The internet has a meme trying to highlight the stereotypes one has of women. Despite the good intentions of such a post, what it ends up doing is showing images of a woman wearing two different kinds of uniforms. One is a bikini, and the other is an astronaut overall. Both images thus feed a stereotype of success. And yet, the text invites us to believe that there should be a transition from one role model to the other, thus establishing one as the better of two.

Beyond favoring a choice and thus transforming the other one into the lesser one, the post also establishes a link between a role model and success stereotypes.

Such a focus on the outcome of a journey has little to do with my idea of a role model. It’s all about admiring instead.

What makes a role model is the behavior others appreciate and want to copy. They’ll use it to shape their leadership, their relationships, their approach to learning, or to responding to others.

Role models help people determine how they can shape their journey.

“Success models” and the admiration they generate may give a direction or objective or what one believes attainable. They serve to determine an objective one can have.

Both can be united in one person, but nothing guarantees that being successful also means being a role model others want to follow. Some might, however, want success so much, that they’ll decide to follow the role model despite their dislike of the behavior shown by the role model.