Sisters! Before You Jump Ship...

In the course of planning your next career move, there are some things you must consider.

In their executive summary, Women Want Five Things, for the Center for Talent Innovation, Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Melinda Marshall discovered that women want to do the following in their career:

• Flourish

• Excel

• Reach for meaning and purpose

• Empower others and be empowered

• Earn well

So it shouldn't come as any surprise that black women want those same things as I'd like to believe that this goes without saying; but there are three critical differences. Black women are:

1. Three times more likely than white women to aspire to a powerful position with a prestigious title (22% vs. 8%)

2. more confident that they can succeed in that leadership role (43% vs. 30%); and

3. 50% more likely than their Caucasian counterparts to rate earning well as important in their careers

However, wanting power and honing the requisite skills and qualifications still have not placed women of color in the executive suite as they are more likely than white women to report feeling 1) stalled in their careers (44% vs. 30%) and 2) that their talents are not recognized by their superiors (26% vs. 17%).

These numbers are grim to say the least, and I agree that our respective futures in Corporate America seem to be relegated to middle management except for the few "Black Unicorns" that are deemed worthy to enter C-suite. Before you throw up your hands in frustration or worse yet, quit your job, there are tools that can be useful in helping you navigate up the narrow path to up to the top. Like a billy goat climbing up a rocky hill, the path upwards can be fraught with potential dangers and missteps that one has to avoid in order to make it there safely.

In the series of blogs under the title called, Charting your Career Path in Corporate America, I plan on showcasing/discussing tools that will go a long way in helping women of color navigate the political minefield that is Corporate America. Some of these tools you may have used before, others may need to be used in a completely different way. Who knows. My only desire is that you take these tools and used them to your advantage. Invite friends to assist, advise, consult and keep you accountable as it does take a village...

One more thing...

Please note that these tools are for all who are interested in using them as I have no intention on being exclusionary, but my main purpose is to arm and equip women of color with tools that they would normally not have access to; give them a safe place to share experiences and learn from each other without fear and reprisals; to commune with a common sisterhood.

Now, that that's out of the way. One more thing...

Things to think about before charting your path.

• Do you know the difference between a job and a career?

• Are you looking to grow where you are or are you looking to leave your current job?

• What are you hoping to get out of leaving your current job?

• If you are not happy with your job, position, salary, manager, or colleagues; then what do you think it would it take to get you there?

These are some heady questions, I know, but you must ask yourself these questions nonetheless, or you will be jumping out of the frying pan and into another frying pan or worse, into the fire.

More to come.

Walk good.