Many years ago we discovered that asbestos was a great insulator. Builders began to use it in the production of such things as home insulation. It wasn’t until many years later that we found out that it can be quite toxic and can cause many disease
s, the number one being the big “C”: cancer. So now we are faced with the problem of many older homes having unhealthy living environments, and many times the occupants are oblivious to that fact. All they know is that they are sick and don’t know why. Some aren’t even aware that they are sick until it is too late.
Corporate culture based on the out-dated model of leadership has the same effect. It doesn’t just keep more women from reaching leadership positions; it confines many of those that do to a leadership style that is not the best of what they have to offer. It also stifles the potential of many women by discouraging them from even wanting to attain higher levels of leadership. But it doesn’t just affect the women; men too are being trapped by this model. They become disconnected from themselves as a whole person and come to be either a one-dimensional caricature of a “man’s man “or they develop a split personality where the company sees one side and another, completely different, much more caring and whole, to their family and friends.
When a company recognizes that there is a difference between the way men and women lead and that there is value in both styles, it changes its culture. This has a positive affect not just the women and men working in the company but the corporate performance, consumer interactions and shareholder relations.
So it is not so much a glass ceiling that is keeping women from reaching the top but more like a toxic corporate culture that is keeping all of us, both women and men, from really reaching our full potential. Not unlike the toxic environment that asbestos insulation causes.