If you have worked in corporate environments, then you may have heard about career glass ceilings. It’s where your skills, influence or situation prevent you from getting promoted any further in the pyramid structure on the org chart. Something is limiting you, whether yourself or your environment.
If you are a business owner, you may experience this problem when you find yourself working tirelessly in your business, but aren’t experiencing real growth. Furthermore, the stress and headaches persist and amplify over time.
The symptoms of glass ceilings show up in such things as a revolving door of talent and continual crisis in your business. It may also be a lag or struggle in sales or a lack of consistent execution and delivery on your services.
You may not be able to scale your business, or you are continuing to tread water while your competition is thriving.
Something is not clicking. You may fret and try harder, but if you look back over the last year or several years, you are still working harder without any breakthrough to show for it.
A chronic and predictable problem over time means that you are not doing something that can have an impact and create the success you desire. It’s easier and addictive to accommodate the pain than do what is necessary to break through.
What You Are Missing
When you find yourself unable to break through a glass ceiling despite your persistence and best efforts, then you can either continue or change.
Here’s the issue. You are likely in the way. Your talent and strengths have allowed you to get where you are. It is something to celebrate for sure. But the way you see the world and solve problems are hitting up against the constraints of the universe.
There is someone out there with talent that can augment your strengths and break through that glass ceiling.
If you can’t scale your business but you are a natural salesperson, then partner with an operations guru.
If you can’t generate demand but you have your service process humming, then seek out someone that can make deals.
If you seem to have uninspired people on your team, then bring on a manager that can run the daily grind.
I’m not sure why it’s not obvious to people. Perhaps we are just too busy, and the status quo seems easier than change. When I consult with clients, it’s not always apparent, but the glass ceiling problem is common.
We all have blind spots, and we all need others that complete our strengths with their own.
You may think that your current pain is normal. We have a way of becoming accustomed to what is not working and calling it normal.
But, when you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, then taking action to overcome your limitations may seem bold, but it is ultimately logical for smart business people. Know your strengths and celebrate how those talents have gotten you to where you are at.
Then shatter that glass ceiling by partnering with people that naturally catalyze and thrive where you tend to struggle.
You may be looking for a shiny new tool or waiting on some breakthrough opportunity to change things. But that click moment will likely happen when you complement your weaknesses with others’ strengths.
What could you take action on right now to shatter your glass ceiling?