It can be frustrating, upsetting and downright unjust if there really is an unspoken limit imposed upon your ambitions. If you don’t want to put up with it, what are your options?

Identify what your company or organisation says it really values

Start to gather evidence on

 specific behaviours are valued and rewarded within your company or industry

 how your competencies align with company mission, culture and values

where you currently display these attributes

Be your own best advocate

If you feel your value is being overlooked, or that promotion evading you, time to get proactive

Set clear goals for yourself

Adopt a mentor

Identify the competencies you need to progress

Ask directly for feedback

Let key people know about your specific ambitions 

Involve them in reviewing your progress

Make your achievements more visible around the office or online

Be persistent

First off, focus on those goals that are most do-able to gather momentum from your successes. Publish acknowledgements of your successes, one step at a time, climbing can be hard work.

Build your network

Extending your professional networks means broadening your options.

An easy thing to do may to share support you can spare, maybe a few minutes of practical or moral support or sharing information that could be valuable to others. The law of reciprocity is alive and well, and when we support others they may be more predisposed towards giving us a helping hand when we feel stuck.

 Get involved with colleagues in other teams 

Reach out to new people regularly formally and informally

 Actively build your external networks 

At the very least, if you’re unable to break through current limitations you may be opening up possibilities elsewhere and building a support network in the process. 

Build your reputation

If your goal is to be perceived as someone with the potential to be a future manager or leader, then others need to know of our capabilities.

Aside from having great communication skills, technical knowledge and experience, great leaders are usually strategic thinkers. 

They’re able to share useful insights and observations, suggest ways to pre-empt potential business problems as well as find solutions. Are there opportunities for you to show up and share your ideas? If not face-to-face, then in writing?

Imagine your ideal future

When you compare how you would love things to be Vs. how you currently feel it can be a great way to motivate yourself to shift into gear..

Get clear about the specifics, what needs to be different? Where and when could you do more to:

Speak up

Take a lead

Find high-profile projects

Contribute to meetings

Display your strategic awareness

Share your insights

On the other hand, as we know, glass ceilings may have less to do with our professional behaviours and potential and much more to do with unconscious bias or else unjust prejudice.

Know your rights

If you feel that you are the victim of discriminatory behaviour, at some point you need to face those difficult conversations. You owe it to yourself to try to find ways to explain the effect upon your morale and your career -

Undoubtedly, that may not be easy. Where the power dynamic weighted against you, finding the courage to speak up may even feel pointless. This explains why the first time many companies realise there is a problem is when you decide to leave, or else when things have to be escalated to formal grievance procedures.

Finding the right support earlier on may result in swifter and less drastic resolutions. Once you have decided to take yourself seriously, you can garner the facts around the situation. Don’t suffer in silence, seek help where you need to – and be political. 

Taking yourself seriously means deciding not to put up with further frustration and failure. It means asking for what you want, querying unprofessional behaviour and understanding what you can do about being on the receiving end of it. Inform yourself of company policies and the law so that you know where you stand.  Acas is a great place to find free, up-to-date and external advice - www.acas.org.uk

Find the win-win

Acting upon unconscious bias is illegal. On the other hand, Those involved may not even be aware of how their behaviours affect your right to be taken seriously where your work is of equal merit. 

If you have been very poorly treated, there may be a great deal of anger or hurt involved. While wanting to prove how badly someone has behaved may feel like a win in the short term, play for the longer game. Give them an opportunity to appreciate your point of view, to remedy their actions. Their reputation and that of your company or organisation is also on the line. 

As a tactic, this may mean giving them the benefit of the doubt in the first place. If your considered and forensic case is dismissed then you will have to take things further, but at least your behaviour will be seen as reasonable and fair by any adjudicating bodies involved at a later stage. 

Whatever the outcome, rising above the strong emotions involved, staying calm, remaining objective and professional stands you in far better stead in terms of your wider future career.

To summarise, to break the glass ceiling you need to be your own best champion. It means taking yourself seriously and managing your career and future possibilities on your own terms.

For some that means getting clearer about the competencies and knowledge most valued by your company or organisation and being more active in displaying yourself as ideal for promotion. For others it means seeking the right support where you need to, finding yourself a mentor and involving your manager where you can. Your challenge is to find fair and do-able ways to make your case. 

If you are more fortunate, where you have invested your time creating strong professional networks formally and informally, hammers often remain the very last resort to smashing ceilings. 

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