I’m going to share a statistic for my black queens. For every 54 black women, 100 men are promoted into leadership. A lot more men are gaining these leadership roles over these black queens. Why is that?
I personally can only speak for something I witnessed for my previous leadership at one of my jobs. She wasn’t a black woman butt she was a woman. There were so many changes. My old leader applied into the company and they still felt as though it wasn’t enough. Eventually, she was let go. The challenges experienced for black women are first double standards. This leader I talked about felt like if a man did the same things she did, they would love her. Second is limited sponsorship opportunities. She felt like she was never properly trained. They threw her out with the wolves. Third representation gap. In this company there were barely women in leadership. At the time it was only two in the zone. Fourth, micro aggressions and unconscious bias. She felt like they were thinking she wouldn’t hold anyone accountable because of her being woman. They just assumed she wasn’t doing anything. Finally, work-life balance struggles. She didn’t have children. But it would’ve been tough in her role to have them. I’m here for you black queens. I understand the struggle partially. You have to work a little harder. Ht the rest to prove you’re worth a people of color. But it makes you and me better in the long run.
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5/17/2024 0 Comments Nelson MandelaMandela won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He was also the first black president of South Africa. Mandela wore may hats to fight for peace.
This was an interesting black leader for me to study because I never knew what he was famous for. I heard his name come up in Rush Hour. Chris Tucker screamed as he was gambling, “This one is for Nelson Mandela!” Who is Nelson Mandela? He negotiated the county’s system of racial segregation and changed it to majority rule. Apartheid was the name of the system. It was a political culture which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation’s minority, white population. Mandela helped end this and change into a democratic type government. He done this by traveling the country with a campaign for this. Similar to MLK, he had nonviolent protests to fight the Apartheid system. After awhile, Mandela started to attract the attention of the authorities. They went as far as to imprison Mandela for treason. This was due to his protests actually gathering momentum against a failed system. Mandela was prepared to die for freedom. What you are prepared to do to reach your goals? 5/15/2024 0 Comments How are leaders createdWhen I first started as a district manager, I had a very tough start. My first day of taking over 10 stores, I had…
cherry - no employees cherry hill mall - 2 employees Delran - fully staffed wilingboro - 1 employee quitting 1 working grant - fully staffed feasterville - fully staffed richboro - 1 employee and he was quititng wissinoming - 2 employees broad - 2 employees market - fully staffed To be able to run these stores, was torture. Only 2 stores were staffed and I had people on the way out. Not to mention, I had to hit my sales goals. I was under immense sass and pressure. But it put me out to a great start. I believe the best leaders are born from tough situations. The harder the situation, the better off the leader becomes. During my year of being a district manager, being in tough situations prepared me for anything I could’ve encountered. In the beginning is the best timing. Why? Because you have been through anything you could think of. And now you know how to react. In comparison leaders who go through situations later. They become too stressed. Why does this happen? Because when your back is against the wall, you will do whatever it takes. A lot of leaders use the comparison of having a gun to your head. If you had a gun to your head and someone told you to make a million dollars in a year, you would find a way. you don’t know how you would do it, but you would do it. This is why I believe the best leaders are put into tough situations. If you want to grow your leadership skills, put yourself in more uncomfortable situations. 5/12/2024 0 Comments Happy Mothers’ DayMy mother taught me the importance of finding a way. When there’s a will, there is a way. I’m not sure how she did it, but she did her thing!
I can only imagine the struggle of raising two boys. And my brother and I required a lot between sports and staying out of trouble. It was a struggle even getting my brother and I to do something as simple as going to school. And my mother wasn’t well off. We moved around a lot. At one point, I went to 4 different schools in one year. We had to constantly deal with meeting new friends and fitting in. This cycle repeated itself until we were grown men. My brother and I lacked stability growing up. We didn’t use this as an excuse, but it was the truth. I know she tried her best. She had no choice. And for that, I’m going to give her the world. The one thing I truly appreciate about my mom is allowing us freedom. We had the freedom to choose our own path. This is how I know God is on our side. We could’ve chosen a whole different path. But we decided to attack the path. Happy Mothers’ Day Momma! Most people think strong leaders were destined for leadership. I can’t disagree or agree with the plan God has. But I can say, a lot of black leaders are born into hardships that they must overcome. They are made through resilience and hope.
My life wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. As you know by following me, a lot of my life was me proving myself when the odds were against me. A kid growing up with a low income family shouldn’t have their own business and book if life was based on what you were born with. But good thing I didn’t take what life gave me. And throughout history this was the same for other black leaders. Black leaders emerged from all eras of struggle. Slaver had leaders attack the status quo. Civil rights had leaders emerge. And even now we have leaders emerging. But it isn’t enough to just learn about them. You must apply things learned form the history of black leaders. They found ways to grow their environment and encourage innovation. How will we continue our legacy of leadership? We must continue to mentor the next generation. They have to learn where we came from to know where we are going. Do your part today. 5/6/2024 0 Comments Story of Malcolm XMalcolm Little, later changed to Malcolm X was a principal spokesman of the Nation of Islam during the 50s and 60s. Little was shedded from his last name because it was Malcolm’s slave name. He worked his way up the ranking of the Nation of Islam until he was the second highest ranking as the national spokesman.
