You're in a meeting and someone asks a question that should go to your manager. But they look at you. Because you're the one who's been answering those questions for months now. You're the one who's across the detail. You're the one keeping things moving while something above you isn't working the way it should.

Nobody gave you a new job title. Nobody adjusted your pay. It just crept in, gradually, until one day you realised you're doing two jobs and being evaluated on one.

This episode of Career Espresso is about what happens when your role quietly expands into your manager's territory, and why the standard advice about it rarely helps.

What you'll discover

Why organisations are so good at making temporary arrangements permanent when someone's covering well
The specific way this plays out differently for women and why stepping back can feel genuinely risky
What "see it as a development opportunity" is really asking you to do
How to separate the work that's building your career from the work that's just filling a gap
The conversations that move things forward and the ones that keep you stuck

Perfect for women leaders who are holding things together above their pay grade and wondering how long they can keep going.

Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.

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