You picked a target. Before you move toward it, you need an honest inventory of what you are working with, because you can't make a case for value you've never put into words. Most women undersell their own work, not out of modesty, but because they have never written it down. "I just helped with that" is the tell. You did not just help. You did a specific thing that had a specific result, and this week you find out exactly what.
This is the part the promotion advice skips. It tells you to speak up, network, make the ask, all of which assume you can already say what you bring. If you can't, every one of those moves stalls at the first sentence. So week 1 is not about the target yet. It is an accurate picture of what is already true: your skills, your strengths, the things people come to you for, your real wins.
The blanks and the surprises on that inventory are not a verdict. They are the raw material for the next twelve weeks. You will pull from this list when you write your update emails, when you build your case, when someone asks what you do. Build it once, well, and you will use it the whole way.
Start your value inventory, today. Open a note on your phone titled "What I bring." Write five things: a skill, a strength, a problem you solve, something people come to you for, and a recent win. Use script 1 so each names the value, not just the task.
Get a second opinion. Across the last three months, what do colleagues ask you, route to you, or rely on you for? Write three. Then use script 4 to ask one trusted person what they would say you are the go-to for.
Name one strength out of the pattern. Find the throughline in your inventory and write a single sentence: "I'm the person who [strength]." That sentence is the seed for the rest of phase 1.
Word for word, ready to use. Edit any script to make it yours, then copy it.
"I [did or do X], which means [who] can [result]." Example shape: "I translate finance reports for non-finance teams, which means leaders can decide faster."
"I'm good at [specific thing], especially when [context]." Specific beats general. Not "I'm a hard worker." Try "I'm good at untangling a process nobody else wants to touch."
Take any sentence about your work and delete: "just," "kind of," "a little," "I helped with," "I'm not really an expert but." If you helped with X, name the part you owned: "I built the [part] of X."
To a trusted colleague: "Quick question. If someone asked what I'm the go-to person for around here, what would you say?"
Your Friday email carries the reply template. These are the prompts inside it.
Starting late? Do move 1 and move 2, skip move 3 until they're done. That's the whole catch-up.
Stuck, or something not working? Pick what fits.