Breaking The Glass Ceiling – Ann Morrison

They learned that they would have to steer their career purposefully in a positive direction to break the glass ceil- ing in their corporation. Their hard work had to be channeled, and they had to be smart about how they worked. But there was more: No matter how smart they were about their jobs and their business, they had to put themselves into a larger context.

They could never be so smart that they wouldn’t need other people. And knowing the rules didn’t make unnecessary setting their own rules and, at times, challenging the system they had taken great pains to understand. Finally, these executives learned (and are still learning) that the most important choices they make have nothing to do with intelligence or finding the correct solution.

The biggest choices are the personal ones about how they want to lead their lives and how they define success. As women in nontraditional roles in a still-traditional society, they are forced to make choices that exclude some of their needs and wants, and they must live with what they choose. a — ————————e—eEe——eEeE—e Lessons for Success II Lesson 4: Rely on Others One executive said that she’d had three mentors for whom she had worked.

One was her boss early in her career: He protected me and supported me. When he was sick for a couple of months, he gave me as much of his responsibility as [his peers] would allow. Another boss she described was “a consummate politician who never did or said anything off-the-cuff.” He was available to coach and advise: He’s a terrific manager. He used a lot of positive reinforcement. He was always very approachable. When I had to come to him for something I needed help with, he never made me feel embarrassed.

Her present boss was the third mentor, from whom she learned by watching his management style: He has an emotional style—very friendly, catches people up with his enthusiasm. . . .

The Management Skills Profile that appears on pages 195-200 is reprinted by permission from Personnel Decisions, Inc., copyright © 1982 by Personnel Decisions, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Morrison, Ann M. Breaking the glass ceiling : can women reach the top of America’s largest corporations?

/ Ann M. Morrison, Randall P. White, Ellen Van Velsor, and the Center for Creative Leadership.—Updated ed. = em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-201-63214-4 ISBN 0-201-62702-7 (pbk.) 1. Women executives—United States. 2. Success in business— United States. I. White, Randall P. II. Van Velsor, Ellen. III. Center for Creative Leadership.

IV. Title HD6054.4.U6M67 1992 658.4’09’082—dc20 92-25426 CIP Copyright © 1987, 1992 by Ann M. Morrison, Randall P. White, Ellen Van Velsor All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other- wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Cover design by Adrian Morgan Text design by Libby Van de Kerkhove Set in 10-point Palatino by Compset Inc., Beverly, MA 12345678 9-ARM-97969594 First printing, September 1992 First paperback printing, April 1994 For the women and men who participated in the Executive Women Project Contents Acknowledgments viii Foreword xi Introduction xii CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 GHAP TERS CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 EPILOGUE Appendix 175 Notes 219 Index 227 The Ceiling and the Wall: The Double Barrier to the Top Up or Out: How Women Succeed, How They Derail Perception Is Reality: The Narrow Band of Acceptable Behavior Lessons for Success I: It’s Not Enough to Work Hard Lessons for Success II: It’s Not Enough to Work Smart Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Making It to General Management Hitting the Wall: Facing Limits, Finding Alternatives The Future: Can Women Make It to the Top?

Where Are They Now? Vii 21 47 71 99 123 139 155 172 Acknowledgments The Center for Creative Leadership made possible both the orig- inal research (the Executive Women Project) and the follow-up research conducted for this revision of the book. In addition to those acknowledged below for their help with the original research, several staff members of the Center played key roles in updating our work. Kristen Crabtree, a research as- sistant in the San Diego office, and Peggy Cartner of the library staff in Greensboro, collected and screened current research studies and statistics.

Administrative assistants Sally Shipton and Marlene Zagon managed the manuscript preparation and coordination across the country. John Alexander of the public affairs staff consulted on the manuscript itself, along with Bill Drath of the publications group. John Alexander and Walter Tor- now, the Center’s vice president of research and publications, were instrumental in arranging with the publisher and the Cen- ter for this work to be done. We thank these individuals and the many others at the Center who encouraged and aided this research.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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