RACE
Beating the Odds
by Laura Morgan Roberts, Anthony J. Mayo, Robin J. Ely, and David A. Thomas
FROM THE MARCH–APRIL 2018 ISSUE
Any list of top CEOs reveals a startling lack of diversity. Among the leaders of
Fortune 500 companies, for example, just 32 are women; with the recent
departure of Ken Chenault from American Express, just three are African-
American; and not one is an African-American woman. What’s going on?
This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the African-American Student
Union at Harvard Business School, and in preparation for the commemoration we have been
studying the careers of the approximately 2,300 alumni of African descent who have
graduated from HBS since its founding, in 1908. From that group we identified 532 African-
American women who graduated from 1977 to 2015. We analyzed the career paths of the 67
of them who have attained the position of chair, CEO, or other C-level executive in a
corporation or senior managing director or partner in a professional services firm, and we
conducted in-depth interviews with 30 of those 67.
How did these women beat the odds? Certainly, they are well prepared and highly
competitive in the job market; according to our data, they have invested more years in
higher education, at more-selective institutions, than their colleagues and their non–
African-American classmates. Yet as is the case for all those who have managed to scale the
“I think the experience of
being black in America
creates resilience—a steady
steadiness. And it creates
courage and pride. Not pride
in a boastful way, but being
proud, as you need to be in
moments when you feel
completely rejected,
completely ignored,
overlooked, sidelined.”
—A senior executive of a
Fortune 50 financial
services firm
heights of corporate America, it wasn’t simply personal strengths and talents that got them
there. It was the willingness and ability of others to recognize, support, and develop those
strengths and talents. We wish to speak to both elements of success.
Too often we see business leaders struggle
to advance members of underrepresented
groups because they model their
development strategies on their own
paths to success. They believe they’re
good at spotting and supporting talent,
but their support is informed by their own
experience: “I looked like that five years
ago, and this is what I needed to grow into
the next level.” Our research suggests that
company leaders are best able to
recognize talent and understand others’
development needs when those talents
and needs present themselves as theirs did;
they often overlook—or are baffled by how
to develop—talent that looks different. So
in our study we asked: What lessons can
aspiring leaders—specifically, women of
color and members of other
underrepresented groups—take from the
careers of highly successful African-American women? Moreover, what can corporate
leaders learn about how to spot and develop black women’s talents, and what might such
lessons teach us about how to cultivate the talents of underrepresented groups more
generally?
In simple terms, the answer to the question of what it takes to succeed can be reduced to a
single capacity: resilience. To be sure, resilience has been widely celebrated as a character
virtue in the past decade, and it plays a role in every success narrative, regardless of a
person’s race or gender. But the African-American women we interviewed seemed to rely
more heavily than others on that quality, because of the frequency with which they
encountered obstacles and setbacks resulting from the intersecting dynamics of race,
gender, and other identities. In each case they bounced back, refused to get distracted or
derailed, and maintained forward progress. One explained, “We were all told that you had to
be smarter or run faster or jump higher or be better than anybody else around you just to
stay in the game. That was a lesson from early, early on—from my parents, teachers,
mentors, church. So you come [to your job] with that orientation.”
The women we studied developed three skills that were key to their resilience: emotional
intelligence, authenticity, and agility. They became EQ experts, adept at both reading the
interpersonal and political dynamics of their organizations and managing their reactions to
situations that threatened to undermine their sense of competence and well-being—what
some scholars call “identity abrasions.” They practiced authentic leadership through deep
self-awareness and an ability to craft their own identities. And they demonstrated agility in
their capacity to deftly transform obstacles (including self-doubt and excessive scrutiny)
into opportunities to learn, develop, and ultimately exceed expectations.
These skills can help propel anyone’s career. All professionals and the organizations in
which they work can benefit from cultivating and leveraging emotional intelligence,
authenticity, and agility. While those skills are essential for every career, they are especially
critical for members of historically disadvantaged groups. To that end, we hope that the
stories of the women we interviewed will inspire young people from underrepresented
groups who are still deciding what kind of career path makes sense for them. Despite the
discouraging lack of representation at the very top of companies, the stories offer a road
map to the high-level jobs from which future CEOs will emerge.
