Women in management or leadership, how did you transition from "task-oriented worker" to "strategic leader"?

Hi everyone,

(Question at the end)

34F. ​I’ve been a functional/business analyst in tech for just under 10 years.

Lately, I’ve been constantly pondering how to make the leap to the next level: senior individual contributor or a management role.

​When I ask for feedback, my managers tell me they see great potential, but that I am still very task-oriented. They’ve advised me to work on showing more "ownership, leadership, and management" qualities.

​The problem is, I’m feeling incredibly stuck on how to actually do that.

​My default instinct is to look for a new certification or a course to learn a hard skill. But I'm starting to suspect that what I'm missing isn't a credential: it’s a mindset, behavioral, or attitude shift.

​A few roadblocks I'm currently navigating:

​- Breaking out of execution mode to focus on big-picture strategy.

- ​confidence: I admittedly struggle with confidence and am actively working on this in therapy, but I feel like there’s still another piece of the puzzle missing.

- ​guidance: I’ve thought about hiring a career coach, but my past experiences with coaching haven't been great.

​For women who have successfully made the jump into senior, management, or leadership positions: What did you actually change or do to get there? What key behaviors, shifts in effort, or soft skills made the biggest difference?

​Thank you so much in advance for sharing your experiences!