A person works while enjoying iced coffee.
In 2020, only 1.6% of C-suite executives were Black women. Despite the odds, The Lawrence Advisory CEO Tracy Lawrence has had a wildly successful career in corporate America. The Harvard MBA served as the Vice President of MTV for 9 years. She has worked in managerial positions at Kraft and Nestle, and joined the executive board of Fast Company four months ago.
Today Lawrence spreads her knowledge about how to excel in corporate America. The leadership consultant and USC executive in residence spoke with Forbes, and had some solid advice on how to get and stay in corporate leadership. Here are a few recommendations on how Black people can get into executive level positions, according to Tracy Lawrence, a Black female CEO.
Maya Richard-Craven: What are the responsibilities of someone at the C-suite level?
Tracy Lawrence: At the C-suite level, a lot of what you're doing is brokering relationships, you're learning to manage and influence stakeholders. More of your time is spent externally than inside of the business. Reflect on whether you want a C-suite job because there are people who are great functional leaders. The nature of what you're doing on a daily basis is very different. You really have to look at the people in those roles and ask yourself whether you want to spend your time that way.
Richard-Craven: What does your day-to-day look like?
Lawrence: I coach a lot of C-suite people. I've coached a lot of white men, and I've also coached a lot of people of color. Black executives are often questioned for issues of style, issues of commitment, and issues of motivation. There becomes a lot of feedback for Black executives that really isn't about the nuts and bolts of how they do their job. As a Black executive it becomes a part of your job to manage your image with people.
Richard-Craven: Do you have any tips on how to break into corporate America as a Black person?
Lawrence: I've got a lot of tips. First, understand the unwritten rules. If you're in a large corporation, there's going to be a lot of unwritten rules about what makes a person successful in that organization. We know that corporations are what's known as sponsored meritocracies. You have to do well, but you need someone who is influential to support you and point out that you're doing well.
Richard-Craven: What other advice do you have?
Lawrence: The second thing is to understand what the important skills are that you would need in order to rise to that C-suite position. For example, if you are looking at trying to become the CEO, a lot of CEOs came up through specific functional areas. Let's say you came up through marketing, and you can be a great marketing person. But once you sit in the job of a CEO, the job is very very different than what got you there.
Richard-Craven: Do you have any other suggestions you would like to mention?
Lawrence: You need people who will tell you the truth. Develop relationships with people who will tell you the truth. The higher up you get in an organization, the less information you will get in terms of what's really going on in the organization. Everyone is trying to present the best image to you, and people will not give you the full picture. I think you need someone at every level, who will tell you what's really going on. Sometimes the most valuable people are assistants. They're sitting there and watching what's going on around them.
Richard-Craven: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?
Lawrence: I would say that once you get to the C-suite, you spend a lot interacting with external stakeholders. Think about your leadership presence. You have to think about it in a broader way than the way you think about yourself when you're just an executive inside a company. There are a lot of people who are watching what you do. Take a more global perspective in how you show up as a leader.
