Black Employees and the Hidden Metric Blocking Their Promotion

The Life of the Black Employee

MEEP! The loud staccato pitch pierces through the airwaves, waking Smith from his slumber. He rubs his eyes and glances at the clock, it’s 6AM, time to exchange his time for money. 

The dictatorship in which Smith offers his services mirrors the external society in which it resides. He works in a tiny cubicle far away from the powerful. He doesn’t have any authority but is instilled with the promise that one day he too will be one of the suits. In fact, the dictatorship espouses that “hard workers climb the ladder” and to this he subscribes. But the elevator he sees in his periphery says otherwise.

He pays it no mind, he tells himself that there is no way that there could be an elevator. It would simply be too unfair. So, Smith continuously works the ladder, proudly trading his time for money. He becomes so competent in his role that his Shift Chief allows him to become the Training Lead. Smith excels at this task and receives gift cards, trips, and days off but never a promotion.  

The Brush-Off

His frustration grows as his requests for promotion are met with lines such as:

“One day, just keep up the hard work”, 

“I don’t have the authority, but I would if I could”, 

“It’s not in the budget for this year”

“We can’t deserve to lose you”

While he continuously meets resistance when asking for promotion, others around him don’t. He now ponders on if he hit the glass ceiling.

The Wake Up Call

It’s a Thursday morning and news of Todd Wilkridge’s promotion to the 7^th floor is spreading across the halls. He will now be working for the Division Managers in a leadership and field advisory role. This is troubling news for Smith as Todd Wilkridge is his protege. In addition, the same Division Managers who were unable to promote him, are now able to promote someone who he coached to success. He wondered why he himself did not receive the promotion. 

But the glimpse of that elevator manifested itself and he began to feel conned, had, and lied to. He realizes the game he is playing is unfair. While he is climbing a ladder, others are taking an elevator. He begins asking himself, “why not me? I work just as hard as everyone else, what gives?” But that’s when he began to recognize the commonality in all the elevator patrons. The patrons of the elevator fit the racial caste system of the external society.

The Realization

He thought about his daily tasks in context of the operation, and it became clear. His work created the foundation in which the entire company sat. His team not only trained the patrons for the work required at the top, but it also kept the elevator functional. He felt tricked and in a fit of rage, Smith ran to his Shift Chief’s office for answers.  

SMITH: “You told me that if I worked hard, I would make it to the top. I bust my rear end, have outstanding performance evaluations and still, no promotion. You’re telling the Black Workers to climb the ladder while the White Workers get to take the elevator. 

SHIFT CHIEF ROBBINS: “Hey hey hey, I hear you buddy, I hear your concerns and empathize with you, but the elevator is a figment of your imagination. Everyone must work hard to succeed here Smith, in fact Divisional Chief Jamal Jenkins was just like you, he climbed the ladder and is now leading the Diversity Council. If you keep climbing the ladder, you too can be the next Jamal.”

Smith left the office puzzled, he knew Jamal had been working for the dictatorship for over 20 years, maybe Shift Chief Robbins was correct. Smith left the office that day deflated and confused, dreading the next time the alarm would sound.  

You Are Smith

You go to work every day; your work ethic is sound, your performance reviews are spectacular, but you are always bypassed for a promotion. What if there was an undocumented metric in your employee file that is known by everyone but never spoken of? 

What many Black employees do not realize is that their every word and action is being monitored in the work place. The White people in the office and the White “wannabes” monitor Black employees closely to determine their level of malleability. There are 4 major categories most Black people fall into:

Leadership is aware that individuals of Personas B and C will push against the status quo and so it is imperative that their progress is stopped. The more authority, budget, and visibility Persona B and C attain, the more impact they will have on the business. Now, you may be asking, how do they keep track? Well, every Black person in the office has a Corporate Credit Score that determines if, when, and how far they will ascend the rungs of the corporate ladder. 

You Are Being Vetted

When Susan asks, “What are your thoughts on Bernie Sanders?” it’s not a benign act. She is gauging how sympathetic you are to Whiteness. When you and other Black employees respond “I feel that my thoughts on Bernie Sanders would be in alignment with Malcolm X’s sentiments on Liberals” you are putting the equivalent of a foreclosure on your credit report. So now you’re asking…why not remain silent? Why not answer at all? That’s a problem as well.

When you refuse to give White people the ability to assign you a Corporate Credit Score you fall into Persona C. Black employee’s silence creates insecurity as White people’s biggest fear in Corporate America is having a Malcolm X close-to or controlling the levers of power. When White employees come across a silent Black person they understand there’s a 50/50 chance that the silent person can be Malcolm X, Larry Elder or someone in between.

If you are this person, you will be classified as a threat until they confirm otherwise. You will be inundated with all types of mundane questions, not because you’re interesting, but in hopes to assign you a Corporate Credit Score. When you refuse these “Requests for Information” you will become ostracized and marginalized. This will make it simpler to manage you out, fire you for lack of performance, or put you on the short list for Reduction in Forces.

Always Know Your Corporate Credit Score

So, when you are in a situation where your performance justifies an increased role, but the business is unwilling to provide it, you need to review your Corporate Credit Score. The goal here is not to promote coonery but rather to help you understand the game you are playing in Corporate America. Understanding the diabolic nature of the system can help bring clarity into why Black people need to collaborate and cooperate with one another. 

But in the meantime, we have created a Corporate Credit Score Simulator to help you determine where you stand in the office. 

What’s your Corporate Credit Score?