World Colleges Information

Maslow believed that individuals pos-sess a set of motivation systems un-related to rewards or unconscious desires. Maslow’s theory accounts for 5 human needs – physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualisation. Hierar-chy of needs vary from person to person according to their newest status achieved and stage of life cycle. Some place a need to be loved and accepted above say, esteem. Some will put safety and security over the need for love and respect.

This understanding that different people have dif-ferent ‘mix n match’ of needs in Maslow’s ‘need pyr-amid’ is crucial to understanding people at work and the why, what, when and how of their needs, wants and behaviour. This understanding of hierarchy of needs can explain what self-actualisation is to an in-dividual at a personal level. It can tell us how self-actualisation can beat the glass ceiling and its ogres and help him/her rise and be at their best.

What stops people from shattering the glass ceil-ing? What stops them from progressing personally and professionally? Is the glass ceiling the only gauge to measure one’s capability and accessibility to the top rungs of the corporate ladder?

Glass ceilings are real. They do exist. The term is used mostly in reference to women who are being hindered from entering the higher echelons of man-agement by making the ascent unnecessarily difficult for them or, by not putting them on par with their male counterparts or, by attaching clichéd stigmas to the working capability of a woman.

While most women come to the glass ceiling while skimming the heights of their career, some men also chance upon the glass ceiling and find the breaking through a tough task.

Glass ceilings are both personal and made by peo-ple whom the individual has no control over like, the society’s thinking, politics and business. To a raring-to-go woman flapping about at the heights of her ca-reer, crashing into the glass ceiling can dampen ev-erything she had worked for and stood for all along. It damages her spirit. The case gets worse for working mothers who are trying to break into the big league after their return from recent motherhood. Seeking to become ideal wives and mothers, they walk the tight rope of family obligations and career responsibilities and yet manage to rise to lofty heights before they find themselves pounding at the glass ceiling. They find themselves stagnating at the fourth higher need – ‘esteem’ because ‘glass ceiling’ suddenly becomes not just a physical impossibility but a mental block as well. The fifth and top-most need, self-actualisa-tion is not given enough thought. The mistake is that people put ‘shattering the glass ceil-ing’ as equal to ‘self-actualisation’. That is where things start going wrong. That self-actualisation is a bigger paradigm is forgotten. It is the real deal. To live progressively and satisfactorily is possible only through stretching oneself out, by maximising one’s potential, in short, achieving self-actualisa-tion. None of these is a promise the other side of the glass ceil-ing can hold though.

The most commonly identified obstacles to wom-en’s advancement at work include (a) stereotypes and preconceptions about women’s abilities and suitabil-ity for bigger roles, (b) management’s aversion to taking risks with women in areas of responsibility, (c) counter-productive behaviour of male colleagues and, (d) exclusion from the informal network of com-munications which is still considered male bastion.

Women are also perceived to be not as committed as men to their careers, not tough enough, not want-ing to do different shifts or pull extra hours, not ag-gressive enough, too emotional, lagging in technical and decision-making skills, have relocation issues, etc. This prejudiced view comes from the very man-agement who has seen women do all of the above and more just to be seen on par with the menfolk around the conference table. If observed, these issues in real-ity are not gender specific anymore. It is as common for men to be equally a prey to any or all of these con-cerns and yet, misconceptions are misconceptions. They stick. Irony is, sometimes, these obstacles are created by successful women, as well as men, who had once shattered the glass ceiling themselves.

Careful observation may also place the spot light on how people create their own glass ceilings with ingrown negative concepts of the self and narrow per-ceptions of one’s abilities. People find it easier to wal-low within their limits, falling into their own traps, accepting what the smaller bones that are thrown their way, tolerating denials.

When an individual doesn’t believe in herself and her abilities, her expectations of herself diminish, the quality of thinking process and its output diminishes. To not aim for self-actualisation is to let the voice of others and obstacles placed by others to tell her only how far she can go. What needs to be thought about is that none what she had achieved was meant to be. How far she had come is because of who she was and what she had done.

