guide to getting hired, being promoted, and thriving professionally for themillion people of color in the workplacefrom the CEO and cofounder of Jopwell, the leading career advancement platform for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals.
Let Them See You is a collection of Braswell's straighttalking advice and mentorship for diverse careerists, from college students to midlevel professionals, It's also an invitation for diversity champions to listen in on the guidance and perspective Braswell provides, particularly for young diverse workersthe population that will make up the majority of the US workforce by.
In Let Them See You, Braswell briefly chronicles how the majorityculture workplace evolved and why it's a business imperative to have a more diverse workforce, and then explains how you can:
overcome notsoinvisible obstacles
create perceived value
get recognition
be true to yourself at work
build a personal brand
harness fear of failure
embrace uncomfortable conversations, and
drive diversity and inclusion, whether you're entrylevel or in management
In essence, Braswell delivers all the context, tactics, and language you need to let them see you.
Life changing. Please note that my reviews aren't really review, they are more like my cliff notes that I take while reading books,
Diversity it's not about lawsuits and being pc, it's about better financial performance
POC People of Color
In the next dozen years POC, will be the majority.
Now's the time to attract them as both employees and consumers,
In the early years, all diversity training focused on compliance and people either were upset about forced integration at the possible cost of performance or got just a cursory overview in order for companies to be deemed compliant.
Today, millennials consider culture, inclusion, and diversity important when choosing where to work and where to spend their dollars,
There's aincrease in revenue for each POC added to the CSuite
Stay focused, Change won't come quickly or easily, There will be bumps along the way
The values that helped propel Earvin Magic Johnson into the HOF are applicable in the business world, too: discipline, hard work, adaptability, confidence, competitiveness, and teamwork.
Understanding and exceeding expectations:
What's my job
Why does my role exist
How does my manager judge me this is key
Where can I add value beyond my daytoday responsibilities
Build a successful relationship with your manager:
Open and frequent communication talk about wins and challenges you're meeting.
Ask for help
Accountability do what you say and own up to mistakes,
Visible Investment join cross functional teams, attend group events, etc,
Mutual Trust
Collaborate and Solicit Feedback accept it openly, don't be defensive, Act on it.
Don't assume that a POC is going to speak for all people of their race,
Create a personal brand and be aware that you need to be consistent at home and work,
This goes hand in hand with defining your core values and letting them guide you,
Become and remain your authentic self, If you "tone it down at work" you are not being your true self and in turn your company won't get your best work, Your unique thoughts, feelings, and experiences are what make you who you are and help provide a different and important perspective,
Often, the majority doesn't understand or share your perspective, This again is an opportunity for both of you to learn and grow
Beware of explicit and implicit bias
implicit bias assumptions we make based on stereotypes and may not even be aware of it ex: assuming they like basketball or spicy food
explicit is when you knowingly have bias.
This book got into my hands by accident and OMG what an absolute treat, Wish I came across of it when I started my professional journey,
Notes:
. have catch up messages with your manager: Meeting with a maneuver frequent communicationhrs:, A Win last week. Problem and accoutre your experiences, how you solved it,. A challenge you need a guidance on,. Request a feedback from your manager on your performance,. Sent email recapturing discussion
, Building accountability: on projects: Ask yourself how long will it take to complete the project in the context of other work, Do you know where to get the information I need to complete this task, do I know where to get this information to compete this task Whole to ask How sure am I that they will get back on time
.
Show investing in the team by communicating with team members, getting involve into projects, watch you default mode by clocking out not talking engaging having headphones, Balance focus of your own work and the team,
. Identify who can guide you in your career talk about your background, how you like working there elevator speech calendar meeting, Lessons he learned: Be present, listen, Be humble value of empathy, Be honest what you need to hear not what you want to hear, Find a right mentor develop and advocate on your behalf, collaborate on the projects, Define first what do you want to get out of the relationship where you want to be inyears, build relationship with people who already there, Have clear objectives will help elevator speech, who you are, where you want to go, why they are suited, tell them you are aware about their schedule
, Make a performance plan:
Identify what you would like to achieve this year eg raise, Chang a role, promotion, This objective has to be beneficial for you and organisation in measurable way,
Determine the steps to make this objectives to be more of the reality and what small objectives you need to have to achieve this, Eg if you want a promotion what do you need to do,
Create a short list of tasks you need in order to perform, Eg learning new skill. Real progress. Set deadlines, keep it realistic, Long term goal should be achievable within small stepsstep rule Smart goal, what is my long term goal how does this help me as a professional how does this add value to my employer what short term goals I need to accomplish to make this happen What will I do to make my long goal happen in the short goal concept What will be my due date.
