How To Position Yourself As Strategic (Even If You're The Fixer Everyone Depends On)

A few years ago, I coached a client who was known as the go-to person on her team.

If something broke, she fixed it.

If someone dropped the ball, she picked it up.

She was the engine keeping the machine running.

But when promotion time came around, she kept hearing:

“You’re not quite strategic enough yet.”

She was stunned. Her results were clear. She'd saved her team hundreds of hours and built systems that scaled.

But none of that mattered. Because the perception was:

She was the doer, not the thinker.

And that stung. Because she was thinking about the bigger picture.

She just didn’t know how to communicate it.

Sound familiar?

If you feel stuck being seen as the reliable fixer instead of the strategic partner, this is how you start to position yourself as strategic in the eyes of leadership.

What It Really Means To Position Yourself As Strategic

This is where so many high performers get stuck.

You’re so deep in the work leading projects, solving problems, juggling five priorities, that there’s no space to translate your value into strategic language.

And suddenly, even with years of great feedback and results, you’re being told you need to “think more like a VP.”

So what does that even mean?

Let’s break it down.

The 3-I Framework To Position Yourself As Strategic

The key to being seen as strategic when you are already doing the work is translating that work into value that leadership cares about. Here are 15 practical ways to make your role more strategic day to day.

I want to give you a simple framework to help you do that. I call it the 3-I. Essentially, it’s a 3-part pitch you can use in exec meetings, skip-levels, and performance reviews.

Use it to shift perception and sound like a strategic partner, not just a reliable executor.

This is one of the fastest ways to demonstrate your executive potential.

Here’s how it works:

1. Impact – What value are you delivering?

This is the outcome of your work. Not the activity.

“We rolled out a new onboarding process that cut ramp time by 30% and reduced support tickets by half.”

Don’t list tasks. Show the business value.

2. Insight – What patterns are you seeing?

This is where strategy comes in. What’s behind the data? What trend are you spotting?

“One thing I’m noticing: even though ramp time is faster, new hires still struggle with internal tools. That’s costing us productivity in the first 60 days.”

Now you’re showing foresight. You’re scanning the horizon.

3. Intent – What are you building or learning next?

Executives want to see growth and proactive thinking. Show where you’re headed.

“So I’m working with RevOps to map out where the friction is and simplify the tool stack.”

You’re not just solving what’s in front of you. You’re shaping what’s next.

What Makes This Powerful

This structure signals strategy without sounding like a know-it-all.

It does three important things:

• Highlights your impact (you’re not just busy. You’re valuable.)

• Reveals strategic thinking (you see more than your to-do list).

• Shows you’re proactive and growth-minded (you’re building the future, not just reacting to the present).

This is what executives do. And when you speak like this, people start to see you as one.

You are doing the work already. This is how you position yourself as strategic so the story people tell about you finally matches your actual impact.

Put it Into Action: Craft your 3-I

Before your next 1:1 or senior stakeholder meeting, ask yourself:

Impact

• What value did I create in the last 30 days?

• How did it move the needle for the business or team?

Insight

• What patterns, risks, or opportunities am I seeing?

• What might a senior leader not be seeing that I do?

Intent

• What’s one thing I’m actively building, exploring, or learning to make us better?

• How does it tie back or align with leadership goals?

Write out your answers. Then tighten them into a few sentences using the Impact–Insight–Intent format I shared above.

This is your new elevator pitch. This is how you show you're ready for the next level.

Your Next Steps

Strategic is not about being smarter. It is about being clearer.

It means connecting what you are doing today to what the business needs tomorrow. And it all starts with how you talk about your work.

This week, take one project and write out your 3-I: Impact, Insight, Intent.

Use it in your next 1:1, skip level, or executive meeting and pay attention to how the conversation changes.

And if you want to turn that new perception into an actual VP level promotion, watch my free masterclass where I walk you through the five elements leaders use when they decide who is ready for VP and how Directors in tech become the obvious choice.

Free training: How Directors In Tech Become The Obvious Choice For VP

I believe in you, and I’m rooting for you

Maya ❤️