Are Black Bosses and Their Employees at Odds?
Self-Oppression
On the other hand, his doubt may well be traced to what Mary B. McRae, associate professor of applied psychology at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, calls “internalized oppression”—the internalization of negative aspects of yourself and other black people.
As she explains it: “You have a sense of self-hate or hate for the group that you are part of and what they represent in society. The (widespread public) lesson has been that black folk are not smart, they’re not capable, and you sort of internalize that. The person does not appreciate his own group, and has a higher appreciation for whites. He idolizes what whites do and demonizes what blacks do.”
This applies not only to how black bosses evaluate the skills of subordinates, but also to how black subordinates rate the skills of black managers. Some black subordinates might view black managers’ abilities as not being on par with their white counterparts’, possibly providing rationale for refusing to do black managers’ bidding. R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., president and CEO of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, thinks most black-on-black disrespect is attributable to workplace tension.
“This is not just a black-on-black phenomenon,” he said. “I suspect it manifests itself among groups that have been disadvantaged or disenfranchised in the work force. For example, it’s not uncommon to hear of women bosses having a difficult time with women employees. I think it’s the same dynamic.”
Dr. Thomas, who has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the nation’s top business consultants, added: “You’d be surprised at the tension among black bosses and black subordinates. I’ve heard black employees complain that sometimes your most difficult manager can be a black person, and how they found it surprising that that was the case because they were expecting to get more consideration and more understanding from a black manager.”
Still Playing The Race Card?
In most mainstream organizations, African Americans are expected to leave racial concerns “at the door,” especially as they ascend the corporate structure. “In one setting, an individual went up the ladder and then he tried to champion black employees, and one of his white peers said to him, ‘I thought you had moved beyond that.’ So once he got up to a certain level, it was expected that he would not be playing the race card,” said Dr. Thomas.
This whole area, which has not been well-researched, usually is off-limits as a topic of discussion in mixed-race settings. “Some people say it’s like airing dirty laundry,” he said.
In his opinion, black managers can easily get trapped in a vice, facing problems that can emanate from any level in the corporate hierarchy. “The African-American boss can find him or herself caught between two forces. The people above him and alongside tend to have certain expectations, and those expectations can clash. And when they do clash, that’s when that person in the middle can really feel some pain. I think it’s common for all bosses. I think this phenomenon is more important when you have an increase in the number of black executives in white organizations more so than black organizations. (Black organizations) can have great tension, but typically it’s not because the boss has escaped ‘the plantation.’ It’s more that they’re just different. … And we tend to not keep in mind the differences that can exist beside race. … The more free we become, the more comfortable we will be to express our differences.”
The CEO of a media company, who also wishes to remain anonymous, said: “If black workers aren’t going to respect their black bosses, then who will—certainly not white workers or executives? And that’s a prescription for failure, whether the company is white-run or black-owned and -operated. We’re not asking for anything extraordinary here. At the end of the day, all we want is the same thing many white managers are already getting—a little respect.”
