Women in Business: Forget About the Glass Ceiling

Women are finally getting more attention as important players in business… as leaders, as employees, as entrepreneurs.  Thanks to such people as Sheryl Sandberg and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the achievements and potential achievements of women are receiving attention.

But at the level of smaller businesses, progress seems harder to make.  What’s the problem?  I think it has to do with that lingering perception of barriers faced by women.  To which I say to women in business: “Forget about the Glass Ceiling.”

The billionaires and the entrepreneurs on the recent Forbes World’s Most Powerful Women list did not believe that they were being held back.  They pushed forward.  They persevered.  They believed in their potential and their own ability to achieve that.  If they had any limiting beliefs, it wasn’t that there was a glass ceiling.  And they could probably see through that anyway.

Glass ceilings, like glass houses, are made to be broken.  If they exist.  And glass ceilings, like glass houses, can reflect different kinds of light that can actually be inspiring.

I worked with a woman recently who did not even realize that her own perceptions were holding her back.  She was timid about pursuing opportunities; she wasn’t sure that she was worthy of a male mentor’s time.  She admitted that she had few role models to look up to, but she also knew that she was being well received in her current role.  She wasn’t really pushed down, yet she felt that it might be too hard to move up.  Without anyone really saying it, she decided that a glass ceiling was there.  And she wasn’t ready to be Cinderella and throw a glass slipper at it.

We’ve spent enough time blaming men and organizations… and, more recently, ourselves… for creating a sense of limitations for women.  It’s time to stop blaming and start moving.  Getting ahead is about seeing and seizing opportunities; it’s about beliefs and actions.

In a smaller company, there is so much more to do and so much more room to grow.  There’s plenty for everyone.  In fact, we, as business leaders, really need everyone to participate to their fullest.  So creating that sense of opportunity and value for everyone is particularly important now.  And it can start with a few simple actions.

Think about this:  When did you last ask a female employee for her ideas about a business issue?  When did you ask your top female talent about their aspirations?   Who have you offered the opportunity to work with the most recent biggest, or biggest potential, clients?

Forgetting about the glass ceiling is something we all need to do.  And we can.  Then it will become like that proverbial tree falling in the forest: if we can’t see it, it won’t exist.

Lynne Morton, President, PI Solutions, is a globally-recognized management consultant and executive coach helping organizations and individuals… especially women… develop their potential.  Based in NYC, Lynne (lmorton@pisols.com) works with clients from diverse industries and locations.

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