Sneak Preview of The Glass Ceiling Quiz

In A Woman's Ladder To Success, Diane Dutton challenges you to take the Ladder to Success Quiz.

Here are some excerpts from the quiz as well as some additional questions which you will see when you purchase the expanded Ladder to Success analysis audio and e-book report available from Business Women Speak.

• Don't take yourself too seriously, have fun with the quiz and yourself!

• Take a good, honest look at each question and decide what you would do if you were in that situation. The important words here are GOOD and HONEST! No one is going to judge you except you and, if you are honest, you can only improve.
  
  Don't ask your friends' opinions on how you should answer; this is not their quiz, it's yours. How your friends see you is not nearly as important as how you see yourself.

• Once you finish the quiz, go to the analysis of each question and each answer to see why one answer is better than another. Some questions will have two good answers; but, to break the glass ceiling, the best answer will sometimes be more difficult to implement. Do it anyway. If you are going to go for it, then give it your all; Passion, Drive and Perseverance are the key words in getting the job done!

LEARN from your mistakes - that means don't just make the mistake and forget it; learn from it, make the correction of the mistake a part of your future plans. Write down the lesson in your journal, if you must, but write it down. Did I tell you to keep a journal? You should!

PASSION - everything you do, do it with passion. If you don't have passion for what you are doing then you are doing the wrong thing!

LOGIC AND FACT - Approach each and every argument in favor of your position with logic and fact. Take out the emotion. If you know why others act the way they do then you know their position and presentation is not a personal attack. Logic and fact will keep your emotions in check and deflect any perception of personal attack

EMBARRASSMENTS - don't embarrass your staff, peers or the boss, ever! Discipline in private, admonish in private, praise in public.

FRUSTRATIONS - get rid of it. It doesn't help, ever!

SELF-CONFIDENCE - if you believe in yourself and your talent then self-confidence will shine through. If you have self-confident then no-one else's tactics can throw you off your game

7) DRESS FOR SUCCESS: What to wear? Here is your profile: 34 years old, 5'5" tall, 125 lbs, MBA graduate in Marketing and Economics, currently the Assistant Director of Business Development for a mid-size private company. Dress for Success says I should wear?

a) The Latest Fashion - short-sassy skirt, hug-the-hips, fitted T-shirt and short jacket. Hey if it works for "The Apprentice" then it should work for me!

b) Fashion Plus Professional - I shop at the business clothes stores for skirts and pantsuits, fitted, but not glued to my body, worn with a nice button-down shirt that is buttoned to show no cleavage.

c) Comfort - oversize skirt, big, bulky sweater. I like natural fabrics. I don't like the fashion look because I am against corporate judgments.

d) Not Sure - I wear what is in my closet because people should appreciate my mind, not my clothes.

8) THE BIG PRESENTATION: You have the opportunity to speak before a large group of your peers and senior members of your industry. The topic is one you know very well and are fluent in presenting within your own company. You like the thought of being in front of the rooms so what are the most important things to remember before you make the presentation?

a) Know your material better than ever but have notes, even if you think you can wing it.

b) Test your speaking and presenting equipment before the speech. The worst presentations occur when the microphone doesn't work and your power point can't be seen because the projector is broken.

c) Speak clearly and loudly enough to be heard. Presentations from those who speak softly bore the audience

d) All of the above. A good presenter is always prepared.

9) THE BUSINESS LUNCH: You are scheduled to meet with the boss in the office at 11a.m. for your regularly scheduled one-to-one monthly meeting. He is running late that day and tells his assistant to have you meet him at a local restaurant at 11:_5 for your meeting. He sees this as a way to meet and have food at the same time. What do you do?

a) Make an excuse and reschedule the meeting. You never have lunch alone with the boss. This is your rule.

b) Go to the lunch. Spend some time on business but relax and spend some time talking about your relationship with your spouse. After all, the boss is older and smarter than you and he may have some good marital advice

c) Go to lunch and bring your agenda and business notes. Stick to business and sit across the table from him as you in the office. Participate in a productive meeting. Recommend that you set future meeting times earlier in the day to prevent confusion in scheduling.

d) Explain to the boss's assistant that you don't lunch with the boss alone. It's not appropriate and could she reschedule.

