Chapter 3:
Quinn (the Quiet Achiever) is perfectly comfortable
Quinn stood in the hallway, just outside the boardroom, where she could hear the murmurs of the executive team meeting through the door. She was waiting to be called in to present her options paper.
She had spent the past month researching why compliance with key corporate policies had been slipping across divisions—and, more importantly, how to make it easier for everyone. The paper offered three options and she hoped for input on which the executives preferred. Honestly, she would be happy with a comment from even one of them.
Compliance was a challenging area to lead. Most people saw it as something boring or annoying. She wished they could see it differently, as something that enabled their success. The presentation was her chance to reframe the conversation.
As she stared at the conference room door, her mind was racing, repeatedly running through her presentation outline. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
She thought of what her boss Steph had recommended: Keep it brief. The agenda is packed.
That had been easier said than done. Condensing weeks of work into ten minutes had been painful. Quinn had included the key points on her slides as her security blanket. That way, if her nerves got the better of her, she could just read them out.
When she was finally invited in, she walked into the room and took a seat on the side of the long conference table closest to the door. She knew most of the executive team through her daily work and they greeted her warmly. Still, all eyes were on her and that made her stomach tighten.
Just get through the first couple of slides, she told herself. It should get easier after that.
Her approach worked. By slide three, she felt less shaky. She was in her element, walking through the objectives before moving on to the details of the first option.
But as she moved to slide four, she sensed the energy in the room changing. One person stepped out, whispering ‘urgent call’ as they went. A couple others glanced at their laptops, likely catching up on email. One started typing a reply.
Quinn noticed Claire watching her from across the table, her look a mix of impatience and concern, while Rob leaned back and started scrolling on his phone discreetly under the table.
Quinn quickly looked at Steph, who sat nearby and had been fully focused on the presentation. Steph’s supportive gaze shifted; she lifted her eyebrows slightly and tilted her head forward, signalling to Quinn to hurry up.
Yikes, Quinn thought. She didn’t know how to cut it short; there was still so much to cover. She hadn’t presented all of the slides about the first option and there were still two options to go.
Seeing the panic on Quinn’s face, Steph stepped in. ‘As Quinn outlined, the aim is to take a more pragmatic approach to improving compliance and the first option is one example of how we could make that happen. The other two options are set out in the paper, if you’d like to provide your comments out of session. Quinn, would you be able to give the executive team a deadline for that?’
Grateful for the rescue, Quinn quickly suggested a deadline of two weeks and wrapped up, thanking them for their time.
No one had provided any input in the meeting, as she had hoped. The CEO added a supportive comment that it was a worthwhile initiative, but that was probably out of sympathy.
Quinn left the room deflated.
***
After lunch, Quinn was in her office trying to get through her to-do list, but her thoughts kept returning to her presentation. She rubbed her forehead as she remembered how disengaged the executives had looked towards the end.
How did other people present so smoothly, share just the right amount of information, even throw in a joke or two? She didn’t enjoy public speaking, but she had never bombed so badly. Perhaps it was because she usually presented to like-minded people, in her area of expertise.
Maybe she wasn’t cut out for a more strategic role. Maybe she should stay in her lane.
The thought stung. She had been thinking about the senior director role the agency was creating—the one that would bring Risk, Corporate Policy and Corporate Compliance under one Governance branch. She had asked Steph about it at her last performance meeting, hoping for encouragement. Instead, Steph had talked about the skills required: strategic leadership, executive engagement and agency-wide influence.
The message seemed clear: Quinn wasn’t quite ready.
She had been discouraged for days. But then she had thought about Claire and Rob, both of whom had joined the agency as graduates the same year she had. They were now executive directors, while she was still a director. That thought prompted her to initiate the compliance improvement project and ask to present to the executive team, as a chance to prove she could operate at a higher level.
And then, at today’s meeting, she had bombed.
What had other leaders done to progress quickly and build their executive presence? Of course, people like Claire and Rob had big personalities and were vocal with their opinions. But Quinn knew there were other types of leaders out there, with softer approaches, like Steph. How had she done it?
Quinn forced her attention back on her to-do list. She scanned the tasks, looking for something she could realistically focus on for the rest of the afternoon. She finally decided to watch the videos from the first module of the strategic skills course. It was mandatory and, based on her performance this morning, she could use all the help she could get. Plus, Claire had asked her to be her course partner, so she didn’t want to let her down by being unprepared.
Quinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, telling herself this morning’s stuff-up was a learning opportunity and that she needed to move on.
She sent an email to Claire, to ask if she would like to catch up on Friday morning to go through their self-assessment questionnaires.
Next, she clicked the link to the course.
When she saw the title of the first video, ‘Are you the jerk in the office?’ she raised her eyebrows. ‘What the…’ she muttered, wondering why the agency had chosen this weird course, but also becoming more curious about its content.
She watched the first video, which was short and sharp, and a bit of ‘real talk’. As the narrator listed examples of ways people enter ‘Jerk Mode’, she picked up that it was some kind of default behaviour where people either get in their own way or annoy others.
She chuckled at the first two examples—the Control Freak and the Rebel—recognising some of her colleagues’ behaviours. Then the third one, about the Quiet Achiever, hit.
