Ignoring the Glass Ceiling

Earlier this month, I read an article entitled, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling by Ignoring It.”  It was a fabulous title and a decent article, but it left a lot still left unsaid.  You can read it for yourself here

Following are my comments on the topic of “Ignoring The Glass Ceiling”:

The numbers are clear about the dearth of women in top leadership spots and the discussion on this can get quite complex from a policy point of view (e.g. to quota or not to quota) but what’s also clear is that there’s much women can do ON THEIR OWN to improve career progression and management.  The problem with interviewing women who have ‘made it’ is that they’ve often been impervious to the metaphoric slings and arrows that side-track many many more women who don’t have the same innate resilience.  (I prefer resilience to toughness, as resilience allows women to endure without impact while also retaining the ‘soft’ skills that make us so perfect for leadership in a complex global 21st Century marketplace.)

So, for the majority of women, it’s true we don’t ask, have difficulty being heard, struggle with being recognized and in the end, haven’t deliberately gone about the essential practice of building influence.

In response, I’ve created a program called “Picking Up Where ‘Lean In’ Leaves Off,” designed to help the atrophying pipeline of women to equip themselves for ANY obstacle, glass ceiling, sticky floor, whatever. I do this  by focusing on 3 tentpole skills essential for career success:

1. Effective communication (replete with how to avoid ‘girl traps’ that make us less than effective – or respected – communicators)

2. Developing a compelling personal brand. Having a consistent brand can a) often stand in our stead, b) grant us some slack when something screws up and c) remove the need to constantly and repetitively justify our presence

3. Building a Powerful Sphere of Influence. Different from garden variety networking, building this sphere creates influence and influence is the currency of business.

Because this article had so few comments, I’d love for you to join the conversation and add your own.