A 10-question test to take before you volunteer for anything else

Receiving an extra load of tasks can sometimes read as a sign that leadership trusts you. Often it is. Other times it signals that you have become the one people hand things to, which is not the same as being the one people invest in.

That difference matters a great deal once you consider who is ultimately championed for advancement. According to McKinsey and LeanIn's 2025 Women in the Workplace report, just 31% of women at the entry level have a sponsor, versus 45% of men, and for each 100 men elevated to manager, only 93 women are. Piling on tasks without a sponsor or a next role attached won't lead you upward. It is a stalled path that merely appears to be productive.

Work through the ten statements listed here and mark yes or no beside each one. Stay honest with yourself, since no one else is keeping score. Completing this takes roughly four minutes of your time. The follow-up conversation takes ten, and it's the one many women in Cincinnati's offices and startups keep postponing for a year.

The tick-off list

Point 1. A leader above me has said out loud which role I'm being groomed for.

Point 2. The new work came with something attached: a title, a budget, decision rights, or a team.

Point 3. I present my own work to people above my manager at least once a quarter.

Point 4. "Next step" has a date on it, even a rough one.

Point 5. Has my supervisor ever presented me to a colleague as "the one who will be leading" a particular initiative?

Point 6. Once the fresh assignment landed on me, a different task was lifted from my workload.

Point 7. The work I was assigned shows up in promotion discussions at my company: revenue, a P&L, a launch, a turnaround.

Point 8. I maintain a written development plan that someone other than myself has actually reviewed.

Point 9. When I ask what's missing for a promotion, I get specifics, not "keep doing what you're doing."

Point 10. I am aware of whether my name surfaces during talent reviews in Greater Cincinnati, and I know who speaks up about me when it does.

Your score sheet

8 to 10 yes: Launch pad. Someone is deliberately investing in your growth, and you are on their radar. What you need to do now is simplify their advocacy: record your accomplishments carefully and keep the timeline in plain view.

4 to 7 yes: Mist. Part of this is genuine development while part is simply drift, and your manager may be unable to tell the two apart. At your next one-on-one in Mason or wherever your team meets, ask: "Which role is this work preparing me for, and when will we review it?" Record the response along with the date. If you receive a fuzzy answer on two separate occasions, read it as a refusal that no one was willing to state directly.

0 to 3 yes: Holding lane. Your dependability is exactly why assignments keep coming your way, yet your visibility is low, which explains why the promotion keeps passing you by. Hold off on accepting new work this month unless it includes one of the things in questions 2, 5 or 7. Then go find a sponsor. That starts with asking a senior leader for advice on something specific and following up once you've acted on it.

Here is what comes next for each band.

Pick the three "no" responses you could most readily convert into "yes" answers within the next 90 days. Items 3 and 9 frequently make that shortlist, and you can act on both this week without needing anyone else's permission.

What did you score? Share this with the woman on your Blue Ash or Fairfield team who is quietly shouldering everyone else's workload, and invite her to complete it as well.