Amy Bray was crushing it. She had the right people, the momentum, the wins. Then her manager left, and the VP asked her to step in on an interim basis. She said yes. And some of it worked. But some of it didn't.

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Amy, who leads teams at Google. We talk about what happens when you take a stretch role before you're ready, how to experiment with your career without jeopardizing your current job, and why a little humility in high-stakes rooms can actually work in your favor.

Amy also gets into the difference between "I deserve this" and "help me grow into this," and why demonstrating competency beats demanding recognition every time.

3 Specific Realizations:

• Taking an interim leadership role revealed gaps Amy didn't know she had, specifically in relationships and understanding business mechanisms, and she had full self-awareness about it in the moment
• Saying "I'm a little nervous" before presenting to executives sometimes gets people rooting for you instead of evaluating you
• The shift from "I've been here X years, I deserve the promo" to "my goal is to grow into this, can you help me get there" changes how managers advocate for you