Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women Leaders Share Their Secrets to Success
Times have changed and women can take their place at the forefront of business without being stopped on account of their sex in the male-dominated space, most of the times. But the changes have not been enough to make the experience easy. Women leaders must still fulfil some gender roles to be accepted as a human being in this society. Their leadership must manifest in a different way than men. All leadership traits allowed in men are not accepted in women leaders. Women leaders must pave their own path through these obstacles. Some have done exactly that. They have been breaking the glass ceiling and making their own way to success. Here those women leaders share 7 of their secrets to success.
Resilience in Women Leaders
The first secret to breaking the glass ceiling as women share to their success is resilience. A woman will face many obstacles in her way to make her way to the top. Many obstacles will attempt to shatter a woman’s willpower and make her give up on her path. This is where a woman must show resilience. She must not give up and endure through the process. Women have endured throughout history, and this is what women have become known for. But there is a limit to enduring. Women leaders endure and pave the way so that the ones who come after them don’t have to.
The Success of Being in a Community
The second secret to breaking the glass ceiling as women share to their success is being in a community. Women leaders can find empathy and comfort in a community. This community will propel these women forward through solidarity. Even now, a lone woman is vulnerable and often victimized. To avoid such circumstances, the community around her can support and protect her from bad actors while also providing her with the necessary strength to go forward on her path to success. Being alone can be terrifying but being with others can give a woman confidence. A community can be empowering and comforting to women leaders who find themselves alone on their path to success.
Facing Double Standards as Women Leaders
The third secret to breaking the glass ceiling as women share to their success is facing double standards head on. Even in this day and age, powerful men might preach that the times have changed, and women have been empowered enough. But the truth is that it has not been enough. Equality has still not been properly established between the two sexes. The traits steadily accepted as good in a male leader are considered an overstepping of boundaries and rude when observed in a female leader. Strength is men is to be strived for and strength in women is rude. Masculine strength is considered a desirable trait, but feminine strength is considered a weakness and shunned. If the times have truly changed then, one must explain the reason for this disparity between the two sexes.
People’s Perception of Women Leaders
The fourth secret to breaking the glass ceiling as women share to their success is dealing with people’s perception. Even after all these years, a woman leader is often an exception rather than a norm. People are surprised when they see a woman leader because it is still rare for women to able to make their way through the bigotry of the world. Women who stand on their own at the top are often ridiculed and demeaned. The methods they might have used to get there are questioned and scrutinized. It is as if a woman cannot be expected to achieve success without some backhanded tactics. Such women have their femininity questioned, as if strength is purely a masculine trait. Women leaders must persevere as they have always done, but not for the benefit of their critics. They must endure to set an example contrary to the criticism nut no woman owes any explanation to the critics.
Self-Confidence is the Key to Breaking the Glass Ceiling
The fifth secret to breaking the glass ceiling as women share to their success is self-confidence. Women leaders believe in their own capabilities more than anyone else. A female leader should not be beholden to others’ expectations. These women set their own expectations and know that they can achieve the goal that they have set. Many obstacles will arrive to destroy that self-confidence. But, as mentioned earlier, resilience is key. A woman leader must be confident that they can jump across any hurdles that may come their way. Confidence is believing in oneself and often, women are raised to consider themselves as lesser and weaker. But they must break through these ingrained and internalized notions to set themselves onto the path towards success.
Transparency Leading to Success
The sixth secret to breaking the glass ceiling as women share to their success is transparency. A woman leader cannot delve into deception. They are already scrutinized in their every step. A female leader must be open about their goals, expectations and methods. This is not to satisfy their critics since a woman leader owes nothing to them. It is to be transparent with their own community. People who support her must know her as much as she knows herself. Honesty within her community will bring in more support for her. Deception is not a masculine trait at its core, but it is much more acceptable when a male leader uses deception and achieves success. After all, a man’s failures are his own, but a woman’s failures are considered to be indicative of characteristic of her entire sex.
Failure is Only Another Step Towards Success
The seventh secret to breaking the glass ceiling as women share to their success is to accept failure and move forward. Success is not easy, especially for female leaders. Failure is par for the course and must be accepted as is. As mentioned before, resilience is key. Success will not come easily but it will come eventually for those who persist. A woman leader must accept her defeat at times to aim for a better future. She must carry her failures and move forward towards greater success. Failure is only a steppingstone towards success and must be learnt from but not extensively pondered about.
These were the secrets to breaking the glass ceiling as women share to their success. But no woman must limit themselves to these ways. She can find her own way towards success and establish herself as a women leader in her own right. Times may have changed slightly but discrimination is hard to eradicate. Many hurdles may come in a woman’s path towards success but there are always ways to tackle them as long as one does not give up the battle entirely. Breaking all barriers and limitations placed onto women’s capabilities is possible. Women leading the whole pack can be achieved. This is no simulation as found in an escape room. It is in real life that a woman must escape the boundaries she is confined to so she can achieve ultimate success.