Diversity and attitude

RECENTLY, A number of black men of different professions and generations began sharing thoughts about younger professional black men in Boston who feel they have to alter characteristics of their culture and personalities in order to succeed in corporate environments. Many of us - a group of about 20 black lawyers, professors, and businessmen - have found other paths to success in largely white organizations.

The history of this country is marked by blacks who have achieved success because they are focused, disciplined, prepared, dedicated, and uniquely themselves. To suggest that black men should shrink from visibility or not advance new and bold ideas, simply to appease colleagues who may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with our presence and personas, is disabling to a black person in a mostly white workplace.

We acknowledge there are challenges unique to African-Americans throughout America's workplace - having to overcome presumptions about competence over and over before getting the choice assignments or promotion as quickly as colleagues. Conversely, there are blacks who continue to excel professionally without compromising identities, values or authenticity. Displaying the ingrained, positive aspects of our culture is an important part of contributing.

As black professionals, we bring our whole selves to work - recognizing that being true to ourselves allows us to thrive in spite of race-driven barriers. A person's potential and actual contribution can only be harnessed if people actually see what one brings to the workplace.

This is not demonstrated solely by showing up to work on time; it is also demonstrated by how you interact with your colleagues, how respectful you are of them, and your ability to work in a team. Toning down your voice may be less important than being perceived as someone who is respectful of a colleague's views. In fact, the successes of less-modulated personalities throughout the business world have made the general public more accepting of different personas and approaches that are not limited by constrictive, established norms. More important, if a black man mutes his persona in order to avoid being assertive, he may miss leadership opportunities.

Many black men have experienced the isolation that comes from working in organizations where there are few people who look like us. The most hospitable organizations recognize that they have to embrace people with approaches, styles, and cultures beyond the norm because they add to the array of learning and problem-solving styles that can be leveraged by the company. Without this intent-driven approach, minorities are often marginalized. To combat this problem, adept companies have adopted mentoring and modeling programs.

Mentoring can be provided by a person who has traveled the same road as the employee. Through a virtual "mind-meld" the mentor can help the person identify strategies for success. It is a hands-on approach that requires a mutual relationship. Mentoring does not need to be nurtured by someone of the same race, ethnicity or gender, although it does have its benefits. The most critical aspect of mentoring is having someone who takes an active interest in the employee's success.

Modeling is done from a distance. Many studies show that minorities and women feel less isolated and do better in the early stages of their careers when they see that others from their group have succeeded in the same organization.

A company's ability to foster a workplace that values people of different heritages is reflective of its competencies to understand how traditional perceptions of race and ethnicity influence decisions about who receives opportunity. Ignoring the unconscious influences of these perceptions makes it likely that less visible hindrances - self-identification, stereotyping, and judging people by "traditional" indicators of success - will diminish the chances of nontraditional candidates to be considered for meaningful opportunities. Great leaders understand that these differences, when harnessed, create a total of greater magnitude than any of the individual parts.

Some of the world's most visible companies are led by African-Americans. Dick Parsons of Time Warner and Ken Chenault of American Express have been praised for steering their companies through difficult times, and each has proven that a black man can lead a company forward while never forgetting - or veiling - where he came from. As successful CEOs, they have not been any "less black" and neither should any other black male seeking to be successful.

Ralph C. Martin II is chairman of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and a partner at Bingham McCutchen. Damian Wilmot is an associate at Goodwin Procter.