Hey Reader,

Today I want to talk to you about how to advocate for yourself and your career progression. Most people are doing their best at work. They show up. They care deeply. They work hard.

And still, many feel stuck when it comes to career growth.

Not because they are unqualified or because they lack ambition. But because no one ever really teaches us how to advocate for ourselves at work.

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned to believe that if we just did great work, people would notice. That our impact would speak for itself. That growth would naturally follow. Truth is that sometimes that happens but oftentimes, it doesn’t.

💡 Self-advocacy is not about being loud, pushy, or constantly talking about your wins. It is about being intentional, clear, and aligned with where you want to go.

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Here’s what that actually looks like in practice, with real-world examples you can try right away.

1️⃣ Name your impact out loud:

One of the biggest mistakes I see is assuming other people are connecting the dots for you. They usually aren’t. You can do excellent work and help others understand why it mattered.

Instead of thinking: “I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging.”

Try framing it like this:

• “One outcome of this research was ___, which helped the team decide ___.”
• “Based on what we learned, we were able to avoid ___ and focus on ___.”
• “This work influenced ___, which is something I’d love to build on.”

You are not bragging. You are providing context.

Calm. Clear. Consistent.

2️⃣ Ask for clarity, not permission:

A lot of people approach growth conversations cautiously, hoping for reassurance instead of direction.

Instead of asking: “Am I doing okay in my role?”

Try asking questions like:

• “What does strong performance look like at the next level?”
• “What skills or behaviors should I be demonstrating over the next 6–12 months?”
• “What would make someone ready for more scope or responsibility here?”

Clarity does a few important things:

1. It removes guesswork
2. It creates shared expectations
3. It gives you something concrete to work toward

Clarity is not demanding. It is how growth conversations become actionable.

3️⃣ Document your wins in real time:

If you’ve ever reached a performance review and thought, “I know I did a lot this year, but I can’t remember how to articulate it,” this is for you.

Do not rely on memory. Keep a simple, private running list where you track:

• Wins and outcomes
• Positive feedback (Slack, email, meetings)
• Moments where your work influenced decisions

This list becomes:

1. Your prep for growth conversations
2. Your confidence booster on hard days
3. Your source of truth when advocating for yourself

Self-advocacy feels much easier when it is grounded in facts.

Advocating for yourself is a skill and like any skill, it gets easier with practice.

You are allowed to learn this. And learning it can change how your work is seen, trusted, and acted on.

If you are realizing you want support navigating these conversations at work, that is exactly the kind of thing I help people work through in coaching. You do not have to figure this out alone.

I’ll leave you with this reminder:

You are allowed to want more.

And you are allowed to say it out loud.

Rooting for you,

Eniola Abioye

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​UXR Career Coach and Founder, UX Outloud

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