Do You Have a ‘Sticky Floor’ Around Brand Power in Today’s New World of Work? Avoid These 3 Brand Traps

When I first wrote the book It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor in 2007, it was a much different world. The environment has shifted dramatically over the past decade as hybrid work has reshaped how leaders show up, technology and AI demand faster credibility, cross-functional collaboration has become the new currency of influence, and the rise of purpose-driven leadership has made authenticity a strategic advantage rather than an optional add-on.

As I’ve started to revisit this concept in 2025, I’ve noticed that as the workplace has transformed, women now face a new set of ‘sticky floors’ or hidden behaviors that can sabotage their career success. One of my biggest ah-ha’s has been recognizing that many women experience sticky floors today when it comes to owning and projecting their own brand power.

A cluster of related sticky floors can undermine women’s brand power, including over-reliance on competence rather than visibility, underestimating the power of their digital presence, reluctance to self-advocate, fear of imperfection, and staying in the comfort of known relationships. Women may also hesitate to claim their accomplishments, dilute their message to avoid judgment, or allow others to define their narrative for them.

These missteps can hurt women’s career advancement, since brand power has become a core leadership capability. Brand matters more today than ever and can impact sponsorship, stretch assignments, and access to influential networks. A strong personal brand isn’t about self-promotion — it’s formed and conveyed based on professional clarity. There’s a critical distinction between strategic visibility and self-promotion, which relates to the difference between gaining true influence versus merely attracting attention. The key is learning to be visible without feeling inauthentic or boastful.

While brand has expanded to include your digital footprint on LinkedIn, internal platforms, and thought leadership, in the current workplace, a woman’s brand is no longer a logo, tagline, or neatly curated résumé. Instead, it’s the sum of her visibility, voice, values, and the consistent experience others have of her leadership. In short, brand power is the intentional way women demonstrate who they are, what they stand for, and the impact they deliver.

Today’s most successful women leaders are those who understand how to leverage their brand power as a tool for advancement: to build trust, expand visibility, attract opportunity, and open doors that credentials alone cannot. Here are three modern brand traps that women should take pains to avoid, along with some strategies on how to rise above them:

Brand Trap 1: Over-Humility

Time after time, I’ve seen talented professional women sabotage their success because of the sticky floor of being too humble, falling back on the outdated, erroneous assumption that women shouldn’t “toot their own horn,” or that sharing their wins amounts to “bragging.” Worrying about how others will perceive your self-advocacy about legitimate accomplishments can dilute or dissolve your brand power. Speak about the results you’ve achieved without apology.

Since language is a driver of brand perception, communicate your brand with clarity and impact. Eliminate minimizing and qualifying language; speak with precision, power, and ownership; and make your words count with a focus on conciseness and conviction. Leaders hire, promote, and trust based on perception plus performance — by openly sharing the latter, you can positively influence the former.

Brand Trap 2: Being “Too Available”

If you think about the executive presence of respected CEOs and other senior leaders, part of their brand power comes from a general recognition from their teams and company that their time is valuable. Because of the strength of their brand, people get that their leadership talent and expertise should be protected and channeled toward the organization’s most pressing challenges.

The flip side of this, which I’ve seen too many women fall into, is the sticky floor of raising their hand for anything and everything that’s needed. Firm boundaries should be part of your brand strength, to help project confidence in your value and a strong leadership identity. Protect your brand power by making it clear you aren’t available for requests that don’t fit your leadership value proposition, brand pillars, and identity statement (see Brand Trap 3 below).

Brand Trap 3: Brand Drift

At their core, the strongest brands are unshakable. Sure, they may flex minor details to stay relevant, but they don’t ever give up their intrinsic essence, which is part of their staying power. Counter to this approach is failure to keep aligned with one’s key purpose during periods of change and challenge — another sticky floor that I’ve seen trip up even the most talented women executives.

To avoid brand drift, start by crafting your leadership value proposition that highlights who you are, what you deliver, how you do it, and why it matters. Here is an example to consider:

When being intentional about avoiding these three brand traps and leveraging counter strategies to combat these sticky floors, women can build their brand power to support their career goals and aspirations, shifting from “polished perfection” to true influential leadership supported by authenticity and strategic visibility. Taking this type of agency ensures that you own your unique values, voice, and vision, showing vulnerability when it’s appropriate without diminishing your credibility. Use these brand-power practices to own your unique value, elevate your influence, and show up as the architect — not the byproduct — of your reputation.

Interested in learning more about SHAMBAUGH Leadership’s Executive Cohort for Women Leaders? Get in touch with us at info@shambaughleadership.com.

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Rebecca Shambaugh is a contributing editor for Harvard Business Review and has been showcased on CNBC, TED Talks, Fox News (New York), NPR, Washington Business, and ABC. Rebecca is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, Founder of Women in Leadership and Learning, and author of the best-selling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor. Rebecca is also the host of her podcast, Leaders Rise.