Measure progress every week. Keep yourself accountable. Share a plan with a manger, what are the most reassuring way to achieve it
, Highlight achievements early and often !!!! Be recognized !
be prepare the work you done, for coercive you gain, value you done
Keep the record of what you do any special training, other education especially outside working hours, expertise seek from other teams, stayed working lategt Process, skills developed, value added
.
Validate first
Does my work merit recognition
, Query feedback. Keep a track what you do, how it ads value to the organisation,
. Stay true to authentic self:, First know what that is for you, use Mayers test for example to help you identify key personality/characteristics that you want for people to associate with your brand.
Build you brand. Be mindful, work on developing self validation e, g. be mindful and present, if something annoys you ask yourself why does this make make feel this way about my work,. Stay true to yourself. Ask yourself: "WHY self judgment holds you back, from being who you are at work Set professional boundaries: sharing about hobbies, engaging at the events outside work, capable of being vulnerable, uncomfortable giving feedback, can receive constructive feedback, willing to work weekends to meet the companies goals.
Ask why you don't share those
, How to talk about politics in work Know what is acceptable or not Use Socratic method seeking to understand than to argue, Learn what is true and what is not, Why do you think I asked this question
, "implicit bias"
. "Be the lead for changetake initiative be aware of implicit bias you will be noticed and observed in the office use to your advantage volunteer on projects and extra curriculums when you are being discriminated for your differences address appropriately"
.
"Where can you add value outside your daily routine by truly understand the needs of your business, And how over driver without sacrificing performance Bring it with your manager like to be make sure that my work has a maximum impact on the business overall goal, what I can do in addition to my responsibilities" My interested was piqued by the title and the cover on how one could leverage diversity at work.
And as it now Black History Month in the US, it seemed fitting to begin the month with a book by author Braswell, who is the CEO of Jopwell, an organization dedicated to helping Black, Latinx and Native students and professionals.
I was curious to see what he had to say,
Unfortunately the book wasn't really what I was looking for, I had been hoping for more unique insights but a lot of what he talks about are familiar tips creating a personal brand, understanding some of the dynamics that are in play, finding a mentor, etc.
. I had read many career development books right after college and so it just didn't seem like there was much that was a revelation,
Granted, there were some tips that were helpful, such as understanding what factors might be playing if you're not being recognized at work despite the good and hard work you're doing.
But overall a lot of it seemed really familiar and some I wasn't sure about: for example, the author discusses how you shouldn't talk about politics at work, But what "politics" is can differ from person to person and the advice is to not make a fuss,
It's understandable advice but also ignores there are situations where discussing politics is necessary in places like government jobs or political campaigns, And that this doesn't cover what to do if what's being said is genuinely harmful towards the listener or another party, I do understand where and why the author wrote this, but I am really not sure if I agree and that this is something that can't really be put down in a book.
It seems like that's going against the title or only letting people "see" you in a way that makes them comfortable, I wouldn't advocate for going out and talking about super controversial or uncomfortable topics or engaging on them at work but this section gave me pause,
It might be a good book for someone entering the workforce or someone who's been away for awhile, but overall I don't think
I'd recommend this one unless there's something specific a reader seeks.
Porter Braswell is the CEO and co founder of Jopwell, a technology platform that helps Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals unlock opportunities for career advancement, Under Porters leadership, Jopwell has formed partnerships with thanof Americas leading companies and has facilitated tens of thousands of connections between the Jopwell community members and its clients.
Inalone, the company was recognized as Entrepreneur MagazinesMost Brilliant Ideas, Fast Companys Worlds Most Innovative Companies, and Business Insiders One of The Hottest NYC Companies to Watch.
Porters professional awards and recognitions include LinkedInsNext Wave, Top Professionals Under, Inc, Magazine Porter Braswell is the CEO and co founder of Jopwell, a technology platform that helps Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals unlock opportunities for career advancement.
Under Porters leadership, Jopwell has formed partnerships with thanof Americas leading companies and has facilitated tens of thousands of connections between the Jopwell community members and its clients.
Inalone, the company was recognized as Entrepreneur Magazine's "Most Brilliant Ideas," Fast Company's "World's Most Innovative Companies," and Business Insider's "One of The Hottest NYC Companies to Watch.
"Porter's professional awards and recognitions include LinkedIn's"Next Wave, Top Professionals Under," Inc, Magazine's"Under," Fast Company's"Most Creative People In Business," Crain's"Under," Vanity Fair's"Future Innovators Index," and most recently Adweek's"Young Influentials, "Porter regularly speaks about the importance of diversity in the workforce and has been featured in numerous publications and articles discussing the topic, sitelink.