James' World 2

Click the link below the picture

.

My mother was always the last parent to pick me up from gymnastics practice. While other moms arrived in jeans, she’d sweep in wearing a power suit, fresh from her role as a senior marketing executive at a major software company. At the time, it was a bit embarrassing. Looking back, I realize I was witnessing someone who refused to accept artificial limitations on what she could achieve.

Years later, as a CMO, I’ve come to appreciate how those early lessons shaped my understanding of professional possibilities. As a CMO in the ‘80s, my mother was a trailblazer—it was not typical for a woman to have a seat at the board table. But I’ve also learned that even with strong role models, we can still construct invisible barriers that limit our potential.

These self-imposed ceilings manifest in unexpected ways—not just in career aspirations, but in how we think about work itself. Years before remote work became mainstream, I questioned another artificial boundary: the assumption that effective leadership required a physical office. The answers about where and how we could work seemed predetermined by longstanding corporate norms, until I proved otherwise.

Where’s your artificial ceiling?

The pattern of self-limitation is pervasive in the business world, especially in how we perceive career progression. I have personally experienced how these artificial barriers affect leaders, restricting our potential for further growth and advancement despite our knowledge of customers, market dynamics, and business strategy. Nevertheless, numerous skilled marketing

leaders, including myself until recently, hesitate to pursue a trajectory beyond CMO. This is not due to a lack of capability, but rather because we have internalized certain assumptions about our career path direction and the roles that align with our expertise.

The same can be said for other professions. Regardless of your department or title, where do you see yourself “topping out?” What’s the limit? And why is that the limit? Ask yourself those questions. And then make sure the ceiling you envision genuinely where you want your ceiling to be. (Of course, not everyone aspires to be a CEO; I’m talking about aligning your perceived ceiling with your desired ceiling.)

Break through the ceiling

My own process of breaking through these limitations began with redefining success on my terms. That meant moving beyond traditional career metrics to focus on creating lasting impact. To me, this meant developing the next generation of diverse business professionals, building high-performance teams rooted in different perspectives, and pursuing roles challenging conventional wisdom about career progression.

.

[Photo: Getty Images]

.

.

Click the link below for the complete article:

.

__________________________________________