You're reliable and the go-to person for complex problems, but you're afraid to step into the spotlight and embrace the change this requires. You're so good at working behind the scenes, the way you’ve always done it, that your own humility and rigidity is costing you the recognition and opportunities your hard work deserves.
Quinn’s stomach clenched. She felt exposed.
She paused the video and considered the example. Was she stuck in her ways? Was she too timid? She definitely felt she wasn’t getting the recognition and opportunities she wanted.
She watched the rest of the first video and then clicked on the next one. It was called ‘You can be strategic’, which sounded promising and very topical. She sat up in her chair, grabbed a notepad and pen, then leaned in as the video started to play.
It was like a pep talk, busting myths that leaders believed about what it took to be a strategic thinker. The narrator listed four.
Myth 1: Strategic is the opposite of operational. And being operational is not as impressive as being strategic.
Quinn almost laughed. She had always assumed her operational focus was the problem, that she was too ‘in the weeds’ to be seen as strategic. But the video argued operational work was essential, that someone had to do the actual work and keep things running. It was a relief to hear.
Myth 2: Strategy is reserved for executives.
She thought of Claire and Rob in their executive roles, seemingly born for big-picture thinking. But the narrator insisted it was a skill, not a title. Quinn wondered if she had what it takes to develop it.
Myth 3: You need perfect conditions to become strategic. And then you’re strategic for good.
This one landed differently. Quinn didn’t struggle with finding time; she was organised. But she recognised another version of waiting: telling herself she’d step up ‘when she was ready’, pursue the senior director role ‘once she’d proved herself more’, put herself forward ‘after a few more wins’. There was no way to de-risk taking a leap.
Myth 4: You’re starting from scratch.
According to the video, people at all levels of management are already more strategic than they might think. Quinn wondered which of her strengths applied.
She leaned back when the video finished. On her notepad, she had scribbled fragments: Operational = strength. Don't need to be an exec. Start now. Not starting from zero.
Quinn clicked on the final video in the first module, called ‘The three dimensions of strategic thinking’. This was exactly her kind of content: frameworks, structure and a clear model. She leaned in as the narrator talked through the three points.
Afterwards, she completed the self-assessment questionnaire against the three dimensions, then sat back. She felt good doing something concrete to progress her improvement. It softened the sting from this morning.
As she was packing up to leave later that afternoon, Steph walked into her office. ‘Do you have a few minutes?’ she asked with a warm smile.
When they were seated at the small meeting table, Quinn braced herself for what Steph would say. She decided to take the lead for once, to end her misery. ‘Can I get some feedback? I feel like I lost them halfway through...maybe even a third of the way.’
Steph smiled reassuringly. ‘I know how you feel. I used to get nervous presenting, too. Probably even more than you did.’
Quinn blinked. ‘No way. You’re a natural.’
‘No, really,’ Steph insisted. ‘But I developed a system to get through it. I break things into three layers, in case I’m ever cut off mid-presentation: high-level key messages first, supporting context in between, and all the detail on the last few slides if there are questions. Then I rehearse the key points aloud until I can glance at my notes and speak naturally.’
Steph smiled. ‘A good benchmark is five minutes for presenting, then leave time for questions.’
‘Five minutes?’ Quinn thought of her ten slides. ‘I definitely went too long.’
Steph leaned forward. ‘The key is focusing on what the audience needs to make their decision—not everything you know about the topic. You had great content; it just needed a tighter frame.’
Quinn nodded, feeling relieved. This structured approach resonated with her process-driven brain. It felt like something she could follow.
‘It’s a shame I won’t have the chance to present to the executive team again anytime soon,’ she said, then wondered where this new interest in public speaking was coming from.
Steph’s expression shifted slightly. ‘Well, funny you should say that…there’s a working group I wanted to nominate you for.’
Steph paused. ‘The agency needs to respond to a recent review requested by the Minister, which recommended improvements both on the core business and corporate sides. I think the working group could benefit from your compliance expertise and analytical skills. And you would get more practice presenting—as part of a team, so the pressure isn’t all on you.’
Quinn sat back, processing the suggestion. ‘Who else is on the working group?’
‘Claire from Corporate Services and Rob from Regional Services, to cover off both front and back office,’ Steph responded. ‘I thought you could co-lead the development of the response, to make sure things are moving smoothly.’
They smiled at each other knowingly. Quinn knew this was Steph’s way of asking her to act as the group’s United Nations representative: the one who would manage the big egos and make sure the write-up was actually coherent.
This could be fun, Quinn thought. She knew both Rob and Claire from university, and even though Rob’s dislike for ‘red tape’ was well-known in head office, he had always been pleasant enough with her. Maybe he would be the perfect person to win over for her compliance initiative. If she could convince him, she could convince anyone. With Claire, she knew she would be preaching to the converted, so no worries there.
She had a sudden thought. Maybe this was a better way of getting results: working with the resistance instead of around it, building relationships instead of just sending reports.
‘Sounds great. Count me in,’ she said.
Steph looked pleased. ‘Great. I’ll coordinate with them and get things moving.’
As Steph stood up to leave, she said, ‘And, Quinn…don’t worry too much about this morning. You had a go. That’s how you get better.’
‘Thanks, Steph,’ Quinn said.
She had bombed. But the scariest part was behind her.
At least she hoped.