SOPY Strategy For Breaking Glass Ceilings & Optimizing Opposite Roles
SOPY Strategy
Situation, Other People, You
Glass Ceilings
Negative stereotypes build glass ceilings.
Glass ceilings exist for people who face cultural and political hurdles:
Black people
Indigenous people
LGBTQ+ people
Neurodivergent / Autistic people
Older people
People of color
People with disabilities
Sensitive white men
White women
Etc.
Glass ceilings exist in all kinds of situations. Some of the ceilings are unbreakable.
My mother created a family glass ceiling for me the day I was born
because I was her second daughter instead of her first son.
I could never be the son she wanted, so that glass ceiling was unbreakable.
After my loving father died, I walked away from my unloving mother and siblings.
I wasted more than a decade trying to get love from people
who had no intention of giving me love.
Breaking glass ceilings starts with breaking negative stereotypes.
Positive stereotypes ignore evidence of ineffectiveness, gaslighting, lies, etc. Positive stereotypes that ignore evidence may also need to be broken.
Glass ceilings can be easier to break when you:
Understand the situation
Recognize 3 groups of people in the situation
Present what the situation and each group of people require
When negative stereotypes are permanent, other solutions become necessary.
Limiting your exposure to the negativity or involvement in the negativity
Walking away
Walking away from my mother and siblings
gave me the ability to go from
silenced voice to international voice.
Leaving that glass ceiling behind opened doors
to unimagined opportunities for me.
BIY Ceilings: Build It Yourself Ceilings
Opportunity Oblivion creates BIY ceilings.
Opportunity Observance opens up the sky.
Build It Yourself ceilings exist anywhere you create them, including in person and online. You might not be able to dismantle BIY ceilings you’ve already built. You can stop creating BIY ceilings this minute to open up the sky instead.
Opposite Roles
People who break glass or concrete ceilings can find themselves in opposite roles.
Women in male professions
Men in female professions
Younger people in older people roles
Older people in younger people roles
Blacks, Indigenous People, and People Of Color (BIPOC) as CEOs
People with disabilities as business owners
Etc.
SOPY Strategy
Situation
Glass ceilings exist in at least 2 stereotype situations:
Stereotypes about people
Stereotypes about roles
When I was in my 20s and living in Chicago,
the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times
listed classified employment ads as
men’s jobs and women’s jobs.
In today’s world, these employment openings
can be listed as men’s jobs or women’s jobs
inside of employers’ minds.
Other People
Each situation you are in probably includes 3 groups of people.
With you
Against you
Waiting for an invite
Many situations have bystanders who are just there and may not be in the 3 groups yet. More on bystanders below.
You
In each situation, your attitudes, behavior, and presentation can:
Invite loyalty and limit backlash.
Loyalty can break stereotypes.
Invite backlash and limit loyalty.
Backlash can use stereotypes.
People Stereotype Situation
Breaking negative stereotypes about you requires knowing how other people stereotype you.
My 5 blog posts list more than 1000 stereotypes. I went through the posts and counted more than 100 negative stereotypes about me. I now know which stereotypes to look for in people stereotype situations so I know make plans for breaking them.
What are the negative stereotypes about you? Make a list.
Negative Stereotypes Behind Bad & Ugly Gossip: People In General
Negative Stereotypes Behind Bad & Ugly Gossip: Workplaces
Negative Stereotypes Behind Bad & Ugly Gossip: Romance
Negative Stereotypes Behind Bad & Ugly Gossip: Ethnic, National, & Racial Identities
Negative Stereotypes Behind Bad & Ugly Gossip: Poverty
What To Do With Your Stereotype List
Pick a job where you had difficulty succeeding.
Choose the stereotypes from your list that were the most likely limits to your success.
Go to the attitudes, behavior, and presentation sections for ideas about breaking those stereotypes.
Role Stereotype Situation
Many corporations stereotype top executive roles as requiring “agentic” behaviors:
Assertiveness
Independence
Task-orientation
Results
Communal behaviors do not fit into role stereotypes:
Caring about feelings
Selflessness
“Sensitive Men: It’s Your Glass Ceiling Too”
Andrew O’Connell
Harvard Business Review
September 20, 2010
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“What’s Really Holding Women Back?”
