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Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors

Guest post by: Betty Penny

Article Overview: Many senior executive women emphasize that while most of us consider doing a good job results in being promoted, in fact political savvy, excellent communication skills, and an ability to take risks are equally if not more important to moving up the corporate ladder. This rule is true for both men and women, but women especially need to identify that being assertive, savvy and true to ones self is necessary and to find a style that works is important.Drop the old notion that only results matter, for they are really only part of a total package. Consider that staying in the loop something is more important than working harder. Find put what the lines of communication are within your organization and follow them, stay on top of them and never be blind-sided by a lack of information.

Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors

To be a successful business woman these days sometimes means being called a variety of slang terms and labels that imply all you care about is getting ahead. In the corporate world there are many pitfalls for women, including self-image, self-confidence and learning to play by the rules. But the first question to ask is, are the rules created for women? Many senior executive women emphasize that while most of us consider doing a good job results in being promoted, in fact political savvy, excellent communication skills, and an ability to take risks are equally if not more important to moving up the corporate ladder. This rule is true for both men and women, but women especially need to identify that being assertive, savvy and true to ones self is necessary and to find a style that works is important.

Too many women I know in business fail because of their perfectionism. They work harder and longer than their male counterparts and “outdo” them or beat them in some way. This can be dangerous as it sometimes leads to self-cynicism and a lonely existence. When you pace yourself and do things to the best of your ability, success will inevitably seek you out as a result.

So what kind of trade-off does a woman have to make to truly get ahead in business? Rather than focusing on the negatives, such as the fact that women make up less than 3 percent of senior managers at North America’s largest companies, a concentration on networking and building meaningful strategic alliances is a positive and important rule. Use a network of both men and women, gather the information needed and go after what is important, armed and ready.

When dealing with men on the job, and problems occur, the multi-faceted ramifications can be devastating. We never hear about how one man outdid another in business and became the “ruthless executive”. But, we label women, even amongst ourselves this way far too often. It has been proven that managers who inspire and communicate well with staff are the ones who get promoted. In order to achieve that, you need to help others be successful.

Drop the old notion that only results matter, for they are really only part of a total package. Consider that staying in the loop something is more important than working harder. Find put what the lines of communication are within your organization and follow them, stay on top of them and never be blind-sided by a lack of information.

Office politics are never a comfortable situation, but add to it that you are a woman and you discover that there is no easy way to handle it. It’s an obvious mistake to believe that steering clear will save your job. Taking risks, as I previously stated, is an essential part of moving up. Once you have established yourself and you self-worth and are in the executive suite, be aware that the balancing act is just beginning. Many senior women agree that balancing a top corporate job with personal and family life remains one of the toughest challenges. Many women admit that the demands of work prompt them to postpone having children; others lament at the lack of personal time for exercise and hobbies. So how does one achieve balance?

It all starts with taking the time to get organized, setting your priorities and managing your time effectively. Take some time out and ask yourself these three questions:

1. Am I organized enough that I feel I am in control?
2. Have I prioritized my goals and what is important to me?
3. Am I managing my time effectively to reach my goals?

There you have it, a few basic guidelines to follow that hopefully will start to break the glass ceilings and get many of us beyond our own sticky floors.

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Article Tags: communication skills, corporate ladder, executive women, men and women



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Re: Hi From START.ac CrowdFunding - [quote="START.ac":38qff2xh]Hi Mal, The idea of CrowdFunding is not to have a few investors giving large sums of money, but instead hundreds of everyday people giving a few dollars. So, to answer the question, the funding comes from the general public. Here is an example: You have a great idea for an invention that will allow water to be automatically cleansed when you put it into this "Cleansing Glass" (this is just an example, not a real invention) You post a description and video on our site, set a funding goal and a time period to raise it. Through our members on the site, our social media, your social media and your connections, this project is displayed on our site, where anyone from anywhere in the world can give anywhere from $1 to $500 towards your goal. In return these individuals get rewards. For example: "For $25 you will get your own Cleansing Glass and a personal postcard from the inventor" "For $150 you will get a personalized glass with your name and your name credited on the website for helping to create this project" etc etc. If you reach your funding goal in the time frame you set, then you get all the money. Even if it goes over. For example, the Pebble Watch only wanted to raise $100,000 but has raised over $9 million! And their funding is not up! We have been building our database of founding members on our pre-launch page for a couple of month, and have a huge social media following already. These are the "investors" in a sense, and this is where the money comes from. We are also opening up the CrowdFunding market to technology gadgets, industrial designs and start-ups. So when an entrepreneur has a great idea, they can potentially raise the funds they need by using CrowdFunding, versus getting investors to invest large amounts of money in return for ownership. I hope this answers your question! If not, or if you still have questions I really enjoy the interaction! Thanks! Jayni [quote="Mal Tindle":38qff2xh]Hi, Thank you for the explanation, the thought of giving financial help to start ups and new projects is laudible. May I ask,where is the initial funding coming from and how will you finance the projects as and when they come in. Do you have a start up reserve fund to get you going are you relying on convincing investors to release money to you over the Internet. The reason I ask is that entrepreneurial help is what this forum is about but when it comes to generating cash to invest in new projects then in the present finanicial climate you may find it a very hard sell with investors especially on the Internet as against face to face meetings with interested financiars, just my thoughts, Mal.[/quote:38qff2xh][/quote:38qff2xh] Hi Jayni, Thank you for the explanation, I wish you all the best with the launch next week, regards, Mal.


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