Page 199 - Free Yourself From

182 It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor

this,” or “I have some new information. Would you allow me to
explore this with you one more time?”
You can easily determine what you want, but other people don’t
know it unless you inform them and ask for it. Gary said asking for
help is a sign of strength. Some of the best leaders are the ones who
are not afraid of asking for what they want. They may not get it the
first time, but eventually they will.

It Doesn’t Have to Be All or Nothing

I was speaking at a conference in New York recently and a woman
executive reached out to me and said she was seriously considering
leaving the organization that she had been with for 10 years. She was
very close to entering the executive suite as a senior partner. But, she
had three children and felt that she needed extra time off from work
to deal with the many demands of her family. In particular, she was
feeling guilty that she had not been there enough for her children.
And, she felt she could not be a good parent based on the demands
and constraints of her job. So, she shared with me that she was plan-
ning on resigning that month. I then asked the question, “Did you
ever consider asking for some time off—maybe even going part-time
for a year or so?” She replied that her organization did not allow time
off for childcare or part-time sabbaticals at her level. She implied that
the organization she worked for is all about getting results. While she
made that assumption, I sensed her tremendous frustration and inter-
nal conflict based on all the time and energy she had given to her firm
and now having to potentially walk away from it. But, I could see that
deep down she knew her family was most important. I empathized and
respected her value system regarding her family and wanting to be
there for them, but said, “It is okay for your career to slow down for
a while based on your personal and family needs. But, that does not
mean you have to give up your aspirations of being partner in your
organization—something you have worked so hard to achieve. Five