It's Not a Glass Ceiling, It's a Sticky Floor: Free Yourself From the Hidden Behaviors Sabotaging Your Career Success [Hardcover]

Rebecca Shambaugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2007

Turn the top 7 career breakers for women into career makers

Statistically, more than one-third of Fortune 500 managers are women-and yet we represent barely five percent of the top earners among executives. Usually, we blame it on men-those “old boy” networks that don't typically welcome women into “the club.” But, according to leadership coach Rebecca Shambaugh, the real obstacle to women's advancement is not a “glass ceiling.” It's the self-imposed career blocks that prevent us from moving up.

These are the 7 “sticky floors”:

1. Balancing Your Work and Life

2. Embracing “Good Enough” in Your Work

3. Making the Break

4. Making Your Words Count

5. Forming Your Own Board of Directors

6. Capitalizing on Your Political Savvy

7. Asking for What You Want

Admit it: You've probably been “stuck” in at least one or more of these situations. Maybe you're a perfectionist who has trouble letting go of a task. Maybe you're so loyal to your company that you haven't explored other career options. Maybe you're afraid of speaking up in meetings. Or maybe you're so accommodating to others' needs that you never take care of your own.

This book will show you how to get unstuck from these common traps. You'll discover how other successful women have managed to break out of middle management jobs to grab the top leadership positions. You'll hear hard-won advice from working mothers who also happen to be CEOs, including proven tricks of the trade when it comes to juggling career and family. You'll learn how to conquer your insecurities, transform your thinking, tailor your behavior, and demand the kind of professional recognition you deserve. There's even a section of fill-in charts and checklists at the end of the book to help you stay on track, in control, and on the rise.

Once you've freed yourself from life's sticky floors, there's nowhere to go but up.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Forget the old boys' club: women are the ones holding themselves back from top-level career success, advises Shambaugh, president and CEO of consulting firm Shambaugh Leadership. Though more businesswomen are in successful positions of power, they are still lagging behind men at the highest levels: more than a third of Fortune 500 managers and more than half of those with multidisciplinary master's degrees are women, yet women hold only 13% of Fortune 500 CEO positions. This lack of forward motion is due more substantially to women's own career-inhibiting behavior than to cultural impediments, Shambaugh claims. Women are more likely than men to shy away from leadership roles, to get bogged down in perfectionism and to avoid career-boosting changes out of a misplaced sense of loyalty. Through a series of exercises and self-appraisals, Shambaugh guides readers with executive suite aspirations through an evaluation of their own behaviors and skills, gauging which serve their ambitions and which are holding them back. Emphasizing strategic relationships, communication and the elements of executive presence, she writes in an encouraging tone with a refreshing lack of blame, making this a satisfying read for women stuck in middle management limbo. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

Break Through Your Fears-and Embrace Your Own Power

“Becky Shambaugh has written a wonderful book that should inspire women to believe in themselves and become great leaders in the 21st century. She believes women have to be courageous risk takers to reach their goals and to be self-motivating. She cites many of her own personal examples as the way to go. It's a great guidebook for women to step up the ladder.”-Helen Thomas, member, White House Press Corps., former White House Bureau Chief, UPI

“Insightful and thought provoking! Here is a guide to career and life success that is filled with practical tips to escape the career limiting 'sticky floors.' The effective use of real-world examples from strong leaders makes for a most enjoyable read. And the presentation of actionable items and practical tips sets her book apart from the many books in the market. As a hiring executive and a mentor I believe this is a must read for both businessmen and businesswomen!”-Tom Kendra, group president, Security & Data Management Group (SDMG), Symantec Corporation

“Becky Shambaugh's book, It's Not a Glass Ceiling, It's a Sticky Floor is a valuable new tool to help women unleash themselves from their own preconceived notions and move to new levels of leadership and significance.”-Frances Hesselbein, chairman and founding president, Leader to Leader Institute

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071493948
• ISBN-13: 978-0071493949
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rebecca is President and CEO of SHAMBAUGH. A nationally known strategist, she has over 20 years of experience helping organizations and executives respond to critical leadership challenges and opportunities in today's business environment. Throughout her career, Rebecca has been a thought leader and has coached top senior executives on leadership development and organizational transformation. Rebecca has been published in Business Week, Fortune Magazine, Leader to Leader, and Time Magazine as well as many other media publications. She is a sought-after speaker who has presented across the world on leading in today's changing and complex environment. She is the author of two books, "It's Not a Glass Ceiling, It's a Sticky Floor" and "Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton." Both of these books illustrate her unconventional and results-focused approach to creating great leaders.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Didn't resonate with me July 25, 2011

By Shannon S. Ash

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Read the book, kindle edition. Superfast delivery. Had a few problems with the concepts though. The term "glass ceiling" is typically meant to refer to an unseen barrier that stops one from achieving a goal that they have. In typical context it is meant to refer to organizations where there seem to be a specific demographic pervasive at upper levels of leadership/management. The sticky floor concept is as the name describes implying there is less of a glass ceiling than one may have thought previously, but rather as a woman that I am somehow unknowingly sabotaging my own efforts to achieve that senior level position. None of the examples utilized in the book resonated with me. I want accuracy and drive towards exceeding goals - but I'm not mired with a perfectionistic tendency which inhibits my career growth. I have learned how to allocate business demands and personal time - and while it's not perfect, it's also not causing me any problems. To me, if this book were written by a man, women all over would be clamoring against the sexist attitudes - it doesn't make it less sexist to me to have the philosophy put forth by a female. I will say that I bought the book out of curiousity having attended a seminar hosted by the author (company sponsored seminar, meaning I wasn't out seminar-shopping and picked this one) and I was flabbergasted that it seemed that Ms. Shambaugh had so little confidence in women in the workplace. I gave the book two stars, because if you do have habits like the ones she identifies in the book (which are not gender-specific by the way - men can be perfectionists as well as women) then she may have strategies to help you overcome those areas. Otherwise, you may just wind up offended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book for career development June 8, 2009

By G. Boulden

Format:Hardcover

It's not a glass ceiling; it's a sticky floor is a fantastic book for
anyone interested in career development, especially where they aspire
to a senior executive position. The book is written (as the title
implies) primarily for women but most (if not all) the messages apply
equally as well to men. The central premise is that career development
starts by really knowing what you want and what your strengths ,
weaknesses, values, desires and motivations are. Once you know what
success looks like for you and what sort of person you are you can
then start to act to develop your career. In this book the emphasis is
very much on understanding what it takes to move into a leadership
role. The author highlights seven topics which need to be mastered in
order to win a leadership position and in her view it is these areas
that hold you back when you don't address them correctly - the 'sticky
floors' of the title. The areas are: managing you time to achieve some
kind of work/life balance; having a career plan and willingly moving
jobs to implement it; looking at the big picture; having a diverse
network of contacts; understanding company politics; communicating
clearly and with impact; negotiating for what you want. There are
numerous exercises as you go through the book so there is lots of
practical help on 'how to' address the seven topics and there are also
plenty of real life examples contained within the pages including
many from the authors personal experiences of life in corporate
America and building her own business.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Any Leader October 17, 2007

By Executive Summit Members

Format:Hardcover

It's Not a Glass Ceiling, It's a Sticky Floor: Free Yourself From the Hidden Behaviors Sabotaging Your Career Success

Awesome toolbox, particularly for women who find themselves trying to figure out how to break into the "C-suite" and truly be corporate leaders. Easy to read and very accessible for many future references. Successful leaders will find a dog-eared version of "Sticky Floor" in their continuous reading pile!