There’s a moment in my career I still think about often. Because it almost didn’t happen.

In 2007, I was a Principal at EY. I’d been with the firm for 13 years. I loved my work. I was doing well.

And while partnership was always something I’d been aiming for, it felt like something for later. Something I wasn’t quite ready for.

One day, a senior female partner, who I reported to at the time, called me into her office and asked me to sit down with her.

She said: “I think it’s time to put you into the partner promotion process. I think you’re ready.”

I was flattered. And immediately… terrified.

Because while I knew I was good at my job – the feedback, the clients, the results all said that – I couldn’t shake the feeling:

“I haven’t done enough yet.”

So I said what many of us say in that moment:

“Oh that is so nice you think that – I’m flattered, really I am. But I’m not ready. There are still so many things I need to be better at.”

She didn’t let that slide.

She said:

“If there are 10 things on the list, you’re ticking at least 8 of them – easily.”

And then she added:

“I have people knocking on my door regularly saying they’re ready… and they’re not even ticking half of the list.”

Then she asked me a question I wasn’t expecting:

“Do you respect me? Do you think I make good judgements?”

I eagerly responded,

“Oh yes, of course I do!”

And she replied:

“Then trust my judgement when I say… you are ready.”

That conversation changed something for me. Not overnight confidence. Not a sudden belief that I had it all figured out.

But enough of a shift… to say yes.

I went into the process. And less than 9 months later, I was told I’d been successful.

On 1 July 2008, I became a Partner at EY. One of the proudest moments of my life. One that changed the trajectory of my career… and my life.

The announcement in the Australian Financial Review of my promotion (still hangs on my wall today)

And to think… I almost said not now. (And lucky I didn’t, because the next year there was an economic downturn and the number of partners promoted reduced significantly – but that’s a story for another day)

So what does this mean for you?

It means, you don’t need to tick every box. And you’re often closer than you think.

Sometimes, all it takes is for someone else:

∞    to see it

∞    to say it

∞    and to challenge you to step into it

And sometimes… it’s just one conversation that makes the difference.

That’s why I believe this so strongly: You are often one conversation away.

Why One Conversation Away

This newsletter is about those conversations.

The ones that:

∞    nudge you forward

∞    shift how you see yourself

∞    and open doors you might have otherwise walked past

Because there is something I’ve noticed over 30+ years of working with talented people. Most aren’t as far away as they think.

∞    They’re not five promotions away.

∞    They’re not another degree away.

∞    They’re not waiting on the “perfect moment.”

Often, they’re just one conversation away.

The conversation they haven’t had. The person they haven’t reached out to. The moment they’ve been putting off.

So let me leave you with this: Where might you be holding yourself back… even though you’re already more ready than you think?

Or perhaps more importantly… Who is one person you could have a conversation with – that might just shift something?

Because you never know which conversation will matter.