About the Research
For the research initiative associated
with the 50th anniversary of the
founding of the African-American
Student Union at Harvard Business
School, we built a database of all the
graduates of African descent since the
school’s founding, in 1908—
approximately 2,300 people. Of the
1,821 who graduated from 1977 to 2015,
we were able to collect complete work
histories for 1,381 using information
from LinkedIn, Bloomberg
biographies, alumni records, and
other public sources. We then
conducted deep dives into the careers
of those 1,381 to better understand
their routes to senior positions. We
discovered that only 67 of the 532
women in the group, or about 13%,
The Visibility/Invisibility Conundrum
Before turning to the skills crucial to resilience, let’s examine one of the biggest challenges
faced by the women we studied: the double-edged sword of visibility and invisibility. On
one hand, because they are anomalies in their organizations, African-American women
stand out. “I was always the only black person,” one senior finance executive told us. “I
literally spent the first 20 years not really ever seeing another black person in the day-to-day
course of work.” Many of the women reported feeling as though they were “on display,”
which can lead to an inhibiting and potentially limiting self-consciousness. “It makes you
work hard to make sure you’re never misstepping,” said one chief investment officer. In a
sense, their race and gender put these women under a spotlight, and that can be exhausting.
Some described it as a kind of tax—one that majority employees don’t have to pay, and one
that could easily derail a career.
Sometimes, however, these women found
benefits in their hypervisibility. “There are so
many rooms I’ve gone into in my life where I
was the only black person, and I immediately
started to see that as an advantage,” said the
vice chair of an investment firm. “Because
they’re going to look, they’re going to
listen….They’re wondering how I got into the
room, so I have an opportunity to get their
attention. All I have to do is deliver into that
space.”
On the other hand, black women are
sometimes made to feel as though they’re
invisible. Some report having been mistaken
for secretaries or even members of the
waitstaff when starting new jobs. These
had attained the senior executive
level. (By comparison, 40% of the
non–African-American HBS alumni in a
matched sample had attained senior
executive status.) We reached out to
those 67 women and interviewed 30 in
depth.
instances of mistaken identity often create
awkward scenarios, requiring executives to
announce themselves and their qualifications
just to find meeting locations or access
necessary resources. Instead of obsessing
over these slights and low expectations,
though, some used invisibility as a
launchpad. If colleagues underestimate you,
it’s easier to exceed expectations; if you’re not perceived as a threat, you may find a faster
path to promotion. One woman, a general manager in the media industry, described gaining
entry to meetings that more-formidable colleagues lacked access to. “Senior executives
would say, ‘Sure, you can come in,’ because they doubted me,” she told us. “If they had
known I was going to come in and get the jobs they wanted, they probably would have said
no.”
Navigating between the extremes of hypervisibility and invisibility can feel traumatic. One
is either performing under a microscope or being ignored, and self-esteem can take a hit in
either scenario. Having built the capacity for resilience, however, the women we studied
were consistently able to maneuver around this paradox, often turning the obstacles it
posed into opportunities.
Three Keys to Resilience
Let’s look now at how the women’s resilience was reinforced and enhanced through
emotional intelligence, authenticity, and agility.
Emotional intelligence.
A key component of this skill is the ability to manage and regulate one’s feelings. It’s easy to
envision the anger and resentment a rising executive might experience at being repeatedly
doubted or ignored. But the women we spoke with resisted knee-jerk reactions that might
have damaged their careers and developed the wherewithal to respond in more thoughtful
and constructive ways. They also became skilled at picking up on others’ emotions and
reacting strategically. “I’m really good at reading environments,” said a senior executive at a
Fortune 100 consumer-products firm. They exhibited an acute awareness of how others
perceived them—a form of empathy. “You have to be able to step outside yourself and see
how other people see you,” said the vice chair of a major investment bank. Most important,
when the way others viewed them diverged from their own perceptions, they refused to be
knocked off stride, holding on to their increasingly well-defined sense of self. One chief
financial officer described the process this way: “You have to seek out messages and people
who affirm your identity.”
EQ is especially useful for those who frequently encounter bias. Research is clear, for
example, that successful black women walk a tightrope of emotional expression. Although
eager to advance, they may be penalized if they appear “too ambitious.” They are often
characterized as “intimidating,” and their mistakes are apt to be held against them,
especially when the “angry black woman” stereotype is triggered. “I almost feel you have to
overrely on EQ, because people come to the table with natural biases—you have to be
hypersensitive and patient,” said a senior executive in a financial services firm, adding,
“While some can react immediately to a difficult situation, as a black person I am conscious
about modulating and tempering my response.” She was especially insightful when
reflecting on the mixed blessing of this ability: “On one hand, it’s great that I have
developed this skill, but on the other hand, it’s sad that I had to.”
