The Career Advice You Probably Didn’t Get

Most career advice sounds familiar.

Work hard. Build confidence. Communicate well. Find a mentor. Network more. Be a team player. Raise your hand. Take initiative.

All of that matters.

But in her TED Talk, “The Career Advice You Probably Didn’t Get,” leadership expert Susan Colantuono says there is one major piece of advice many professionals — especially women — are often missing.

• It is not about being more likable.

• It is not about working harder.

• It is not even about being more confident.

• It is about understanding the business.

  
  

The Missing Piece: Business, Strategic, and Financial Acumen

Colantuono’s central message is simple but powerful: to move into higher leadership roles, people need more than strong performance and good interpersonal skills. They also need business, strategic, and financial acumen.

That means understanding how the organization makes money, what goals matter most, how decisions affect the bottom line, and how your work connects to the bigger picture.

TED describes the talk as advice for people who are doing “everything right” at work but are still not moving up. Colantuono’s answer is that many people are receiving incomplete career guidance. The talk was aimed at women, but TED notes that its lessons apply broadly to men, women, new graduates, and midcareer workers.

In other words, being excellent at your job may get you noticed. But understanding the business may be what gets you promoted.

Why Good Work Is Not Always Enough

Here is the frustrating part: many high-performing people assume their results will speak for themselves.

Sometimes they do.

But often, leaders are looking for something more. They want to know whether you can think beyond your own role. Can you connect your work to revenue, savings, growth, risk, customers, operations, or strategy? Can you explain why your idea matters in business terms? Can you help move the organization forward?

That is where the missing advice becomes important.

If you only talk about how hard you worked, how many tasks you completed, or how much your team cares, you may be leaving out the very information decision-makers need to hear.

A stronger message sounds like this:

“This project reduced processing time by 20%.”

“This new approach helped retain customers.”

“This recommendation supports our growth strategy.”

“This change could reduce costs while improving service.”

“This idea solves a community need and creates long-term value.”

That kind of language shows leadership thinking.

The Advice Many Women Do Not Hear Clearly Enough

Colantuono’s talk focuses heavily on how women are often coached. She argues that women are frequently encouraged to build confidence, improve communication, develop relationships, and become better at engaging others.

Those are valuable skills.

But if women are not also encouraged to develop business, financial, and strategic skills, they may be left with only part of the leadership equation.

A Time article by Colantuono described this as “The Missing 33%” of career success: the business, strategic, and financial acumen that often opens the door to higher leadership roles. She wrote that women are commonly recognized for personal and interpersonal strengths but may not receive the same informal mentoring around business strategy and financial decision-making. (Time)

That matters because promotions are not based only on being capable.

They are often based on being seen as ready for broader responsibility.

How to Build Business Savvy

The good news is that business acumen is not magic. It is learnable.

Start by paying attention to what your organization actually measures. What numbers matter? Revenue? Costs? Customer satisfaction? Retention? Foot traffic? Grant funding? Productivity? Community impact?

Then connect your work to those outcomes.

Read financial updates, annual reports, board packets, strategic plans, meeting minutes, budgets, or public reports. Listen for the words leaders use when they explain priorities. Notice what gets funded, what gets delayed, and what gets celebrated.

Ask better questions:

“How does this project support our larger goals?”

“What metric are we trying to improve?”

“What problem are we solving?”

“What would success look like six months from now?”

“What are the financial or operational implications?”

These questions show that you are not just doing work.

You are thinking like a leader.

Career Growth Is Not Just About Visibility

Visibility matters, but only if people can see the right things.

It is not enough for leaders to know you are busy. They need to understand your impact.

So instead of saying, “I managed the event,” say, “I managed an event that brought 600 people downtown and increased foot traffic for local businesses.”

Instead of saying, “I helped with the budget,” say, “I identified three areas where we could reduce costs without cutting service.”

Instead of saying, “I led a team,” say, “I led a team through a process change that improved turnaround time and reduced confusion.”

The work may be the same.

The story is stronger.

This lesson is especially important for small-town professionals, nonprofit leaders, chamber directors, downtown managers, local government staff, and small business owners.

In small communities, people often wear many hats. They plan events, write grants, manage volunteers, answer emails, promote businesses, solve problems, and keep things moving.

But to grow into greater leadership, it helps to connect that work to bigger outcomes.

Did the project increase downtown traffic?

Did the new process save time?

Did the event support local businesses?

Did the grant expand services?

Did the partnership strengthen the community?

Did the investment create long-term value?

That is business and strategic acumen in action.

And it can help leaders make a stronger case for funding, promotions, partnerships, and support.

Susan Colantuono’s TED Talk offers a career reminder many people need to hear:

Being hardworking, likable, collaborative, and dependable matters.

But if you want to move into higher leadership, you also need to understand how the business works.

Know the strategy. Know the numbers. Know the outcomes. Know how your work connects to the bigger picture.

Then learn how to talk about it.

Because the career advice you probably did not get may be the advice that changes everything:

Do not just do great work.

Show why it matters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFQLvbVJVMg