“Race is just one attribute that can be used to someone’s benefit, says Joe Watson, CEO of StrategicHire, a Virginia-based diversity consulting firm. “It used to be that being African American was always a disadvantage. That has shifted. You still have to deliver results, and expect to deliver at a higher level. You still have to know that your mistakes will be magnified relative to the mistakes of others. You still must be vigilant in your social interactions in the workplace,” Watson says. “But if you are all those things, then for the first time in a long, long time, your ethnicity will be your advantage.” Experts agree that the psychological weight black professional’s carry about how they are perceived in an organization is probably the biggest obstacle to why many don’t use ethnicity to their advantage.”
TheStateOf . . . The Competitive Advantage. I (J) firmly believe that if you are black, qualified and do a good job, your cultural experiences work to your advantage. You perspective is more broad, experiences more varied and authority more clear.
Filed under: Race
