Leading People Who Aren’t Like You
You’ve recently gotten the promotion you’ve longed for, worked for, and know
you deserve. The job of managing the New England district offi ce of Allyn &
Freeson Investments required relocating, but your family enthusiastically made
the move. Your children seem to be adjusting well to their new school and your
wife likes her job at the local bank. If only things were as smooth at Allyn &
Freeson. The all-white staff seems to be throwing up roadblocks in every direction.
Nobody seems to even talk to you unless they’re asked a direct question or
forced to make a response to your greeting of “Good morning.” Traveling to the
branch offi ces isn’t much better, and many of the local managers have inexplicably
stopped sending in their weekly reports. You knew being the fi rst African-
American district manager in the area was going to be a bit of a challenge, but
the sense of isolation you feel is more powerful than you anticipated. Even in the
branch offi ces, you’ve met only two other African-Americans, and they’re in
low-level clerical positions. “Even Noah’s ark had two animals that were exactly
alike,” you moan to your wife over dinner one evening