🔥 Slice through the ceiling: In Community #83

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“You have to be visible. Talent alone is not enough to break the bamboo ceiling.” – Jane Hyun

It’s not a fit.

How many times have you heard that?

It’s a refrain repeated all too often, especially when related to landing a new gig or a promotion at work – but how can we break through that barrier or move up when we’re told we’re not a culture fit?

When I wrote about what marketers can apply in our work as lessons from Zohran Mamdani’s win last week, real visibility was one critical driver.

He broke through, but he didn’t do it by being a fit with the existing culture that previous winners had established.

Here’s how I see it: there are culture fits and culture adds. I’m always looking for the person who can add – someone who will offer something visibly different or can complement the strengths already on the team.

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There have been plenty of times I wanted a job so badly and believed it was perfect for me, only to be told I wasn’t perfect for it.

The process was painful at times, but I found my way through by doubling down on what I knew about my own capabilities and strengths, and ultimately, my own culture.

At a point, I realized that designing my job was the best way to move up and move forward.

👉🏽 This week, I’m thinking a lot about that and the idea of culture – at work and beyond – and how to use that to break through barriers. Because there’s more than one way to do it.

Lisa Angulo Reid is a perfect example.

A successful senior marketing executive, she had a similar realization, which ultimately led down an unexpected path – developing and launching her brand Dear Flor, with products uniquely driven by knowing herself and her culture.

Read on to see how she recognized the key wasn’t in being a fit – and how it was the right time to make a move.

Because we all deserve to be able to share what we can add – and sometimes that means breaking barriers and breaking out on our own.

💥 Lisa Angulo Reid spent 20 years building other people’s brands before building her own.

How often do you make sure you’re in touch with yourself – and what makes you uniquely you? Are you using this as your superpower to help break through barriers? I want to hear from you!

Let me know by replying here – and forward ♻️ this onward to the people in your life who can use the reminder for themselves.

In community,

Fahad