The Power Of Imagery – Helping or Hindering?

As the global focus on Women’s Month fades into the distance for another 12 months, I find myself rethinking the conversation we had at a British Chamber of Business Southern Africa Women’s Month event called “Breaking Workplace Barriers”. There were two panels of powerful women who raised excellent and thought-provoking points as they shared their personal experiences. Shattering the glass ceiling and all it represents to women in business came up repeatedly and it got me thinking. The image of shattering a ceiling made of glass is a powerful one. You can picture it. You can hear it

shattering. You can imagine the effort required to break through it and you can feel the pain of it as the glass shatters and falls onto you. Nothing about it feels positive to me, and I caught myself thinking. Why do we keep repeating this image? Is there any benefit to us? So I did a bit of digging. The analogy was first used by an American Management Consultant, called Marilyn Loden, in a panel discussion in 1978. That is almost 50 years ago! And both the powerful image and the reality of what it means for women at work persist today. Many would say, little

progress has been made. So now what? Perhaps we should be more acutely aware of the power of our words, the power of imagery, of how

we describe the positions we find ourselves in, the obstacles we have to overcome. Reminding ourselves, and the men we both work alongside and compete with at work, that there is a glass ceiling for women to break through, might not be our best way forward. I imagine a male colleague standing side by side with me as we aim for the same position. Is my position strengthened or weakened by his knowing that I have a glass ceiling obstacle ahead of me? Is he perhaps emboldened by this imagery and more confident in the knowledge that I have an extra hurdle to overcome? Am I perhaps more anxious because of it? Less confident? So, how about we, as women, begin to change the narrative? How about we change the imagery? How about we focus on “earning and then owning a seat at the table” instead of the harsh narrative of breaking that ceiling? And yes, I am saying “earning” intentionally. If we earn something, then we can really own it. This is important when it comes to that seat at the table, because if you earn it,

then you are better positioned to fill it well, both comfortably and with confidence. What would it take for us to earn our seats at the table? Networking, overcoming Imposter Syndrome, building our self-confidence, excellent communication, being conscious of how we are positioning ourselves, delivering value, hard work and real results, being proactive about reaching our goals … and the list goes on. And I am struck again. All of these things are the things I know, as an Executive Coach with more than 1000 hours of coaching experience at senior levels – coaching both men and women – are focus areas for many of my coaching clients! And they were mine, 30 years ago as I started my journey to become a successful entrepreneur and corporate executive. So, we are putting in the right work. We are focusing on the right things. But, are we communicating what we are doing effectively enough? Are we showing up as earning that seat at the table? Or are we hesitant in the face of the glass ceiling? It’s a question worthy of some thought and perhaps a discussion or two … How about we set up some panel discussions focused on earning our seats at the table and see where this positive imagery takes us? And let’s not wait for Women’s Month 2025.