HAVE YOU HIT THE GLASS CEILING: Your CEO is looking for someone to take over the acquisition transition team and you have been promised the position several times? Now, he says you are too valuable as his executive assistant handling his day to day operational issues to take over this position. As head of transition you would be traveling with him to the new locations for extended periods of time away from your spouse and he away from his. He appears to be leaning toward a new hire that is younger and you have heard a rumor she is referred to as "eye candy". You know she is not aware of this and is excited to be part of the new project. You do the following:

a. Realize that you have hit the ceiling in this position and begin the search for a position that will maximize the use of your real talents and experience and do nothing about the person the CEO has chosen

b. Begin your search outside the company but report your concerns to the Board of Directors without discussing it with the CEO first.

c. Begin your search but schedule a meeting with the CEO to discuss only his decision and the rumor about how the new hire is viewed. You respect the CEO and assume he will do the right thing.

d. You continue in your position because you think some day your chance will come. You say nothing about the new hire because you don't want to jeopardize your chances for future promotions.

INTIMIDATION: As the current Vice President of Marketing and a female you have achieved many milestones for the Company and are in line for the President of a high profile division. You are younger than some of the male candidates and as qualified as some with many more years with the organization. The guys are headed out for a golf day right before a major deadline for the Company. You feel obligated to stay in the office and work on the documentation necessary to meet the deadline. The guys are sure to discuss the promotion while at golf. Should you:

a. Find a way to be included in the golf day even if golf is your worst sport; drive the cart if you have to but be out there to be included in the discussion.

b. You stay at the office and work but with attitude and be sure that all those around you know you were the dedicated one who worked for the result.

c. You invite the most influential member of the committee of those making the decision to a Saturday barbeque with his family and your family where you can show your life balance and appreciate his family time while interjecting some great strategic moves you might look into in the new position which will significantly help the company.

d. You stay and work, hand in your report and hope for the best.

Question #7 Dresses for Success

a. Hollywood and the fashion district of New York City are not the best measurements to determine the dress-for-success approach. Too tight is just that, too tight, even if you are only a size two! Short skirts only beg a man to look at a woman's figure instead of the woman.

b. Yes! You can look great and businesslike if you wear what fits, with style. No excess cleavage, please; remember this when you lean forward over a desk and a man can see what your blouse isn't covering! The male mind is reminded of sex every day by TV and movies. Your job is to focus on facts and presentation and keep his mind on his job!

c. Baggy is just not smart. Forget corporate judgment, you still need to present the corporate image. You would never see the male CEO of a major corporation at a board of directors meeting in corduroy pants and a baggy sweater.

d. Don't use the mind-over-looks argument because you think it's too expensive to look good. In cities all across the country you can find outlet malls and stores where fashion meets bargain pricing. I didn't say expensive, I just said fashionable.

Question #8 The Most Important Presentation

a. Knowing the material to present in front of coworkers is not the same as presenting to strangers, so be prepared.

b. Your presentation is well-received whey you look as prepared as you feel.

c. No one likes to strain to hear you or to decipher your words because you are mumbling or rambling. Stay on point. The participant's time is as valuable as your time, so make it count. Would you want to listen to stories about grandpa's fishing trip, even if it has a cool message?

d. Yes. Do all these things and your presentation skills will aid you in building rapport, contacts, and that all-important self-confidence so you can move forward in your career?

Question #9 The Business Lunch

a. This may work as an emergency fix, but at some point in time you may have to face the challenge.

b. Lunch is not a counseling session. The more personal baggage you give your boss, the less he sees you as a qualified executive. He may want to care for you, but he won't promote you.

c. Yes! Good judgment will prevail. Professional actions will save the day.

d. Your boss may see this as an insult, and out of the inner circle you go.

NOW YOU HIT THE GLASS CEILING (c) Although you realize your growth in this Company has reached its maximum potential; you have an obligation to present your concerns to the CEO prior to bringing the concerns to Human Resources and potentially the Board of directors. The CEO has a responsibility to maintain a culture of respect and integrity within the Company and you can give him the opportunity to correct the rumors. If he does not take any action, the Human Resource Department will take action with the Board of Directors who expect a certain level of professionalism from any CEO they have hired.

INTIMIDATION: (c) You are a strategic thinker. Instead of trying to be one of the boys you work on utilizing your strengths. As a woman we look at the whole picture, unselfishly and work to promote life balance while "showing off" your real strengths in business strategy and management style which is what will earn you the promotion. Also, you have delegated the projects so that your team will be done on time and on budget without overtime. The promotion is yours!

Don't forget to give us your favorite glass ceiling story, that awkward moment with the boss, that backstabbing moment with the female boss you love to hate, that great success accomplished by using your talent and confidence to have your voice heard over the crowd! Tell us your story.