getting it to crack in places.
Some ideas I want to offer you are:
Break or put cracks into your glass ceiling
For each statement you wrote down earlier on what is holding you back, do the following:
•For each obstacle, write down what it would or could take to get rid of it, put a crack in it or move beyond it.
•Ask yourself, what belief would be more useful to have instead or what would your ideal scenario be? And what evidence would you need to support this?
Be as creative as you can and accept any thought that comes to mind. If you find this difficult, imagine a friend wrote down all those obstacle statements and she asked you to help her find ways to deal with her obstacles or glass ceiling.
Now consider the following, if the glass ceiling was not there, how would act differently right now, today, tomorrow, next week?
Sometimes, it can help us to just mentally move beyond our obstacles. Pick just one of your obstacles and imagine the opposite was true (or your ideal scenario).
If all your real and perceived obstacles were no longer there, and as if by magic the glass ceiling would disappear, and you had that next promotion, that high-end client, that contract (or substitute here whatever your glass ceiling is), what would that be like?
Imagine yourself having achieved it and being that senior manager (or having moved beyond your glass ceiling). Would it be worth it? And what other areas of your life (if any) have gained or suffered?
What change in your behaviour, your self-talk or your perspective would occur as a result of the opposite of this obstacle being true?
If you can, try it out in practice and act differently and see what happens. You might be surprised by the results.
Breaking through the glass ceiling
Breaking through or smashing a glass ceiling whether based on one’s own limiting beliefs or other people’s and/or society’s collective beliefs or a combination of both, isn’t always a walk in the park. However, it can be done and numerous women have proved this. A great way, to break or at least put cracks into a glass ceiling is to identify someone who’s already done it.
There are lot of examples of women who have reached senior management positions and are CEOs of companies. So, whether a universal glass ceiling exists or not, women can reach and be successful at senior positions. And this goes for other areas of life where women feel they have ‘glass ceilings’, be it in sports, health, finances, and hobbies or as parents.
So, look for role models – where in the world, your industry, your company etc. is a woman who has broken through a glass ceiling similar to yours?
Once you have identified women role models in your environment, make contact with them and ask them about their journey. You will find most women are happy to share their experiences.
I just love this story about Roger Bannister. He was the first one to run the ‘four minute mile’. Before he did it, it was a ‘known fact’ supported by medical studies that a mile could not be physically run in under 4 minutes. It was believed that it was medically unsafe to do so. After Roger Bannister ran the ‘4 minute mile’ other runners did, too.
If you are unable to find any role models within your environment, check out the web. There are some great websites (see below) where you can find women who have reached senior management positions share their stories and tips. And there are websites that share women’s stories how broke through their glass ceilings for other areas of life. Just have look and you will find the information. Do share any good websites you find, so other women can benefit!
Take a very hard look at your career plan or life plan
One of the findings of the ILM survey was that women tend to have less well defined and clear career plans than their male counterparts. Other studies confirm that women often neglect their life planning.
Knowing that, how well defined is your career or life plan? How clear are you on your career or life goals for the next year, two years, five years?
Some women enjoy creating a vision board or treasure map for their career or life plan. If you like being creative, there are lots of ways to make this exercise fun. When you consider your career or life plan, go with your ideal first and focus on what you want to happen not what you think is possible or available. Once you have developed your ideal career vision, then go back and review what is realistic and possible now, and what elements might need additional skills, resources, actions. To find out more about life planning or vision boarding, feel free to check of my chapters in Dial A Guru 1: Awaken your true potential.
8