A new study says it’s due to the ‘glass ceiling effect’
Source: Women in the Workplace Lose Ambition As Careers Progress | Fortune.com
This summary of a study tells us that we might “blame the victim” when we expect women to persevere despite the realities of the workplace and of the surrounding society of the organization that they work for.
Then when that is understood, you can expand that view to racial inequalities where a minority may also discover and accept the limiting realities of their workplace and of the surrounding society of the organization that they work for.
“Loss of ambition” can occur to anyone at any time when perspective limits ambition. This can happen with work but also with education. This is not only important for why role models are important, but also for why communication of expectations and employer needs are not only the receiver’s responsibility for understanding, but is also the sender’s responsibility to consistently follow through. The messages of equal assessment need to compel equal, consistent results when those expectations are met. Success must be rewarded regardless of the identity and status of the achiever.
Using Occam’s Razor-type thinking, we can discard the gender, race, and ethnicity labels to simply blame the organizations culture and leadership for the lack of ambition in employees. The messages sent to employees can vary, but in the end, the perceptions and beliefs need to be understood and changed, requiring a more mindful approach to communicating expectations and rewarding employees consistently so that the messages are validated. Employees should not be expected to be crazy enough to ignore the limitations they perceive as a result of their own experiences and observations. They should not be expected to be crazy enough to maintain their ambition and perseverance.
Again though, these suggest implications in education as it does in work. There are implication in the teacher-student relationship just as there are implications in the employer-employee relationship.
How often do you find yourself doing that though? How often do you find yourself telling people to ignore the truth and to be crazy?
The recent GOP failure marks a rare moment of demonstrated evidence that negative criticism and the opposition mindset create no value. Meanwhile, by elimination, the evidence also says that constructive criticism is more valuable for solving problems. This message is important for educators who are struggling to inspire building-wide buy-in for positive behavioral recognition in their schools, but it is also important to business leaders who have the same struggle trying to create a positive, creative culture.
To Talk Like This and Act Like That 