Leading in Black and White Working Across the Racial Divide in Corporate America

by Livers, Ancella; Caver, Keith

• ISBN13: 9780787957247
• ISBN10: 0787957240
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-10-31
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Many blacks in the workplace face a set of dynamics unique to being African American in a traditionally white, male-dominated world. In this landmark book, authors Ancella Livers and Keith Caver- co-facilitators of the Center for Creative Leadership's African-American Leadership Program for the past five years- explain how the leadership experience for blacks is radically different from the experiences of their white colleagues. These differences, of which most white managers are unaware, can lead to miscues and distortions in communication and ultimately get in the way of effective performance and optimal productivity for organizations. In "Leading in Black and White," the authors not only clearly explain how things go wrong, they also provide sensible solutions for both the white manager and the black manager on how to make them right.

Author Biography

Ancella B. Livers is a manager of Individual Leadership Development for the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). In this role, she manages and trains in several programs and designs and delivers custom programs for clients in public, private, and non-profit sectors. Livers, a former business journalist, is a certified executive coach and feedback specialist who has published and presented widely on the role of race in the workplace. Keith A. Caver is the director of Client and Assessment Services for CCL, where he is responsible for client-management and assessment processing activities. Caver is a core trainer for several CCL programs, delivers numerous client-specific programs, and is a presenter on leadership issues ranging from diversity to change management. He is a former U.S. Air Force officer and a certified executive coach and feedback specialist. The Center for Creative Leadership (CCLR) is an international, nonprofit educational institution whose mission is to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, CCL conducts research, produces publications and assessment tools, and offers a variety of educational programs. For the second consecutive time, CCL was ranked number one for Leadership in the Executive Education Special Report in BusinessWeek magazine and was ranked seventh overall among the top international providers of non-degree executive education programs in the 2002 Financial Times survey. For more information, visit CCL's Web site at www.ccl.org.

Table of Contents

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

The Authors.

Introduction.

Part One: A World of Difference for Black Managers.

1. The Assumption of Similarity.

2. Who Are We?

3. Looking Out for Each Other.

4. Navigating the Shoals of Race and Gender.

5. Working the Networks.

6. Growing and Grooming Leaders.

7. Understanding the Political Landscape.

Part Two: Coming Together.

8. Strategies for Black Managers.

9. What Colleagues Need to Know.

10. What Organizations Need to Know.

Appendix: Assessing Your Political Savvy.

References and Suggested Readings.

Index.

About the Center for Creative Leadership.