The story of Malcolm X was inspiring to me. It showed another perspective to attack leadership with. It goes to show there are multiple ways to get the same job done. Malcolm’s story started in violence… his father committed “suicide” on the train tracks. This was believed to be a lie, and he was really murdered by White supremacists. Years later, Malcolm’s mother began to have psychotic breakdowns. Malcolm was extremely smart, but lost interest in school after the trauma he was experiencing at home. He later moved to Boston where he fell victim to petty theft before he was caught and arrested. In prison, Malcolm was saved by the Nation of Islam. Malcom was going down a path of theft and sexual relations with white women before his introduction to the religion. Malcolm worked his behind off to make his way up the rankings. Before, I talked about MLK and his ideology of nonviolence. Malcolm didn’t believe in this ideology. He thought this was unrealistic, so he had a more aggressive approach. Which do you agree with? 5/5/2024 0 Comments We need black leaders!Only 1.6% of Fortune 500 Company CEOs are black. That means 8 out of the 500! And this is no accident.
I’m a victim of leadership without even noticing. I was talking to a friend of mine who falls victim to RBF (resting b****h face)and he was talking about how I have an approachable face and aura. And even though I have a fully grown beard, I’ve been told by women that I have a baby face. That baby face apparently comes in handy with leadership. And I’m going to explain how through this blog. Black Americans are 14.4% of the American population but only make up 1.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs. And the reason for this is because they are dealing with stereotypes. The same stereotypes that everyday black people deal with. Let me introduce you to the “Teddy Bear Effect.” What is this you ask? This is the effect of having an approachable face as a black man. This is the effect the 8 Fortune 500 company black CEOs. Think of a teddy bear. They have a round face and are usually “cute and cuddly.” This effect battles previous stereotypes of… An aggressive black man. Black men have been facing this stereotype in movies and comics since the 70s when it became popular. It became popular after the end of the Civil Rights Movement. The joke is black men have nothing to be angry about but the world because we got everything we wanted and we are just naturally mad. And this contradicts the important qualities of a leadership. The important qualities of leadership roles depend on 3 things… 1. Ability to make alliances 2. Converse with peers and subordinates 3. Amass respect. Let’s work together in breaking these stereotypes. Take a guess at who you think it is. If you ever heard “I had a dream” speech, you know who I’m talking about. The man who walked so leaders like me can crawl.
The man with the name who was changed from Michael. And I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about Martin Luther King Jr. He is known for his contributions to the American Civil Rights Movement. And we all know how important this movement was for us. It opened up opportunities for us that we didn’t have before. King participated in these protests in the south. The south was worst than the north because of how they weren’t free states during slavery. These protests were only 70-80 years ago. Through peaceful protests, King stopped racial segregation and discrimination. Before black peoples couldn’t even drink from the same water fountain as white people. Bu he was able to bring us all together. Now it’s your turn to leave a stamp in history. I know all about this from my experience at an old employer. I had a leader who treated me like I was worthless. A leader who told me, “there’s no pride in being the tallest midget.” He told me this when I became the best leader in our area but it was my first month, but in the company I was still ranked in the 100’s.
You can’t lead with fear and power. It never works out. Leading like this isn’t sustainable. You may be able to make it work for a little bit until everyone rebels. And they’ll use their “leadership” skills when you already eel bad. They’ll kick you when you’re already down because their goal is to embarrass you. These bad leaders believe they are before the team. No one comes before the mission of the team. To compare, it’s a real narcissistic trait they be. So belittling you makes them validate their worth. This leader is the perfect example of what not to do. 4/28/2024 0 Comments 4 basic leadership stylesI had plenty of leaders in my sales career. And from each one, I witnessed different styles. One leader was cursing me out on a daily basis. Another one felt like a friend you didn’t want to let down. There was a leader sho gave you the freedom of leading and didn’t say much. And then there was a leader who let you walk all over them. Each one was different.
Just like the four basic leadership styles: 1. Autocratic 2. Democratic 3. Laissez-faire 4. Paternalistic Autocratic are leaders who make all the decisions and give orders. Makes me think of a military Sargent. They say and order and you obey. Democratic leadership considers the input of their subordinates. This makes me think of a big business and how they work with upper leadership. The CEO of a company isn’t going to be running or doing the job of a president. Paternalistic treats your team like a family. You are do or die for them. And you also treat them like a child. Reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. These are the four basic leadership styles that must be adjusted depending on situations and even employees. Every situation is different than the last. Which style do you enjoy the most? |
AuthorCarlos Henry is a human behavior consultant, author, and coach who teaches young minority entrepreneurs and startup businesses how to achieve their personal and professional goals in a quarter of the time through high income skills. Archives
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