Curation
Scenario Training
Curation is the pillar that makes a lot of high performers uncomfortable, and that discomfort is worth paying attention to. This is not about managing your image or playing politics. It is about making sure that the work you are doing and the leader you are becoming is actually visible to the people who have the ability to create opportunity for you.
You can be excellent and invisible. It happens all the time. The professionals who move up are not always the most talented people in the room. They are the ones who are intentional about how they show up, what they are known for, and who knows them.
These five scenarios are designed to show you where your instincts are when it comes to visibility and positioning. Read each one, picture yourself in it, and pick the option that feels most like what you would actually do. Then tell me why. That reflection is where the real learning is. There are no wrong answers here. Only honest ones.
- Read the scenario and picture yourself in it. Really put yourself there.
- Pick the option that feels most natural to you. Go with your gut.
- In the "Why did you choose that?" box, tell me your thinking. A sentence or two is plenty. This helps personalize your coaching.
- Hit "Get My Coaching" and get feedback tailored to your response.
- When you finish all five, you will get a personalized 70-20-10 development plan you can download and keep.
The Opportunity
This scenario is about whether you understand how decisions actually get made, and whether you position yourself accordingly.
A high-visibility project just opened up and you want to be considered for it. You have the skills and bandwidth. Your direct manager is supportive. However, you know the decision will ultimately be made by a VP two levels above you who does not know you well.
What do you do?
Same Person, Different Room
This scenario is about whether you adjust how you show up based on what the room needs, or whether you have one default setting regardless of the audience.
You have back-to-back meetings today. First is a working session with your team of analysts to solve a process problem. Second is an executive briefing with the COO. You tend to be naturally casual, direct, and collaborative.
How do you approach the two meetings?
The 45 Second Impression
This scenario is about whether you have a clear professional identity you can articulate, or whether you lead with your job description when someone important asks.
You are at a company all-hands and get introduced to a senior leader you have never met. They ask: "What do you do here?" You have about 45 seconds.
What do you say?
The Invisible Expert
This scenario is about whether you are building the relationships that will matter to your next move, or whether you are waiting for the work to speak for itself.
You have been in your role for 18 months and realize that most of your relationships are within your immediate team. You want to expand your influence and visibility without it feeling transactional or forced.
What do you do?
The Feedback You Did Not Want
This scenario is about what you do when performance feedback points to something you would rather not examine.
You receive your performance review. The feedback is largely positive but your manager notes one consistent gap: you tend to stay in your lane and rarely volunteer for work outside your defined scope. You leave the meeting feeling a bit defensive because you have been delivering strong results within your role.
What do you do?
You did the work.
Most people never stop long enough to really look at their instincts. You just did. That is not a small thing. Your personalized development plan is generating below.
Building your personalized 70-20-10 development plan...
Your 70-20-10 Development Plan
Curation Pillar · Luminary Method
What is the 70-20-10 Model?
Most development plans live in the 10. A course, a workshop, a certification. And while those things have real value, research tells us they account for only about 10% of how people actually grow in their careers. The other 90% happens somewhere messier and more real.
The 70-20-10 model was developed by researchers at the Center for Creative Leadership and has been a cornerstone of professional development for decades. Here is what it tells us:
- 70% of your growth happens on the job. Stretch assignments, high-stakes moments, decisions you have never had to make before. This is where capability is actually built.
- 20% comes from people. Feedback, observation, mentorship, and relationships with people who are a few steps ahead of you or willing to tell you the truth. Growth accelerates when you are learning from someone, not just alongside them.
- 10% comes from formal learning. Courses, books, workshops, and programs like this one. The 10 creates the framework. The other 90 is where you live it.
This plan is designed to work across all three. Not just to give you something to read, but to give you something to actually do.
Read it. Work it. Come back to it.
This is not a document to file away. It is a working tool.
Read it once all the way through without a pen in hand. Let it land. Then go back and pick one thing from each section. One experience to seek out, one relationship to activate, one thing to practice. Just one from each. The goal is not to overhaul how you show up overnight. It is to make one intentional shift at a time and notice what changes.
Come back to this plan in 30 days. What did you try? What worked? What did you avoid, and why? That reflection is part of the development too.
Experience: What to Seek Out
Relationships: Who to Learn From
Practice: What to Study and Try
Build Your Elevator Pitch
Most senior professionals can tell you what their job title is. Far fewer can tell you what they actually do for the business in a way that is clear, confident, and memorable. That gap costs you more than you realize. Every time you meet a senior leader, attend a cross-functional meeting, or get introduced at an all-hands, you have about 30 to 45 seconds to make an impression that sticks. What you say in that window either opens a door or closes one.
This is not about being slick. It is about being clear. Here is a simple framework to build your pitch.
Not your title. Your function. What actually happens because you show up to work.
Start with: "I lead the team that..." or "I run [function], which means..."
Name the people or business outcomes your work directly affects.
Ask yourself: Who would notice if my team disappeared tomorrow?
One sentence that signals your specific value, point of view, or what you are known for.
Start with: "I am particularly focused on..." or "What I bring to this that is a little different is..."
"I lead [function]. We [what you do and who it serves]. I am particularly known for [your specific value or differentiator]."
"I lead our customer insights team. We make sure the voice of the customer is in the room when big decisions get made. I am particularly focused on turning that data into something leadership can actually act on, not just something that lives in a report."
Now write yours. Do not overthink it. Write it messy first, then tighten it. The goal is one paragraph you can say out loud in under 45 seconds without sounding like you are reading from a script. Practice it until it feels like yours.
Language That Works
These are not scripts to memorize. They are starting points. Language you can make your own and practice until it feels natural. Each one addresses a situation that comes up regularly for senior managers and directors who are building their visibility with leadership. Read them, try them out loud, and adjust the words until they sound like you.