You're stuck at your current grade.

It's not because you're not good enough. It's because you're too good at what you're doing now.

When roles at the next grade come up, something stops you. Maybe you don't apply because you don't feel quite ready yet. Maybe you do apply, and the feedback is vague: "not quite ready," "needs to develop further," "perhaps next time."

Or maybe, and this one stings, you watch someone less experienced than you step into the role you know you could do.

Here's what nobody tells you: the next grade isn't about being better at your current work.

Panels and senior leaders aren't questioning your competence. They're questioning whether you've made the shift they're looking for:

• Grade 6→7: From reliable individual to credible manager
• Grade 7→8: From managing tasks to leading strategically
• Grade 8→9: From manager to institutional leader

And here's the frustrating part: you can't see what you can't see.

That's where the Hidden Curriculum comes in.

There's a Hidden Curriculum for career progression in Higher Education.

A set of unwritten rules and expectations that determine who gets promoted and who stays stuck.

Most people don't even know these rules exist. And even when they suspect they exist, they don't want to look at them because it feels like "playing the game."

But this isn't about being political or manipulative. It's about understanding what's actually being assessed so you can make informed decisions about how to show up.

Right now, you're probably:

• Working harder than ever but still feel invisible
• Being told to "work at the next level" without understanding what that actually means
• Acting up but not getting the permanent role
• Exhausted from proving yourself but getting nowhere

You're working incredibly hard. But you're demonstrating the wrong things.

The Hidden Curriculum shows you what panels are actually looking for.

Things like:

• How you communicate with senior leaders (authority vs. clarity)
• How you frame problems (systemic vs. operational)
• How you show up in meetings (peer vs. advisor)
• What you think about (institutional risk vs. operational delivery)
• How you delegate (trusting managers vs. staying in the detail)

These aren't political games. They're credibility markers that signal you're ready for institutional leadership.

You don't have to compromise your values or become someone you're not. You just need to know what credibility looks like at the next level, and demonstrate it in a way that feels authentic to you.

I've mapped the Hidden Curriculum for each grade transition for you.

From Grade 6→7 (individual contributor to first line manager), 7→8 (stepping up to lead teams and bigger portfolios), and 8→9 (moving into institutional leadership).

And I've created a framework to help you put it into action: The Progression Pathway.

It's four stages that take you from stuck to ready:

1. Clarity
Understand exactly what's required at the next grade. Get a clear assessment of where you already perform at that level and identify your specific gaps.

2. Competence
Fill those gaps. Build the skills, elevate your thinking, and start operating like someone at the next level.

3. Credibility
Be seen as someone who's ready. Change how you're perceived by panels and senior colleagues.

4. Conviction
Believe in your abilities and articulate them in a way that makes you the standout candidate.

You can follow the pathway on your own using my free resources.

 Or if you want my support, I run it as a 12-month group coaching programme: Getting Ready for Your Next Grade.

Getting Ready for Your Next Grade.

The Getting Ready for Grade Your Next Grade Programme is where I'll support you to go through the Progression Pathway and get you ready for your next grade.

We'll work together for 12 months in a small cohort of up to 8 people, all making the same grade shift. Each month there will be weekly calls, monthly masterclasses, and practical tools drawn from the Hidden Curriculum of Progression.

We work on the identity shift, not just skills. You'll know exactly what credibility looks like at your target grade, build the competence to fill any gaps, and practice signalling leadership behaviours so senior leaders and recruitment/regrading panels notice you operating at that level.

Three cohorts, tailored to your grade:

Getting Ready for Grade 7 (for Grade 6 professionals)
£95/month or £1,140/year
Next intake: November 2025
Join the waiting list →

Getting Ready for Grade 8 (for Grade 7 professionals)
£150/month or £1,800/year
Next intake: Late October 2025
Join the waiting list →

Getting Ready for Grade 9 (for Grade 8 professionals)
£175/month or £2,100/year
Next intake: 17th October 2025 - 6 spaces left
Read details and join →

Recent win: I helped a Grade 8 client prepare for an interview using the Hidden Curriculum. Her Head of School told me afterwards she was the standout candidate, her answers were "so much more elevated than the others." She was the obvious choice for the role.

The promotion doesn't create the shift. The shift creates readiness for the promotion.

Already Promoted But Not Thriving?

I also work 1:1 with senior leaders who got the senior role but are struggling with the identity shift.

You might be in this situation if:

• You got promoted but you're still operating like a really senior Grade 8
• Your peers are frustrated because you're not showing up as they expected
• You're exhausted from trying to be involved in everything
• You don't feel like you belong at the senior leadership table
• The strategic thinking everyone expects feels unclear or uncomfortable
• You're questioning whether you should have taken the promotion

The promotion doesn't automatically create the identity shift. That's work you have to do.

I work with a small number of senior leaders through confidential 1:1 coaching. We work on making the identity shift while you're already in role - the internal work, the credibility markers, the strategic thinking patterns.

This is private, tailored support for leaders who need to grow into their role without the vulnerability of doing that in a group.

If this is you, get in touch.

Email: [email protected] or book a call

Hi, I'm Fiona, 

creator of the Professional Services Progression Pathway and the go-to authority on the Hidden Curriculum of Progression.

With 13 years inside Higher Education and over 250 clients supported, I know the unwritten rules and subtle shifts that separate “ready for promotion” from “not yet.”

I specialise in the critical step changes from G7 to G8 and G8 to G9, helping you not only look like the most credible candidate but lead like one once you’re in the role.

I’m a certified self-belief coach and workplace mediator, bringing both the strategic insight to map your next move and the coaching skill to help you embody the beliefs, mindset, and approaches the next grade demands.

Whether you’re clarifying your readiness, building targeted skills, preparing your application, or mastering your first 100 days, I’m here to make sure you don’t just move up, you move into a role you can thrive in.

Ready to stop waiting and start preparing?

If you're Grade 8, Getting Ready for Grade 9 starts 17th October. 7 spaces left.
Read full details and join →

If you're Grade 6 or 7, join the waiting list for your cohort.
Grade 7 waiting list | Grade 8 waiting list

Or start with the free resources:
Download the Hidden Curriculum guide →

Questions? Email me: [email protected]