Robin J. Ely
Irene Padavic
Harvard Business Review
March-April, 2020
Other People
People who are with you
People who are against you
People who are waiting for an invite and could go either way
You
You can radiate an Open Up The Sky attitude or you can radiate a Build It Yourself attitude.
You can demonstrate Open Up The Sky behavior or you can demonstrate Build It Yourself behavior.
You can do an Open Up The Sky presentation or a you can do a Build It Yourself presentation.
Build It Yourself Attitude
All Girl High School That Expects Loyalty But Refuses To Give Loyalty
“Show your loyalty by donating money.”
(“Only alumnae who donate money deserve recognition for their accomplishments.”)
(“Alumnae who put their own survival ahead of funding the school deserve shunning.”)
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CEO With A Bad Attitude
“Adidas CEO says his worst career setback was getting fired from HP for having a bad attitude”
Tom Turula
Business Insider
2017
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Women’s Podcast That Excludes Women
“We do not allow people to put links to our episodes on their websites.”
(So what if we’re limiting women’s participation in the same way many men limit women’s participation, limiting our audience makes us feel special.”)
(“Only special women deserve equality, and we decide who’s special.”)
Open Up The Sky Attitude
Business Owner who Opens Up The Sky For Herself & Others
“Wow! I just ran upon this moments ago! Imagine! Getting paid for using your imagination!!! It’s every creator’s dream! Can you believe that there’s a grant for that! Up to $100k in grants! It’s for the ultimate creative types like me and perhaps some of you in here! I was going to keep this one secret for myself because I don’t need any additional competition! However, I decided to share because even if I don’t win it, if one of you guys did that would warm my heart!! So, I decided to share. If it’s meant to be then it will be. The deadline is fast approaching so don’t sleep on this if you are interested. Everyone isn’t going to win but you can’t win it if you aren’t in it. I won my very first grant last week so I apply for everything I qualify for and see because if I see it by chance then that’s for a reason. Good luck!”
Natasha Williams
Facebook post
August 22, 2024
Reposted with permission
BossLadiesTV.com
Build It Yourself Behavior
More CEOs Creating BIY Ceilings
“All my numbers were great, and therefore I thought I could act however I wanted to. But I couldn’t.”
“Number of CEOs who exited after bad behavior grows”
Kevin McCoy
USA Today
June 21, 2018
Open Up The Sky Behavior
Substitute Teacher Found A Permanent Position With Friendly Behavior
Marsha Porter was looking for a teaching job, but could get hired only as a substitute. Permanent jobs were scarce. She found lunchtimes in her substitute jobs lonely.
Walking into a staff lounge one day, she saw another woman eating alone. Sitting at the same table, Marsha smiled and made pleasant conversation. The other woman said she worked in the front office and asked about Marsha’s education and career plan.
A week later, that school called Marsha and asked her to come in for an interview. Marsha’s pleasant conversation had been with the principal, who hired her for a permanent position.
‘I thought you’d be a great addition to our staff.”
Respectful, friendly behavior opened up the career sky for Marsha.
“A new friend offered me a job?”
Marsha Porter
Women’s World
September 26, 2011, page 42.
Build It Yourself Presentation
Professional Woman On Facebook
“I can’t think of…”
(“I can’t do research to find…”)
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Professional Woman On LinkdedIn
“No clue what you are talking about”
(“No interest in getting a clue”)
(“Don’t know how to get a clue”)
Open Up The Sky Presentation
Inviting Referrals By Thinking About The Customer
Pawn Stars is a cable television show on the History Channel. It mixes history with price discovery (determining the fair market value of an object) and the reasons people should do their own research on whatever they want to sell. The hosts are Richard (Old Man) Harrison, his son Rick, Rick’s son Corey (Big Hoss), and employee Chumlee.
One seller came in with an electric guitar that had once been owned by singer Mary Ford. Ford had performed with husband Les Paul, a pioneer of the electric guitar and new recording techniques. Les Paul helped make rock & roll music possible.
