The story behind this
I went from a performance improvement plan to a VP seat. It took me years to understand why both were true.
For a long time I was good at my job and still couldn't get ahead. The only way I ever got a raise or a bigger title was to quit and start over somewhere new. From the outside it looked like ambition. Inside, it was survival.
Early on it was worse than a ceiling. I landed on a performance improvement plan. Nearly managed out of a job I was good at. Not because I couldn't do the work, but because I couldn't stay organized, and I kept butting heads with the people I reported to.
I was 30 when I found out why. ADHD. Once I had the word, it was almost funny how obvious it had been the whole time. Then I walked out of that diagnosis with a prescription and nothing else. No plan. No skills. No manual. The medication helped turn the volume down, and I am glad I have it. But nobody taught me how to actually run a career with this brain. That other half, I had to build alone.
I still don't have it solved. I never will. Some days the confidence is real and some days I am faking it, because if I wait until I feel ready, nothing happens. This is the manual I had to build for myself, written down for the person I used to be: stuck, capable, and sure he was the problem.
Today I'm a marketing executive based in Atlanta, where I live with my husband, Steven, and an ever-growing family of rescued dogs.