The Real Secret to Career Advancement: Why Hard Work Alone Isn’t Enough

What if everything you were told about getting promoted was only half the story? For countless professionals, the promise that relentless effort and strong performance naturally lead to advancement is the comfort zone we cling to—until reality hits. The truth is, professional growth is about much more than just being excellent at your job.

Hard Data Shatters the Meritocracy Myth

• 70% of professionals believe hard work is the main factor in getting ahead—a common perception reflected in workforce surveys by organizations like Gallup and Pew Research.
• Yet, only 30% of promotions are awarded based solely on measurable performance metrics, with informal factors playing a larger role. This aligns with findings shared in Harvard Business Review analyses and reports by the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI).
• A remarkable 85% of executives credit networking, visibility, and advocacy as the real drivers of their career progress, supported by LinkedIn Talent Solutions reports and CTI’s research on sponsorship in leadership advancement.

So why the difference? Because organizations reward not only output, but also narrative, alliances, and visibility.

The Political Reality (You Can’t Ignore)

• Visibility > Performance: If key people don’t see your contributions, they might as well not exist (Harvard Business Review insights).
• Alliances > Individualism: Who champions you when you’re not around? Allies and advocates move your career forward (Center for Talent Innovation).
• Narrative Control > Raw Facts: Advancing isn’t about what you’ve done—it's about what people believe you’re capable of.
• Strategic Timing > Hustle: Recognizing pivotal moments for action and pause often trumps constant grinding.

The Competence Paradox

The more competent you become, the more likely you’ll be rewarded with extra responsibility in your current role—eventually becoming “too essential to promote.” Meanwhile, colleagues with more political visibility but possibly less technical skill leap ahead. This is a common mid-career frustration observed across industries and documented in leadership research, including the work of Herminia Ibarra.

Solutions: Build Your Influence Ecosystem

Drawing on both leadership development research and executive coaching best practices, Funck recommends mapping your internal “influence ecosystem”:

• Champions: Senior leaders actively pushing for your advancement.
• Allies: Peers who amplify your contributions.
• Mentors: Strategic guides to help you navigate complexity.
• Connectors: Networkers opening doors to new opportunities.

Reframe Your Approach to Advancement

• Cultivate strategic visibility and alliances—authentically.
• Intentionally manage the narrative others have about you.
• Combine technical excellence with political intelligence.

Why This Resonates in Executive Coaching

As an executive coach, I can attest that career advancement is one of the most common—and crucial—topics my clients raise. Most leaders soon realize that moving forward isn’t solely a matter of stellar results; it’s about making those results visible, leveraging relationships, and navigating the intricate dynamics of organizational life. My coaching conversations frequently revolve around building influence, managing political capital, and designing a personal brand to break through the invisible barriers that merit alone can’t overcome.

Acknowledging the Inspiration

This article is deeply inspired by and grounded in the work of Frederic Funck . As highlighted in his insightful analysis (“Career Advancement: What We’re Told vs. What Actually Works” I want to thank him for his thought leadership and for providing the foundational research that underpins these ideas.

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André Ribeiro is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) by the International Coaching Federation (ICF)-the world’s largest professional association for coaches. He has extensive training and practice in business, leadership, performance and psychology. He has founded and developed international businesses across multiple sectors, including media, finance, travel, entertainment, digital marketing, and e-commerce.

He coaches leaders to navigate the most complex decisions of their professional lives and emerge more aligned with their deepest values and what matters most with governments, armed forces, NGOs, and top companies including Accenture, Bytedance/TikTok, Colgate-Palmolive, Google, Intel, Meta, Nestle, Novartis, Nike, Pfizer, Roche, Santander, Saudi Aramco, Visa and the United Nations.