Overcoming the glass ceiling through leadership MASK modeling.

In today’s global business environment, companies are seeking ways to evaluate the strengths and abilities of management candidates that can succeed in managing diverse workforces. Executives and senior managers recognize the problematic issue of women and minority’s inability to reach and maintain high level management and executive positions. This barrier commonly termed “The glass ceiling effect” systematically hinders the best and brightest from achieving top level positions while simultaneously lowers expectations of management candidates. This research establishes the Motivation, Attributes, Skills, Knowledge (MASK) model as the framework for baselining leadership behaviors and competencies for assessment. The MASK model provides companies leadership behavior indicators as predictors of potential leader performance. Additionally, the researchers validate how the MASK model allows organizations to break through the glass ceiling by identifying areas of training and improvement for potential management candidates.