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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
I was finishing my doctorate. I had two teenagers, one across the country at boarding school. I was working full-time, flying cross-country for school visits, writing and analyzing data in every available hour. Everyone said I was impressive. I was barely managing.<\/p>\n
One morning, I arrived to back-to-back meetings on less than four hours of sleep. I had not eaten. My daughter had called in tears the night before. I walked into my office, closed the door and cried. Then I made a spreadsheet. I listed everything I was doing and calculated the cost. 60% of my time was going toward activities contributing to 10% of my actual goals.<\/p>\n
The question shifted. Not \u201chow do I fit more in?\u201d but \u201cwhat can I cut?\u201d Within six months, I had eliminated 30 hours of weekly commitments. I finished my dissertation. My performance improved. And I got clear on my next move. The problem was never capacity. It was strategy.<\/p>\n
Black women have always understood this. Domestic workers raising other people\u2019s children while raising their own did not succeed by doing more. They succeeded by doing what was essential and letting go of the rest. My research put numbers to what they already knew.<\/p>\n
This is what I call the 60\/10 problem. Based on research<\/a> across more than 600 Black women professionals, most are spending roughly 60% of their time on activities that organizations say matter. Those same activities account for only about 10% of what actually drives advancement. Following the signals. Showing up. Getting exhausted. Not getting promoted. Here is what is actually happening.<\/p>\n The work companies publicly value<\/b><\/p>\n This includes committees, development programs, employee initiatives and external visibility. Women say yes to this work because it aligns with what the organization promotes. It feels meaningful. It signals commitment. The issue is that much of this work is performative when it comes to advancement \u2014 it is visible, but it is not always tied to decision-making power. These are vanity metrics, easy to count but not connected to what actually drives promotions.<\/p>\n This is not a personal failure. Organizations built these signals, and organizations need to change them. If your company measures ERG participation and conference appearances but not internal visibility and decision-maker access, your measurement system is producing the wrong outcomes.<\/p>\n The work women feel responsible to carry<\/b><\/p>\n This is the invisible layer. Mentoring<\/a> others. Supporting team culture. Managing conflict. Bridging gaps across teams. For Black women, add another tax on top: code-switching, being the unofficial spokesperson for an entire demographic, carrying the organization\u2019s moral compass while the organization carries none of the weight. This work sustains organizations. It almost never translates into promotion.<\/p>\n The work that fills the space<\/b><\/p>\n Then there is everything else \u2014 meetings without clear outcomes, committees that produce reports nobody reads. High-performing women become the default solution. That reputation is real, and it is also a ceiling, because reliability isn\u2019t what drives promotion.<\/p>\n The shift starts with a simple question: If I continue doing this for the next six months, does it increase the likelihood of promotion? Most women have never been asked to evaluate their work this way. They are evaluated on performance, responsiveness and contribution, so they keep doing more of what is asked, assuming it will eventually lead somewhere. This audit interrupts that pattern.<\/p>\n Start by writing down everything you do on a regular basis \u2014 meetings, projects, committees, mentoring, external work, informal responsibilities people rely on you for. Include the work that lives outside your job description but still takes your time. Then evaluate each item using four questions.<\/p>\n This is the question most people skip. Every organization has a real decision-making process, whether it is written down or not. Promotions are driven by specific leaders, priorities and outcomes. If you cannot clearly connect an activity to those decisions, it may be valuable work \u2014 but it is not strategic for your advancement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Not what it was supposed to produce. Not what it could produce. What has it actually produced?<\/p>\n This question forces you to move from intention to evidence.<\/p>\nWhere women\u2019s time actually goes<\/h2>\n
A strategy reset: the 4-question audit<\/h2>\n
1. Does this have a direct line to the people who make decisions about my advancement?<\/h2>\n
2. What has this actually produced so far?<\/h2>\n
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3. What does it cost me in time and energy?<\/h2>\n