VP to Principal — Aleksandra Flis
VP → Principal

You have mastered execution.
That will not necessarily get you
to the next level.

Financial modelling. Due diligence. Deal execution. You do all of it well. Better than most people in the room. That got you to VP.

Here is what nobody tells you: the firm already knows you can execute. What it is now asking — quietly, without saying it directly — is something harder. Can you influence outcomes? Can you develop the people below you? Can you operate with judgment that does not need to be checked?

The skills that got you here will not get you to Principal. The ones that will are different — and most VPs are not working on them.

The hidden shift

What has changed — even if
no one has said it out loud yet

Technical excellence is now the price of entry. It is what gets you in the room. What determines whether you advance is something else: how you are perceived by people who are not in your deals, whether your judgment is trusted beyond the spreadsheet, and whether senior partners see you as someone to invest in — or just someone to rely on.

Promotion decisions at VP level are not made in formal reviews. They are made in passing comments, in IC rooms, in conversations you are not part of. By the time there is a process, the view is already formed. The question is whether it is working for you.

Read this carefully

If any of these sound familiar,
you are in the right place.

You leave IC knowing the thinking was right — but your view did not carry the weight you expected. The impact you wanted to have was not the impact you had.
You are not sure which partners are actually in your corner. You do not know who, if anyone, is actively advocating for you when the conversation happens without you.
You are confident one-to-one. But something shifts when you are in a room full of senior people. The gravitas is not there the way you want it to be.
You know you can deliver. You have the drive. But you catch yourself second-guessing your approach — overthinking decisions that should be clear — and it takes up more mental space than it should.
You try to delegate to your junior team. You end up doing it yourself. Because it is faster, because it feels familiar, because explaining it would take longer than just getting it done.
You do not know exactly what the partners would need to see from you to consider you the obvious choice for promotion. No one has told you. You have not asked.
You know you are good. But you cannot clearly articulate where your competitive advantage is — what unique value you bring that nobody else at your level does.
Where I can help

Topics VPs bring
to the sessions

The work is specific to your situation. These are the areas that come up most consistently at this stage.

Internal visibility & sponsorship
Getting the right partners aware of your ambition and your progress — before the promotion conversation opens, not during it.
Confidence in senior rooms
Showing up in IC, founder meetings and LP conversations with the composure and authority that makes people want to put you in those rooms again.
Executive judgment
Moving from providing more information to providing a clear point of view — and holding it under pressure without becoming defensive.
Delegation
Stopping doing the work that your junior team should own — and building the habits that let you operate above the execution layer.
Sourcing & competitive advantage
Building the early sourcing story and articulating the unique value you bring — what makes you not just promotion-ready but increasingly difficult to replace.
Firm navigation
Reading the dynamics of your firm — who influences whom, what actually gets rewarded — and positioning yourself intelligently within them.
You are in good hands
Aleksandra Flis
Aleksandra Flis
Associate Certified Coach · International Coaching Federation
ICF ACC
3,700+
Coaching hours
120+
Investment professionals across UK, US & Europe
Exclusive
focus
VC · PE · Growth Equity · IB
Client firms include
Ampersand · Antler · Balderton Capital · Beringea · Carlyle · Coatue · Glade Brook · Lightspeed · Prosus · Seedcamp · SoftBank · Speedinvest
Client results

What the work looks like in practice

Case Study · VP, Private Equity
“From Invisible to Indispensable”
Focus areas
IC presence · Internal visibility · Executive judgment · Sponsorship
Engagement
5 months
Outcome
Promoted to Senior VP

The situation: A strong VP with a solid deal track record who kept getting passed over in promotion conversations. Well-liked, technically excellent, but not being talked about as Principal material. The partners respected the work but were not advocating for the next step.

What we worked on: Identifying which partners needed to see what, and building a deliberate visibility plan. Shifting how they showed up in IC — from presenting analysis to driving decisions. Building the internal relationships that turn respect into sponsorship.

The outcome: Promoted to Senior VP within five months. For the first time, partners were actively advocating in rooms the client was not in. IC presence shifted from informational to influential.

VP · Private Equity
Case Study · Senior Associate, Venture Capital
“From Perfectionist to High-Impact Operator”
Focus areas
Prioritisation · Strategic visibility · Delegation · Execution mindset
Engagement
3 months
Outcome
Promoted to Principal

The situation: A detail-driven Senior Associate getting bogged down in perfectionism — polishing models, over-analysing deals, spending time on execution at the expense of strategic visibility and deal momentum.

What we worked on: Shifting from a perfectionist execution mindset to an 80/20 prioritisation approach. Building a framework to identify high-leverage tasks versus low-value work. Increasing internal visibility as a strategic contributor rather than an executor.

The outcome: Freed up significant time for sourcing and deal flow. Moved from execution mode to strategic involvement. Promoted to Principal by demonstrating broader firm impact and leadership potential.

Senior Associate · First-Fund Venture Capital
What changes

The transformations clients
experience from our work together

Before
Second-guessing what you say in IC — and leaving meetings without the impact you wanted to have.
After
Framing opportunities with conviction and carrying the gravitas that invites questions — and that partners notice.
Before
Not trusting junior team members, becoming the execution bottleneck — doing everything yourself because it feels faster.
After
Trusting and empowering junior team members — and reclaiming the space for high-leverage activities.
Before
Not knowing what senior partners think of you or how aware they are of the progress you are making.
After
Increased visibility with the right people — partners who are aware of your ambition and actively invested in your progression.
Before
Hoping the next promotion cycle comes through because it is time — without a concrete plan to position for it.
After
A concrete action plan — and finally getting promoted, recognised for the progress made.
Before
Spending time on analysis, presentations and meetings without a clear sense of what actually moves the needle.
After
Strategically choosing what matters — a quality of judgment that earns real respect from the partnership.
3mo
Average time from first session to a tangible change in the promotion conversation
10/10
Clients say they would not have got there as fast without the work
78%
Secured their promotion within the first promotion cycle following our work together

Based on client feedback across engagements 2020–2025.

What clients say
“Aleks played a pivotal role in my development as a Partner. She helped me streamline my workload, delegate more effectively, and carve out space to focus on the areas where I can have the greatest impact. What I appreciate most is her unique ability to blend a results-driven mindset with deep empathy — her role is to serve, not to please, but she does so with a kind yet honest approach, pushing me to make the necessary changes. I would not be where I am today without the work we did together.”
Joanna
Partner
Private Equity, San Francisco
“I decided to work with Aleks because we immediately connected. From our first conversation, I could tell she was straightforward and did not waste time. We quickly got on the same page about my goals. She wants the results and at the end of the day, we got the results. Would I have achieved it without her? Yes, for sure — but it would have taken me years. With Aleks we achieved it within four months. It was an investment in myself, and it was a great investment.”
Partner
Private Equity
New York
“She always shows up fully prepared and is quick at adjusting sessions to find what is needed. When I reflect on where I was at the beginning to where I am now, I realise I have become more confident. I take more courageous actions — and I feel confident about taking them. The shift happened faster than I expected, and it has been sustained.”
Consultant
Financial Services
Denmark
Next step

If this is the right moment,
let’s talk.

The first step is a complimentary strategy session. We will talk through your specific situation — where you are, what you are trying to achieve, and whether I can help.

Book a strategy session