struggled with imposter syndrome.
When you want more than the newsletter
Take my free career quiz: ten minutes to see which game you’ve been playing.
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Glad you’re here. Talk soon.
I couldn't agree more! I feel like so many ambitious women were taught that if we just work hard enough, stay useful enough, and prove ourselves enough, everything else will magically fall into place — only to eventually realize there’s an entire set of unwritten rules no one bothered to tell us about lol. Learning how to navigate work strategically without letting your career completely consume you is exactly the conversation I want more of. Very excited to read more of Reframed. 🤍