Authenticity.
This skill involves aligning one’s personal sense of self with its outward expression—actively
crafting one’s identity and revealing it in a way that feels genuine. Like emotional
intelligence, it requires a high level of self-awareness. Research cited elsewhere in this issue
makes clear that disclosing personal information—a key part of behaving authentically—can
be especially tricky for minorities. (See “Diversity and Authenticity,” HBR March–April
2018.) The executives we interviewed found ways to master that challenge. They described
“The times I felt I did my
absolute best at work were
when I had the support of a
good leader who understood
me and what I could bring.”
—A global finance director
being candid about their opinions, transparent about their motives, and vocally committed
to their values. In fact, “transparency” and “candor” were two of the words they used most
frequently to describe their leadership styles.
For these women, authenticity has also
involved aligning their racial identity with
their leadership positions. Some found
roles within their companies that
explicitly invited them to draw on that
identity, giving them latitude to bring it
front and center. They were then able to
parlay the visibility afforded by those
roles into broader opportunities for
leadership. For instance, when her
employer set a goal of investing in
minority-owned businesses, one woman—now a senior investment officer—stepped into an
intrapreneurial leadership role by building a business that became the firm’s primary
strategic imperative. Suddenly her gender, race, and residence in a historically black
community became visible assets that deepened her authentic engagement with her career.
“That became a turning point of my job—I was actually able to bring these differences to
work every day,” she told us. “All of a sudden there were unique differences I was bringing
to the table.” Other women launched entrepreneurial ventures that aligned their passions
for business and social engagement, serving the needs of diverse stakeholders across the
globe.
Agility.
This is the ability to effectively confront and nimbly transform obstacles and roadblocks into
opportunities throughout one’s career. The women we interviewed were well aware that
many of their colleagues and bosses held low expectations of them—expectations that
continued, in some cases, even as they advanced into senior jobs. The CEO of a large socialservices
organization put it this way: “I can’t say that I ever went into a job where people
just looked at my credentials and accepted them as legitimate—there was always this
question of ‘Are you really qualified?’ or ‘Did you really do the things you said you did?’ I
don’t think I reached a point in my career, other than my last role, when that wasn’t a
question.”
Not surprisingly, many grew frustrated with the persistent doubting of their abilities. “I’m
misunderstood, treated like the nanny, and left to deal with or clean up after [male
executives’] hasty decisions,” said one senior leader. “I’m forever exhausted by people
thinking the reason I have the senior role I’m in is that I’m black, not that I’m excellent.”
Despite their frustration, the women were neither paralyzed nor defined by how they were
seen. One explained, “I’m keenly aware of who I am and that I may look and behave in ways
that are different from others, but I don’t really focus on that….When I walk into a room and
some of the people who don’t know me think I work for the people who work for me, I’m
aware of it. But I don’t think about it. I don’t sweat it. I don’t stress about it. I think that’s
one of the things that has helped me: I don’t let other people’s insecurities be my own.”
Some leveraged their confluence of race, gender, and professional identity to seek roles in
which they could contribute from a position of strength. “Let’s be honest: I tick a lot of
boxes for people,” said a C-suite executive of a major entertainment firm. “They get a
package of someone who’s female, who’s African-American, who has an MBA from an elite
academic institution. So there I am—the purple unicorn.” By looking at the situation
pragmatically instead of letting it fuel self-doubt, she sees how her interests and the firm’s
are aligned: She gets a great job, great money, and the chance to have an impact, while the
firm gets stellar results and a chance to “tick the boxes.”
Most of the leaders we interviewed took an unconventional path to the top. Their careers
were characterized by twists and turns, with lateral moves and promotions accompanying
changes in sector, industry, function, or employer. They pursued intriguing opportunities to
learn, and if a role or a company didn’t allow them to grow, they activated their networks
“A large part of this whole
dance of being successful in
corporate America is about
creating space for people to
trust you and for you to trust
them. And that comes with
relationships.”
—A financial services
business unit director
Further Reading
“Rethinking Political Correctness”
Robin J. Ely, Debra E. Meyerson, and
Martin N. Davidson
HBR, September 2006
and identified new opportunities. They
remained professionally engaged
throughout the arc of their careers,
sometimes delaying or forgoing personal
interests and commitments. One leader
attributed her agility to advice she had
received from Nelson Mandela: “There’s
going to be a point in your career where
someone’s going to tap you on the
shoulder and ask you to do something
that’s not going to make any sense. That
might be your opportunity to manifest
your true leadership and have a huge
impact in your life and on this world.”
