Depending on your age, the phrase “The Real World” can mean a number of things. If you’re 25 or younger, The Real World conjures up images of an MTV Reality Show. For those of us who are over 35 and are still adjusting to the world of Reality TV, we hear the phrase The Real World and are more inclined to remember the Cosby Show episode when Cliff and Clare removed all of the furniture and amenities from Theo’s room to teach him what it would cost him to get started in The Real World.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 20+ years of life in the corporate world, when it comes to navigating Corporate America as a black woman be ready to WORK.
It’s not so much sweat of the brow work as much as it is cerebral. Successfully navigating Corporate America as an African-American woman takes solving multiple, seemingly asinine challenges and investing in someone else’s bottom line with the good faith and hope that you will receive a healthy return on your investment.

Notice, I said “good faith” because today’s employment landscape truly offers no guarantees. However, if we are nothing else, we sisters are survivors. And not just survivors, but THRIVORS! While Corporate America can be tough, we can make it work to our advantage. You just have to be conscious of your goals and of your strengths.
As with any game—and make no mistake, Corporate America is a game—it’s only fair if you know the rules. Since the corporate environment is not big on sharing or playing fair, I’ll take this moment to point out a few rules of engagement.

THE OBVIOUS STILL EXISTS

Racism and sexism are still factors in the corporate arena.
In many ways, this is one of the best times in Corporate America for black women. More sisters are in upper level, high visibility positions than ever before. But, in most cases if you do just a little digging, scratch ever so slightly beneath the surface you will find that many challenges still exist for the professional black woman. There is still the issue of double standards that are more like triple standards when it comes to being black and female in a white male dominated paradigm.

We still have many stereotypes to overcome. When black women display traits like “pushing back” on a consensus idea (the current euphemism in my office culture for challenging the norm) or voicing an opinion that differs from the current ideal, we are seen as being difficult or radical while men, and especially white men displaying the same fortitude congratulated for being shrewdly assertive or aggressive.

Seems W.E.B. DuBois’ burden of “doubleness”, now called “bicultural stress,” persists. As economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett puts it, racism used to be worn on one’s sleeve and enshrined by law. This made it easy to see as opposed to today’s more subtle yet equally destructive form.

While we have made it in the door, says Tonya Weathersbee of www.blackamericaweb.com, “our culture and misperceptions about it still stands in the way of us moving up.” So there lies your first decision: do you want to move up? And if you do, know that moving up has a price.

For black women, racism and sexism, coupled with other external pressures such as assuming the primary responsibility for the care of our families, loving our husbands, and raising of our children, have motivated many to seek out more fulfilling alternatives, chief of which is self-employment. Honestly, after 20 years, the entrepreneurship route gets my vote. That said, my 20 years have at least earned me the right to share a nugget or two of hard-won wisdom that I hope will spare you from some of the unnecessary pitfalls of what can be a slippery slope to climb.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

1. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT

Make sure your goals are clear and measurable and that you know what you want from a particular position/company and work your plan within that context. Working for a company is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Make sure that what they want lines up with your objectives and is achievable. If you ever doubt this, allow me to let you in on a little secret: if you are being paid well, know that your company is making 10 times that amount. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. And remember: if you don’t have an agenda, you are being used by someone who does.

2. KNOW WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR LIFE AND BE PRACTICAL

I know as a single mom in her early forties rebuilding, I need a hearty steady income, good health insurance, and 401(k) investing. I also know I need to learn skills that I can use in any field (“transferable skills”). It is also important to know your industry and cultivate skills that will make you valuable to many organizations in that field. I also decided that at this age, it’s high time I learn how to swim with the sharks, to paraphrase a popular book title, and come out with some shark skins instead of bite marks.

3. RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS

We all know the key to real estate is location, location, location. Well, one essential element to charting what can be a tricky territory is relationships. The earlier you establish key strategic relationships in your career, the better. You need a mentor to help you navigate a dicey landscape and a cheerleader to encourage you along and let you know if you’ve made a massive faux pas while helping you craft a roadmap to do damage control if necessary. Networking is crucial.

4. KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW, AND KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW

Take inventory and make an honest, realistic assessment of your skills and those required for where you’d like to go. Compare your current duties and those required of where you want to go. Look at your performance and your mentoring. Locate the holes, if any, and determine what you need to do to get where you want to be.

This is where relationships will come in handy as you can get honest feedback on your performance as well as the perception of your performance (very important – perception, after all, is reality) and help you chart a course for what you need if you don’t have it – training, a transition position, etc.

5. BUSY BOSSES WANT SOLUTIONS, NOT COMPLAINTS

This is where you gain insight into the thought processes of the next level. Our bosses are constantly balancing “managing up” to advance their careers while striving to enhance the profile of their department and justifying the validity of their expensive team (especially if you’re just overhead and generate no direct revenue). Keep in mind that they are doing all of this while keeping the team productive and relatively happy. I’m sure you can see why this leaves no room for whiners. If you have an issue, give it some thought before approaching your direct supervisor and come prepared with a solution to go with your dilemma. While they may assure you that they have an open door policy, they really only want to hear a solution that’s going to make them – and their domain – look good. This brings me to my next point.

6. ASK YOURSELF, "HOW CAN I MAKE MY BOSS LOOK GOOD?"

This is part of what’s meant by the “managing up” I mentioned earlier. I’ll admit this was a tough one for me to swallow (OK, still is) because it involves the delicate art of handholding, bs-ing, and doing much of the work but getting nominal credit. Just look at it as a necessary evil that is propelling you toward your ultimate objective.

7. COUNT THE COST
Realistically, we probably can’t successfully have it all, or at least not at the same time.
According to an article in the Winter 2003 Career issue of The Black MBA Magazine (www.blackmbamagazine.com), 66% of men with MBAs on Wall Street have families while only 55% of women with MBAs do. Similarly, when it comes to MBAs, fewer women than men get married and start families. Such statistics led article writer and renowned author and Professor Dr. Dennis Kimbro, to conclude, “Yes, women can scale the corporate ladder and aspire to the corner office, but their task is made even more arduous because of the roles they assume at home: wife and mother.” Dr. Kimbro goes on to say, “Regardless of the job title or duties and responsibilities, in our fast-paced, hectic society everybody – whether male or female – needs a wife.”

As disenchanted as I often am, working in the corporate world has taught me about true service. What in the world are you talking about, you may ask. Well, here’s the thing. As one of the highest ranking corporate sisters I’ve read noted, “My philosophy is it’s not about me.” If I truly strive for excellence and believe the Universe is always lookin’ and bookin’, I can give my best and trust God with the rest.

One key question I had to ask is, “What am I prepared to do?” Like it or not, Corporate America incurs all the risk and expense of running a business and employing me. I can either work within the confines of their rules or take the risk myself. This brings us back to the earlier proposition of self-employment.

Whatever you choose, remember there is a choice and it’s up to you. So as you plan your work and work your plan, at least you can’t say you didn’t know.