The Glass Ceiling Is Inside You

She had worked for BP. For IBM. She had led major corporate transformations across some of the most recognizable organizations on the planet. By every external metric, Camilla Calberg was winning.

But inside, she felt empty.

That internal disconnect, the gap between what a woman achieves and what she allows herself to claim, is exactly what Camilla now helps other women close. As an emotional intelligence and leadership coach based in Copenhagen, Denmark, she works almost exclusively with high-performing women in the C-suite who have done everything right but still feel overlooked, undervalued, and stuck just below their own potential.

On a recent episode of The Brand Lab, I sat down with Camilla to examine the commercial side of her work, the deeply personal story behind it, and a question that matters to every high-performing professional: Is the glass ceiling actually outside of you…or does it start within?

The Problem No One Talks About in Corporate

Ask most people what holds women back in the corporate world and you'll hear the usual answers: unconscious bias, pay gaps, lack of mentorship, old boys' clubs. And those are real. But Camilla points to something that often goes unnamed.

“They play too small. They don't believe in themselves. They don't declare what they truly want.”  — Camilla Calberg

Her clients are not struggling junior employees. They're senior executives. They've been headhunted. They've managed large teams and global budgets. Many are in their mid-50s. And yet, a common thread runs through them: they find themselves wondering why the CEO calls the executive assistant for advice instead of them. They know they have something important to contribute, but they haven't claimed the authority that matches their ability.

According to Camilla, this isn't simply a confidence problem. It's a wiring problem. And it traces back much further than their most recent performance review.

The Real Source Code: Why Brilliant Women Hold Themselves Back

One of the most striking insights from the conversation is what Camilla identifies as the root cause of this pattern. It isn't the workplace. It isn't even the women themselves, at least not consciously. It's childhood.

“Where does that lack of self-love come from? When we haven't received enough love from our parents. Never been seen and respected when we're children.”  — Camilla Calberg

This is where the conversation gets genuinely uncomfortable, and genuinely powerful at the same time. Camilla draws on neuroscience, epigenetics, and the kind of insight that only comes from lived experience: the belief systems we form in childhood become the invisible architecture of how we show up as adults. And for many high-achieving women, the drive that got them into the C-suite was fueled partly by the same wound that now keeps them stuck.

The woman who was told to be nice. To ask questions only when she already knows the answers. To help first and speak second. That conditioning doesn't evaporate when she gets a corner office. It follows her in.

I could also see some parallels between my own journey and what Camila was mentioning…

 "I never understood that those things could come from childhood. But it's really crazy if you don't spend the time to have some awareness around who you are and the experiences you've had throughout this life and how they can still trigger and show up as an adult."

From Personal Rupture to Professional Purpose

Camilla's path to this work is not a straight line. It runs through a high-conflict divorce, years of court proceedings, and a nervous breakdown in a courtroom that she now credits as the moment everything changed.

She had already been doing divorce coaching. She had mentors, a professional team, and 20 years of corporate experience. But it wasn't until she sat across from her then-husband in a courtroom, being asked to prove her emotional scars while judges discussed emotional intelligence, that her true calling came into focus.

"If I do not heal, my daughter will not heal," she recalled being told by the court. In that moment, she found her mission: to help other people understand what energy and emotional intelligence actually mean, and what happens when we don't do that inner work.

Today, even as a second court case has been reopened by her ex-husband (who, she notes, can do so until their daughter turns 18), Camilla refuses to let fear silence her. She describes it as an ongoing exercise in what she preaches: resetting, elevating, and refusing to let external chaos determine her internal state.

The Framework: Identity, Inspire, Influence

So what does the work actually look like? Camilla has developed a three-step program built around the arc she has seen in her own life and in her clients' transformations.

Step 1: Identity

Before anything else, Camilla takes her clients back to the question of who they are being, not what they are doing. This is where limiting beliefs live, where childhood patterns operate below the surface, and where the work of self-awareness begins. The goal isn't to tear anything down. It's to bring it into the light.

Step 2: Inspire

Once identity is in focus, the work shifts to behavior. This is about letting the "nice girl" pattern go and replacing it with bold, authentic leadership. It means practicing the habit of asking powerful questions, making room for one's own voice, and claiming the right to be fully present in a room…not as a visitor, but as a leader who belongs there.

Step 3: Influence & Innovate

The final step is about the ripple effect. When a woman shows up with integrity and authenticity, embodying leadership, instead of putting on a performance, others will follow. This is where the personal transformation becomes organizational impact. And, as Camilla notes, it's also where the question shifts from "how do I execute this strategy?" to "what do I truly want to build?"

The Commercial Challenge: Selling Transformation to Corporations

One of the most honest exchanges in the episode is about the business side of Camilla's work. The Brand Lab, is about positioning and emotional intelligence coaching form Camilla’s side presents a specific challenge: companies buy ROI, not healing.

So how do you sell transformation to a boardroom that wants KPIs?

Camilla's answer, as she hones her positioning, is to go narrow. One inch wide, one mile deep. Rather than leading with childhood wounds or energy work, she is zeroing in on a single, hyper-specific problem: helping C-suite women stop playing small and start declaring what they truly want. That's a positioning shift from "personal healing" to "leadership performance", and that makes all the difference when the buyer is an HR director or a CEO.

The lived experience remains the credential. The result language becomes the pitch.

The Takeaway: The Ceiling You Can Actually Break

What emerges from this conversation is a reframe that applies far beyond the corporate world. The glass ceiling, that invisible barrier between where talented women are and where they could be, is obviously real. The systemic dimension is real. But so is the internal dimension.

And the internal ceiling is the one you actually have some power over and can control in some capacity.

Healing the belief that you are not enough. Claiming your seat without waiting for permission. Showing up as who you truly are rather than who the room expects you to be. These are not soft skills. They are, as Camilla makes clear, the difference between trading hours for money and solving problems at a level that actually matches your capability.

“It's mind-blowing to see it once you actually understand what to look for.”  — Camilla Calberg

Whether you're a C-suite executive wondering why your voice isn't being heard, or a coach building a practice around your own hard-won wisdom, this episode is a reminder that the most powerful work always starts inside.

🎧 LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE

EP89 | The Glass Ceiling Is Inside You. Camilla Calberg on EQ, Identity & Playing Big

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms.

Find all episode links at: thebrandstoryteller.com

Connect with Camilla Calberg:

Website: camillacalberg.com  |  LinkedIn: Camilla Calberg  |  YouTube: @camillacalberg

About The Brand Lab

The Brand Lab is hosted by Deevo, where every week he sits down with CEOs, founders, and leaders who are building businesses that make a difference. New episodes drop weekly. Find Deevo at thebrandstoryteller.com.