Dec 12, 2021
How Beating the Odds
It is shocking to see the lack of diversity among top CEOs. Just 32 women are among the Fortune 500 CEOs, and with Ken Chenault’s departure from American Express, there are now three African-American female leaders. What’s the story?
This spring marks fifty years since the establishment of the Harvard Business School African American Student Union. We have been studying the careers, approximately 2,300, of alumni of African descent, who have graduated HBS from 1908 to 2015. That group includes 532 African American women who graduated from 1977–2015. We analysed the career paths for the 67 individuals who have been promoted to the post of chair, CEO, C-level executive or other top-ranking position in a company or as senior managing directors or partners in a professional consulting firm. We interviewed 30 of those 67.
How did these women overcome all odds? They are clearly well-prepared and highly competitive in today’s job market. Our data shows that they have spent more time in higher education at select institutions than their non-African American peers. But, like all of those who have reached the heights in corporate America, it wasn’t just their personal strengths and talents that made them successful. It was the willingness to support, recognize and develop these strengths and talents by others. We would like to address both of these elements.
Many business leaders find it difficult to help members of underrepresented communities because they continue to model their strategies after their own successes. They think they’re skilled at finding and supporting talent. But their support comes from personal experience. Our research indicates that company leaders can recognize talent best and understand other people’s development needs when their talents and needs are the same as theirs. They are often unable to see or comprehend how to develop different talents. 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? What can corporate leaders learn to recognize and develop the talents of black women and how to nurture them?
Simply put, resilience is what it takes for success. It has been widely acknowledged as a character virtue for the past decade. Resilience plays a part in every success story regardless of one’s race or gender. We found that African-American women rely more on resilience than other people because they face so many obstacles and setbacks due to the intersection of their identities of race, gender, age, and other identities. Each time they bounced right back, refused to be distracted, did not get derailed and maintained their forward momentum in all cases. One explained, “We were all told that in order to stay in the game you had to think faster, be more intelligent, run faster, jump higher or be more successful than everyone else.” That was a lesson that I learned early, from my teachers, mentors, parents and church. You bring that attitude to your job.
We found that three skills were essential to our study subjects’ resilience: emotional intelligence (EQ), authenticity (and agility). They became EQ specialists, able to both read the political and interpersonal dynamics in their organizations and to manage their responses to situations that could threaten their sense of competence or well-being. This is what some scholars call identity abrasions. They displayed authentic leadership qualities through their deep self-awareness, and were able to construct their own identities. They showed agility in their ability transform obstacles (including self doubt and excessive scrutiny), into opportunities to learn, improve, and ultimately exceed expectations.
These skills can be a great asset to any professional’s career. Everyone can benefit from cultivating an emotional intelligence, authenticity, as well as agility. These skills are crucial for anyone who wants to be a professional, but they are even more important for those who are historically disadvantaged. We hope that the stories we heard from women will encourage young people from underrepresented communities to consider their options when choosing a career path. Despite the depressing lack of representation at top companies, these stories offer a pathway to the high-level positions from which future CEOs will emerge.
The Visibility/Invisibility Conundrum
Before we discuss the skills necessary for resilience, let’s look at one of the most significant challenges facing the women in our study: the double-edged sword that is visibility and invisible. Because they are often the exceptions in their companies, African-American women have a distinct advantage. We were told by a senior finance executive that I was always alone among black people. I was oblivious to the fact that I had never seen another black person in my 20 years of working. Many of these women felt that they were displayed. This can lead to a limiting and inhibiting self-consciousness. According to one chief investor officer, this makes it necessary to put in a lot of effort to avoid making mistakes. It is exhausting to see these women’s faces because of their race and gender. Some called it a kind tax, which majority employees don’t pay. It could also be detrimental to a career.