The seller asked for $30,000. Old Man was too honest to cheat the seller because he knew what he could sell it for. He explained the importance of the guitar and paid the seller $90,000. He sold it for $110,000. Old Man knows his profit will be more than the $20,000 difference:
“He’ll send customers to me for the next 10 years.”
Pawn Stars presented themselves as respectful, honest, and caring. They opened up the sky for new customers from referrals.
“Price Points”
Bill Saporito
Time Magazine
March 5, 2012
Positive Control Opens Up The Sky
Taking positive control in the small spaces of situations and relationships means delivering the attitude, behavior, and presentation that opens up the sky.
I took positive control in the small spaces of my childhood. That positive control attracted my first unimagined success at age 11. I am still attracting unimagined success in my 70s.
Soft skill power strategies for taking positive control usually require only moments of time.
Positive Control In People Stereotype Situations
Learn about DISC behavior styles and Spranger guiding values.
Knowing your DISC behavior style combination and Spranger guiding values will help you explain your own words and actions.
Understanding the differences between the behavior styles and guiding values will help you avoid using stereotypes.
You can explain the differences to other people in the situation to reduce stereotyping.
For the highest level of positive control, take this short & sweet online self-study course:
Collaboration Up / Toxic Gossip Down
(Rewards Up / Losses Down)
Bystanders who appreciate your positive control for their benefit will feel loyalty toward you. Your positive control could attract a sponsor. Taking positive control proves you have high potential and are trustworthy.
Positive Control In Role Stereotype Situations
Learn about DISC behavior styles and Spranger guiding values.
Knowing your DISC behavior style combination and Spranger guiding values will help you explain your own needs and passions.
Understanding needs and passions will help you open doors in your relationships.
You will also be able to demonstrate role leadership skills such as:
Delegating
Negotiation
For the highest level of positive control, take this short & sweet online self-study course:
Career Advancement Up / Career Backlash Down
(Loyalty Up / Stereotypes Down)
Bystanders who appreciate your positive control that benefit them will feel loyalty to you. Your positive control could attract a sponsor. Taking positive control proves you have high potential and are trustworthy.
“How to Choose the Right Protégé”
Sylvia Ann Hewlett
Harvard Business Review
November 12, 2013
Bonus
Taking both short & sweet online self-study courses will give you access to SOPY Strategy SuperStars on LinkedIn or Facebook. The groups are invitation only private groups that are also hidden for members who need to feel safe.
You can develop both kinds of networks (see below) with other course graduates.
I show SuperStars how to work on creating genius networks.
You can share success stories and strategies you develop yourself.
You can ask questions.
No monthly fee.
Podcast / Radio Interview Topics
For podcast interviews about SOPY, I will discuss these 3 topics:
Grad School Study
Grad student Kate Reck and I interviewed men and women in opposite roles. They all took the same action.
The PME Strategy (Physical, Mental, Emotional) I developed in the decades following that study can improve success in opposite roles.
One P Strategy goes against some current advice, but real world examples show it’s effectiveness.
You’ve probably never heard of one M Strategy before.
All three of the E Strategies invite loyalty.
For an example of PME Strategy watch the 1:51 minute free lesson, 3 Behavior Transforming Steps.
Using PME for SOPY requires approaches different
from the approaches for improving relationships.
Breaking glass ceilings requires more time than
transforming a relationship requires.
Networking Needs
People who face cultural and political hurdles in workplaces need 2 kinds of networks.
I explain what makes the networks genius networks.
I suggest an additional connection — probably a surprising connection — with real world examples.
Improve your networking today with the 4 Steps To Networking Success.
Opening Up Unimagined Skys
The E strategy from PME can expand the network of people able to create unimagined success for you.
Sincerity is required.
Talking Point Examples
Example #1
Talking point for increasing stereotype awareness in people stereotype situations, based on the experience of a woman in an opposite role.
Example #2
Talking point for breaking role situation stereotypes from a storyteller in professional wrestling.
Podcast / Radio Interview Links
I will add links for all of my interviews to the bottom of this page. I am in the process of setting up my first podcast interview.
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© Paula M. Kramer, 2024
All rights reserved.
Updated October 11, 2024.