"That self-actualisation is a bigger paradigm is forgotten. It is the real deal."

So how to get over this blanket mind-set? How do people get on to the other side? The answer is simple. By concentrating on self-actualisation. The fight against the glass ceiling is just a waste of time. To self-actualise is to dissolve the glass ceiling. People who want to create obstacles will continue to invent newer ways to stop someone they don’t want from shoot-ing through the glass ceiling. They will try tough-ened glass, mirrors, and even Kevlar protection over the glass ceiling if necessary. Mind is a potent organ against whom glass ceilings don’t stand much of a chance. By defining what they want out of their lives, by working on their inner and outer images, ordinary men and women can reach the altitudes they plan to reach. Whereas the term ‘glass ceiling’ is obstructive, ‘self-actualisation’ opens the doors to possibilities. One’s idea of self-actualisation could be anything – to become a manager or CEO, to start a business two years from now, to be hailed on every magazine’s cover as man/woman of the year...anything. The idea of self-actualisation is to rise above oneself. Creat-ing an air of assertiveness, exuding passion for work, building on technical skills, communication skills, negotiation skills, conflict resolution and social skills, career planning, keeping an open channel of commu-nication and, being outgoing yet professional are the key to rising above self-inflicted barriers.

Self-actualisation does what pounding against the obstructions doesn’t – it gets you ‘more than what you bargained for’ compared to the latter’s ‘what you see is what you get’. To self-actualise is to undergo a 3600 transformation, inside out, to turn desire into reality, to become everything one is capable of be-coming. It allows the man/woman to explore unchar-tered territories of oneself and stop at nothing before achieving what he/she set out for. As Maslow said, “What a man can be, he must be.”

Traits of self-actualised people

 How to identity those who have achieved the ulti-mate for themselves? "Never give up your morals. Be honest and take responsibility for your actions" What makes them stand apart?What makes them magnetic to others? They exude a different aura, a different set of capabilities through the practise of some common yet vital tactics that are basic in everyone but only recognised by the special few who choose to rise above themselves some of which are: Self-actualized people have realistic per-ceptions of themselves, others and the world around them. They excel at problem-centering, solving prob-lems outside of themselves, resolving or negating conflict. They are driven by a great sense of personal responsibility and ethics. Self-actualized people are spontaneous, both in their internal thoughts and out-ward behaviour. They can conform to rules and social obligations when necessary and be completely uncon-ventional when the situation calls. These people are social but value highly their independence and priva-cy.

They are focussed on getting the best out of them-selves always. Self-actualized people are inspired and hold the world in awe and a sense of appreciation. They experience and celebrate intense joy, wonder, awe and ecstasy and draw their strength from their feelings. They make every experience rejuvenating and transforming thus staying inspired and bringing inspiration into the workplace.

How to find your true self or how to self-actualise

The first thing in the process is to bring out the other you – the more reasonable, the more spirited, the more intelligent you. Self-actualising needs a dis-ciplined approach and conditioning of the mind. Start by experiencing things fully and selflessly. Emerge from your own inhibitions and concentrate on the ex-perience and stay absorbed in it. Never narrow your options to choosing between safety and risk. Choose whatever will let you grow. Allow what you feel and not what you think to guide you; express what you feel. Never give up your morals. Be honest and take responsibility for your actions. Give your work the best of you, every time, no matter how small the task. Your work should speak volumes about your intellect and skill. Let go of false notions, get a grasp of what your potential is and what you are not. Address what you like and don’t like, figure out what is good or bad for you, what is acceptable to you and not acceptable to you. Do not attempt to defend yourself and in the process shut down vital links to opening up and find-ing yourself.

Have the courage to face what threatens you and decimate the threat. Once you make a pact with yourself to understand ‘you’ and make the shift to the best you can possibly be, you will be unstop-pable.

It’s time to forget the glass ceiling.

BUDDING MANAGERS

APRIL 2014 ISSUE