The Importance of Relationships
Success requires more than personal attributes such as EQ, authenticity, and agility; it
requires that someone recognize and value those vital skills. Research over decades points
to the critical role of nurturing relationships and affirming contexts. One senior executive
stated, “Somebody has to be committed to your success for you to really do well in [the
corporate] environment. I’ve learned that those relationships matter a lot. I thought you
could just work hard and be smart and that would do it, but it’s not enough.”
The success of the women we studied, like
that of most people, depended on their
having developed relationships with people
who recognized their talent, gave them a safe
space in which to make and learn from
mistakes, provided candid and actionable
feedback about their performance, and
“The Truth About Mentoring
Minorities: Race Matters”
David A. Thomas
HBR, April 2001
Our Separate Ways: Black and White
Women and the Struggle for
Professional Identity
Ella L.J. Edmondson Bell and Stella M.
Nkomo
Harvard Business School Press 2001
Breaking Through: The Making of
Minority Executives in Corporate
America
David A. Thomas and John J. Gabarro
Harvard Business School Press 1999
“How Star Women Build Portable
Skills”
Boris Groysberg
HBR, February 2008
generally made it their business to support
them and create opportunities for them to
succeed. Many of the women pointed to
managers, mentors, and sponsors who had
helped them discover and actualize their best
selves. Here’s how one described it: “I was
fortunate that early in my career I was in
places where I didn’t feel this isolation and
where I was desperately loved. The people
who worked with me, the people who were
my bosses, they cared about my personhood
hugely and without acknowledging it; they
took into account the somewhat obvious fact
that there were not people like me around—
without going out of their way to say that.”
She continued, “They did go out of their way
to put me in as much contact as they could
and give me as much exposure as they could
to meetings that I definitely didn’t have to be in. They said, ‘Come into the room. Be here.
Just listen. I think it would be good for you.’”
Several women were inspired by managers and mentors to expand their vision of what they
could achieve. One remarked, “I was just fortunate that I had a mentor who said, ‘You don’t
think you’re ready, but I see your potential. Trust me.’ I did, and he really helped me see
what was possible. I worked with him, for him, for many years growing a division where I
cut my teeth in P&L management. That was scary and exciting.” And several gave credit to
managers who advocated for them throughout their careers. One noted, “There has to be
someone at the table saying, ‘This person deserves that opportunity, that raise, that global
assignment, that acknowledgment.’”
Such relationships became even more important as the women sought and took on
challenging new roles. They relied on trusted advisers to give them the critical feedback that
so many managers fail to share, especially with employees whose backgrounds are different
from their own. One woman stated, “I think I’ve had the right mentors giving me the right
kind of feedback, and I was able to hear.” Those advisers also provided support and air cover
that enabled many women to learn from mistakes without derailing their careers. When one
executive launched a business operation in another country, her success was bolstered by a
CEO who “was a tremendous champion,” she said. “He was just not going to let me fail, no
matter what.”
CONCLUSION
When African-American women are underrepresented in an organization’s senior leadership
roles despite robust academic credentials and work experience, their struggles often suggest
a broader problem: a workplace that fails to offer every employee equal access to
opportunities for growth. Much of the narrative about women and African-Americans in
corporate life focuses on derailment, plateauing, and off-ramping—and that’s doubly true
for African-African women. As the women we interviewed demonstrate, that narrative need
not be the rule. However, it takes extraordinary ability, perseverance, and support to
transcend it. The insights gleaned in our study are important not just for African-Americans
and women; they’re essential for any manager who recognizes what research has shown
over and over again—that an organization’s diversity is its strength.
A version of this article appeared in the March–April 2018 issue (pp.126–131) of Harvard Business Review.
Laura Morgan Roberts (lro[email protected]) is a teaching professor at Georgetown University.
Anthony J. Mayo ([email protected]) is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School.
Robin J. Ely is the Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration and the senior associate dean
for culture and community at Harvard Business School.
David A. Thomas ([email protected]) is the president of Morehouse College.
Related Topics: GENDER | LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT | EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
This article is about RACE
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Raf Jamil 14 days ago
Very inspiring and authentic article. Thank you.
Raf
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