It should be no surprise that majority of the topics I write about are related to African American experiences in Corporate America. The Black Heights vision is to prepare African Americans for management and leadership roles in Corporate America. But, I truly believe that other groups of people can learn from the content that I share. So, I am writing this article to help my entire audience, but first I would like to share 3 lessons that I have learned throughout my career of working with customers that have helped me become a better person and serve customers better:

1. Put yourself in other people’s shoes. This will allow you to gain a better understanding of how the other person feels and it will help you both show empathy and become empathetic to others.
2. Be humane.   What I mean by this is, be kind to everyone that you meet. Yes, I said it,  be kind.  Show compassion.  Say hi, ask how was your day even if it was with a bitter face clerk at the grocery store who seems to be sucking your energy out from you. They should be the first ones to say hi, but unfortunately, you will come across some people who are just not outwardly welcoming. Although it is their job, you have no idea what that person is going through so do your part.  Again say hi, ask how are you or how is your day?  And if they don’t respond, ask is everything ok?  It usually catches people off guard when I do it but it certainly works to brighten up other people’s day if they are in a funk. This has worked for me in every country I’ve traveled to and lived in.  At the end of the day people want to be treated kindly and if you can treat people with kindness I truly believe your opportunities in life will increase.
3. Continue to educate yourself.  And I don’t mean just by reading books. Yes, books are great, but actual experiences are as well. Step outside of your comfort zone and do something you have never done.  Go talk to someone you have never talked with.  Visit a country you have never visited and shared your stories with others.

I hope you found the above lessons useful and insightful. I challenge you to incorporate these lessons into your everyday routine. Here are some more strategies I’ve learned over time from experience, research and speaking with people that can also help you succeed in Corporate America. 

Keep Learning
A lot of the skills that you will learn in college and in entry-level positions will not necessarily help you in management positions. A lot of the skills that you will learn in your first management position will not necessarily help you in your mid-management position. And many of the skills that you will learn as a mid-level manager will not necessarily help you in a senior management role. The goal is to keep learning.  You may even have to consider going back to school in whatever shape or form that looks like, in order to further progress your career and continue to challenge your mind. I’ll say it again, keep learning.

Confront Your Fears
Many of us have a fear of the unknown.  We believe that any given situation must be perfect before we take that next step. Let’s use my wife as an example (sorry babe).  When I started Black Heights, my wife said, you should have a marketing team in place, an accountant, a lawyer, etc before sending out my first article or holding my first workshop. If I would have listened to her (which I do most of the time) you wouldn’t be reading this article. So yes, you may not have things completely figured out and it will be scary, but do not let fear hold you back. Face it head on, step on it, don’t look back and learn as you go.

Think Global
The world is massive. I lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for 2.5  years. I got business done with people who were of a different ethnicity, race, religion etc. There are places in the world where you will have advantages over others so think globally.

STEM
The future is in technology. Technology has taken us really far over the last 30 years. The future is with those who understand science, technology, engineering, and math.

You Have To Be Social
As you progress in your career it is really about relationships and people’s perception of you. To be honest, you can not afford to be antisocial. You need to build your professional connections just like you continue to build upon your education.

I hope this article is very informative to all of you.  Again, there is a message for everyone.

BH Nugget

Everyone you meet is a potential customer, so be humane.  Learn how to put yourself in other people shoes and continue to educate yourself.  I am sure more doors will open for you in life if you apply these simple lessons.

Summary of “5 WAYS BLACK MEN CAN SUCCEED IN CORPORATE AMERICA”

Employment, in general, might seem like a difficult road to head these times in corporate America, but when it comes to African-Americans, is something that with the right attitude and devotion, they can truly succeed at to have the job they have always dreamed of. As it is no secret, diversity is still not something we will highly see in the executive or corporate departments of companies. Statistics show there are only 2 black male CEO’s in the S&P 500 and they only occupy 5% of senior positions.

There was a session named “Leading and succeeding in corporate America” that took place in Florida and it consisted primarily on how black men can succeed in corporate America and I think this was a very good and thoughtful initiative towards black employees in the US, because since they are not having the positions they deserve, they aren’t learning all they would learn at higher positions and won’t get well prepared for a more challenging job.

One of the strategies shared at the above-referenced session is that employees need to know a little bit of everything, if you know more about a topic or are competent enough to handle or manage more than you are asked to, you are already one step ahead. Certainly, your knowledge and experience in the job are what got you there in the first place, but you never know where your knowledge might take you. Continued education will not only help you grow in the work area, but it will also help you grow as a person in your day to day life, we never know when something might come in handy.

Another advice given at the session was to think outside of the US. Sometimes we linger to a place because we’ve been there our whole life or because we don’t think or don’t know we can find same or better opportunities abroad. because even if black people are a minority in the US, they can have an advantage in other places, just like Holland American Line’s president shared his experience working for Coca-Cola, which allowed him to live in Istanbul and in Africa, we need to embrace our nationality and race in order to take advantage of it.

We also need to understand that in life we never stop learning, also that school is not the only place where we can learn helpful or useful things that help us grow in our careers, we can also learn from other people, our boss, our coworkers There is always something we can learn from other people, in fact, we may not notice sometimes but we learn something new every day. We should never settle when it comes to becoming wiser.

Another crucial strategy for employees to keep in mind is to understand the importance of being a social person and also relationships and perceptions. Relationships are what opens doors, we need to be as social as we can, we never know who can offer us an opportunity or who can help us on our way up and also keep in mind how being more open to different perceptions can help us grow in our careers and as a person.

The last advice they shared in the session, which I find really important and indispensable in order to achieve success and reach our goals, is to confront our fears and overcome any obstacle that’s holding us back, a lot of times we might be capable of doing something but fear holds us back and at the same time it holds back our true potential, once we understand fear is only in our heads, great things will happen and come our way. In order to prove we are the best fit or candidate for a job, we need to prove ourselves. We also need to inform ourselves in order to know what to expect and what to demand according to what we deserve.

Once African-Americans start practicing these strategies, tables can turn on them and even if they don’t reach their goals in the fast track, things will eventually start going their way once they are determined to make all the necessary changes that are crucial to succeed in corporate America.

Sources:

Alisa Gumbs,  “5 WAYS BLACK MEN CAN SUCCEED IN CORPORATE AMERICA“, 2017, September 6, https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-men-corporate-america/, Accessed 09/25/2018