Teach your daughters to worry less about fitting into the glass slippers and more about shattering the glass ceiling.

Remember! that “Cinderella” and her beautiful story, a timeless romantic fantasy that is still buried in some corner of every girl’s heart. A story about the power of goodness, optimism, glittery balls, glass slippers and THE Prince Charming?
The story which taught us that whenever we will be treated unfairly and unkindly, a fairy godmother will appear from nowhere to rescue us, and finally we will meet our prince charming who will wait for us, search us high and low till the time he finds us only to sweep us off our feet and then we will live happily ever after.
Alas! Real Life is anything but a Cinderella story. And this is exactly as parents we need to teach our daughters. Here is how to do –
Create an Adaptable Strategic Plan for Success. Do not sit passively waiting to be noticed, or for opportunities to drop in your lap. Map out a blue print for your success and then follow it with your plans to achieve your career goals. Remember different rules for success apply to different people. So, go ahead and study the careers of people who have made it to where you want to be in your industry, and in your career. Don’t let anyone sway you from pursuing your goals. Those who have come before you have succeeded because they endured.
Stay Visible By Promoting Yourself. To crack the glass ceiling, you must be extremely visible. Raise your professional image by learning to see yourself as a marketing expert, for which you must develop the ability to promote your skills and accomplishments. You can also stand out and get your name proposed for promotions by seeking out increased responsibilities and taking on difficult challenges and risks. Remember – ‘No Pain No Gain.’
Promote gender-neutral networking –We all know that in today’s time social and professional networking is key to getting ahead. We as parents must ensure that our daughters feel welcome by focusing on gender-neutral activities, it can be anything such as treating everyone nicely or taking a field trip to a mountain, trekking or just anything.
Pick Your Battles Carefully. When you encounter problems, avoid blame game and taking names, because this will be taken as troublemaker kind of attitude. So, pick your battles carefully and you must be fully aware about what the stakes are when you do. Make sure you have facts to back up your claims. This will also serve to help you gain credibility within your organization.
Demonstrate That You have It in you, by identifying key issues in complex situations, showing respect for the capability and viewpoints of others, acting quickly and decisively to get a plan moving, discussing business issues with authority, making sure people directly affected by a decision know what is happening, and explaining reasons for your decisions.
Make Sure Your Expectations Are Realistic. Blaming others will make you look as if you do not want to take responsibility for your actions. Evaluate how you could have handled things differently and determine what you will do in the future to prevent it.
Learn The Unwritten Rules of Your Organization. Most organizations have 2 kind of rules, one – which is written in the company’s handbook and the other one is what they call ‘unwritten rules’ that no one tells you about, which you have to discover through trial and error.
Perform Above Others. The most authentic way to the top is performance beyond what is normally expected. Therefore, it is important that you work constantly to improve skills and exceed all previous levels of performance.
Identify Common Bonds That You Have With Those You Work. You must seek out ways to bridge the gap and find the common bonds that you have with the people with whom you work. Always extend help to others in need.
Find Mentors. Ensure you find mentor across sections and this definitely will add value to your career and build credibility. You must invest in yourself to find the right mentor. Know your needs and how someone can serve in this capacity.
Remember ‘Time Marches On’ – Even the powerful witches, stepmothers and all the evils in all the possible forms can never take away your destiny and will not be able to stop the inexora ble march of the time.