Hi Reader,

Most career growth conversations don’t happen during annual appraisals.

They happen in small moments.

• A quick update in a meeting.
• A casual question from your boss.
• A stakeholder asking, “So how’s that project going?”

And strangely… those small moments decide a lot.

Here’s where many people go wrong.

Someone (Ok, mostly it's your boss) asks, “How’s the project going?”

And the answer sounds like this: “Yeah… it’s going okay… we had an issue, and team worked on it. There were a few challenges… but we’re managing…”

Sounds familiar?

Nothing is wrong with that answer. But nothing stands out either. It sounds vague. More importantly...It's forgettable.

It sounds like someone explaining work. It's not sounding like someone ready for bigger responsibility (and higher pay check).

Now imagine you just said a simple story using the SOAR (Situation, objection, action, result) framework. It changes the whole game. Ask yourself: What's the situation (Or problems you or your team faced), What were the objections (or challenges), What's the action you or any of your team member took, and What result you achieved as a team...

Using this framework, you can say,

“We had a major production issue last week and we saved a major client escalation...

It was midnight our time and no one was available to support the production issue. Our client facing lead Pat lacked the expertise to fix the issue. And moreover, they did not have the necessary access to fix the issue. Pat called Remo for help. Remo logged at 1 am at night and looked at the issue. He worked all night and before our US client logged in the morning, he fixed the issue, and by morning systems were up and running again. Pat briefed the client on the issue, and the quick resolution. Client was not just happy but also shared a written appreciation for the work we did.

Next, we are also planning to put systems in place to fix the gaps such as training, access issues."

Same project. Same person. Very different impression when you communicate differently. One sounds like someone staying busy. The other sounds like someone thinking like a leader.

That difference matters. Looks the example is specific to IT industry. But I'm sure this can be applied to any industry because it follows the typical story telling framework. And that's universal!

Here’s a simple way to remember it:

1. Say the one line statement that summarises the whole narrative. (in our example.. first para)
2. Then, use the SOAR technique to say the story. (in our example.. second para)
3. Finally, give the next steps. (in our example.. third para)

That’s it.

Look, leadership is often judged in moments like this. It's not by how much you know. But by how clearly you can express it.

Here's the thing. Before your next important conversation, pause and ask yourself: Am I explaining effort? Or am I showing ownership?

That question can change how people see you.

Hope this was helpful. Which part is hardest for you?

1. Explaining results
2. Speaking with confidence
3. Knowing what to say in the moment

Just hit reply with 1, 2, or 3. I read every response.

As always, thanks for being awesome!

Rama