Page 39 - Free Yourself From

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

Now, if I were sitting across from you, I’d ask, “Why do you
think you are a fixer? Why don’t you think you’re the CEO type?”
I’d bet dessert it’s because that’s the role you’ve been assigned over
and over again. It’s a given that much of how we see the world and
respond to experiences is based on a collection of beliefs we have
about who we are.
But many people don’t realize that these beliefs are a mixture of
internal forces and things that others project onto us. Part of anyone’s
self-image is right on the money and part is misinformed by the col-
lective influence of our own and other people’s biases. The self-image
that evolves from this belief system can work for you or be limiting, and
it’s usually a little of both. For example, you might believe you don’t
have the educational background to be what you want to be. Or you
might believe that you’re selfish if you spend a lot of time on yourself.
But at some point you have to realize that you are the architect of who
you are. And you need to take responsibility for your self-image.
So, for your next step on this road to self-discovery, I encourage
you to look hard within yourself and identify those beliefs about
yourself that might be limiting. We do this for the women who attend
our Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) program and they
end up saying that it really helps them to identify reasons why they
feel stuck in their career or, in some cases, they feel conflicted about
their ambition.
At WILL, we ask women to draw a timeline of experiences and
events that shaped their assumptions about their world and how they
view themselves.
One of my huge life events was going into my father’s office on
Saturday mornings and letting him show me all the construction jobs
and bids he was working on. I was amazed by how he did it. I also
got to see him interact with the other people in his company—from
his secretary to the supervisors and workers. As an adult I realized
that he had a tremendous ability to build strong relationships with