In a recent LinkedIn post, Ehsan Ali discusses the critical issue of senior professionals, particularly in the IT sector, failing to adequately package and position their extensive experience, leading to significant career and financial underperformance. Ali, who is ranked as the #2 Career Coach in Australia, shares his personal journey from a 22-year IT career to coaching, highlighting the common pitfalls that prevent highly capable individuals from realizing their full earning potential.
The Rebirth from Corporate Leaks
Ali frames his career transition as a “rebirth” that occurred in 2020 after two decades in corporate IT. He explains that his decision wasn’t born from a perfect plan but from a deep-seated frustration with “leaking value” – being undervalued and underpriced in environments that couldn’t fully appreciate his contributions. This realization was hard-won, marked by:
“It took 3 failed ventures, an almost empty bank account, and a mortgage that did not care I was ‘finding myself’ to teach me a hard truth: Value sitting inside you does not pay you.”
He emphasizes that despite possessing substantial proof of his capabilities, including building large teams and generating significant revenue, he struggled with the fundamental aspects of valuing and marketing his own expertise. Ali points out that many senior IT professionals face a similar dilemma.
Identifying and Closing ‘Value Leaks’
According to Ehsan Ali, the core problem for many senior IT professionals is not a lack of skill or experience, but rather a “value leak” caused by several factors:
- Weak positioning of their skills and achievements.
- Operating in the “wrong rooms” or environments that don’t recognize their worth.
- Delayed decision-making regarding career progression and value articulation.
- Crafting career narratives that inadvertently make extensive experience appear ordinary.
Ali argues that this “leak” can have a profound long-term financial impact, potentially costing professionals between $500,000 to $1 million over five to ten years. He elaborates on this, stating:
“It does not hurt today. But it costs a fortune tomorrow.”
His personal transformation came when a mentor helped him see that he wasn’t starting from scratch but was “sitting on a mountain of value.” The shift occurred when he moved away from simply listing “experience” and began focusing on the specific problems he could solve for potential employers or clients.
From Experience to Problem-Solving Positioning
Ehsan Ali highlights the crucial difference between presenting oneself as experienced and demonstrating how that experience directly addresses critical business challenges. As he notes:
“Once I stopped talking like someone with ‘experience’ and started positioning the problems I could solve, everything changed.”
This strategic repositioning, Ali explains, is key to unlocking opportunities and compensation that truly reflect an individual’s capabilities. He contrasts this with the common approach where extensive experience is presented in a way that fails to impress or differentiate, effectively diminishing its perceived value.
A Call to Action for Senior Professionals
Ali concludes his post by offering solutions, noting that he is hosting private live sessions to help senior IT professionals identify and close these “value leaks” before they cause further compounding losses. He frames this as an essential step for anyone looking to transition from being merely “experienced” to being demonstrably valuable and appropriately compensated.
“They are not lacking capability. They are leaking value.”
His insights serve as a stark reminder that accumulated expertise is only beneficial when effectively communicated and positioned in the market.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Ehsan Ali on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on July 4, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →