“I’m humbled to take the baton as CEO of McDonald’s,” Thompson said in a statement. “Our management team is strong and will remain focused on the Plan To Win and our three global priorities—optimizing the menu, modernizing the customer experience and broadening our accessibility to even more customers.”

In making the selection, McDonald’s Chairman Andy McKenna maintained that Thompson, 48, represents the transformative figure needed to advance the $24 billion fast food giant in a rapidly-evolving, ultra-competitive environment. McKenna said in a statement: “As we look to the future, the board has every confidence that Don’s strategic leadership and global business insight make him the ideal CEO.”  McKenna further stated that Thompson’s performance in the current role as President and COO of McDonald’s USA, a post in which he directs global strategy and operations for more than 33,000 McDonald’s restaurants in 119 countries, “speak to his qualifications to further drive the company’s momentum.”

Since being named BLACK ENTERPRISE Corporate Executive of the Year in 2007, he has gained high marks for bringing the sizzle back to McDonald’s. The 22-year veteran has been one of the driving forces behind the company’s recipe for growth: the corporate “Plan To Win” through initiatives that included the allocation of $2.4 billion to modernize 2,000 restaurants and construct another 1,000 as well as the creation of new menu offerings like oatmeal, smoothies, and frappes to broaden the customer base worldwide.  As a result, the company has eaten the competition’s lunch and taken a huge bite of market share over the past few years not only in the U.S. but in Europe, Asia/Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

“One of the reasons we’re doing well is our growth beyond our traditional industry with new food items and beverages like McCafé Coffees, Frappés, and Real Fruit Smoothies; extended hours; as well as a renewed focus on our classic menu favorites and breakfast. We’ve reached outside of the traditional quick service industry to serve customers new and different products with the service, speed, and convenience they expect from McDonald’s,” Thompson, a Chicago native and electrical engineer by training, told BLACK ENTERPRISE in an exclusive interview last year. “We’re working hard to stay aligned around our business priorities in every market. A challenge we face is to not become complacent with the positive results we’re achieving. We continue to set aspirational targets for our markets.”

Despite McDonald’s February sales missed analysts’ targets due to Europe’s battered economy and the continent’s brutal winter, investors have been loving the stock: Share prices have risen nearly 30% in the past year.

The ascension of Thompson, considered a frontrunner for the CEO slot since his promotion two years ago, comes at a time when there has been an increased focus on boardroom and senior leadership inclusion by organizations such as the Executive Leadership Council, a network of more than 400 of the most powerful African American senior executives.

“The Executive Leadership Council congratulates Don Thompson on his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s,” says Arnold Donald, ELC’s president and CEO. “Don has been an ELC member since 2007 and in 2010 we awarded him our Achievement Award for his high level of success in corporate America and his influence on one of the world’s most recognizable brands. Don’s appointment represents another step towards increasing representation of African Americans in senior executive positions.”

Thompson’s appointment comes weeks after another corporate milestone: the promotion of Rosalind G. Brewer,  the former executive vice president and president of Walmart East, to President and CEO of Sam’s Club.

As the leader of McDonald’s, Thompson will continue the commitment to inclusion of a company that has been among BLACK ENTERPRISE‘s 40 Best Companies for Diversity. He has maintained that “we would not be where we are today without having the mix of people, ideas, backgrounds and ethnicities that we have in the organization.”

Thompson is fully expected to drive McDonald’s growth through his continued attention to talent development, customer service and innovation, whether its identifying diverse employees or developing new products.  “R&D happens every day at McDonald’s,” Thompson told BE. “Innovation takes place in all forms whether its human resources development, operating systems development, supply chain efficiency or those things customers see in a restaurant.”

Rosalind Brewer (Photo: File)

Rosalind G. Brewer has been named Sam’s Club new president and CEO, making her the first woman and the first African American to hold a CEO position at one of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s business units. The announcement was made Friday along with a slew of executive changes at the nation’s largest retailer.

Brewer, 49, was most recently president of Wal-Mart’s U.S. east business unit and was responsible for more than $100 billion in annual revenue, representing almost 1,600 stores and more than 500,000 associates. Brewer was also the first chairperson of the Wal-Mart President’s Council of Global Women Leaders. In 2010, she was named to Black Enterprise’s “75 Most Powerful Women In Business” list.

Brewer’s appointment is a boost to the number of African Americans in the C-suite. “Rosalind is a proven executive who sets a high standard among her peers and colleagues,” says Arnold W. Donald, president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council and Executive Leadership Foundation. Her appointment marks a significant step toward the ELC’s aspiration of a net increase in the number of African Americans within two levels of Fortune 500 CEOs, Donald notes. “Diversity of thinking needed at the top of America’s corporations is partially fueled by the diversity that African Americans bring at the highest level of Corporate America.”

Brewer succeeds Brian Cornell, 52, who has served as President and CEO since April 2009 and has departed for family reasons. Cornell led growth at the warehouse retail chain including the launch of new private-label goods and expansion of the food department. Industry insiders say Brewer will be challenged with continuing that growth.

In her new role, effective Feb. 1, Brewer will report to Wal-Mart president and CEO Mike Duke. “Roz came to us with an outstanding background in consumer packaged goods more than five years ago,” says Duke. “During that time, I have seen her develop into a talented merchant and retailer. She has strong strategic, analytical and operational skills and has successfully managed a large and complex business. I’ve also been struck by Roz’s servant leadership when I have visited stores with her,” he continues. “She always lets her team do the talking, with her focus being on how to better support their needs.”

Prior to joining Wal-Mart, Brewer worked for Kimberly-Clark Corp., advancing through various positions before becoming president of a key business sector in 2004. She joined Wal-Mart in 2006 as regional vice president overseeing operations in Georgia. She holds a board director seat at Lockheed Martin and serves as chair of the Board of Trustees at her alma mater, Spelman College.

Sam’s Club, with 610 stores and $49 billion in fiscal 2011 sales, is a smaller business than the Walmart division Brewer previously ran. Sam’s Club business has outperformed its namesake stores, and its same-store sales gained 5.7% in the quarter ending October, compared with a 1.3 percent increase for Walmart locations.

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Blair Taylor, president & CEO of  the Los Angeles Urban League, spoke before an audience of roughly 300 business, government, non-profit and academic leaders, sharing his thoughts on building blocks for tomorrow’s workforce. He told them about taking a delegation of students from Crenshaw High School to China to observe commerce and culture within the superpower.  While in Beijing, the group visited one of the country’s top-ranked high schools, gaining an up-close view of its advanced level of instruction and dedication to academic excellence.

After the group completed the tour, Taylor said one Crenshaw student asserted: “We can do what they do. We just have to work harder.”

That message, one of continuous skills upgrading fused with unyielding persistence, was delivered by participants of our 20/20 Vision Forum: Job Creation and Career Opportunities in the Next Economy, one of a series of such events presented by BLACK ENTERPRISE in partnership with Walmart.  The LA event, like one held in Washington, DC in early 2010 and another in New York this past June, was designed to bring together the best minds to conjure up constructive options to put a dent in short-term unemployment and propel long-term career advancement for African Americans.

Of course, African Americans have suffered the hardest blows in this economy. The Black unemployment rate continues to hover around 16%, twice the rate of Whites. And we continue to witness a government solution to the jobs crisis paralyzed by political gridlock. As President Obama continues to push the American Jobs Act—first as an expansive $447 billion package and then as the first $35 billion “bite-sized” piece to employ teachers and first responders—has been blocked by Senate Republicans. Now, the President is planning to use executive action to move his program forward because “we can’t wait.”

Keynote Speaker Tavis Smiley says that as individuals seek the path to employment and entrepreneurship to “define their mission.” He, however, took the opportunity to challenge the President on his vigilance to solve the jobs crisis.

Alicia Villarreal, Regional Representative for Labor Secretary Hilda Solis who provided the market outlook, says the president has “drawn a line in the sand”regarding the jobs act. Also, she says the Labor Department has a number of initiatives to expand opportunities including “one-stop career”operations like the Compton Worksource Center which can screen applicants and “serve as employment agencies for companies.”

Others seek remedies to not only address Black unemployment but expand ranks of high-ranking officials. For example, BET founder Robert Johnson, who owns three BE 100s companies, recently proposed what he calls the “RLJ Rule,” calling for the 1,000 largest publicly traded companies to voluntarily consider a more diverse pool of qualified candidates when filling top-level job vacancies and contracting suppliers. His proposal is similar to the NFL’s “Rooney Rule,” a 2003 directive mandating pro teams to consider minority candidates for senior positions.

Tavis Smiley adds his thoughts to the discussion

To fill the power pipeline, Arnold Donald, president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, the pre-eminent organization of top-ranking African American corporate managers,  announced last week a call to action for corporate America  to increase the ranks of African Americans CEOs or C-Suiters by 500 and collective number of Black board members by 200 within the next five years.

Our event offered urgency for employment and advancement of large number of African American managers as well as rank-and-file. When it comes to near-term job creation, long-term career reinvention or development of the next generation of talent, our forum participants revealed three critical drivers: the competitive impact of globalization, application and connectivity of information technology, and entrepreneurial development. These issues become more pressing in an environment with an increasingly high VUCA rating—“volatility, unpredictability, complexity and ambiguity”—a concept framed in That Used To Be Us, the recently-released book authored by columnist Thomas L. Friedman and international affairs expert Michael Mandelbaum.  Despite such uncertainty, Johann Schleier-Smith, co-founder of Tagged, a social discovery site with more than 100 million users worldwide, says “there’s a huge risk for not doing anything.”

Click here to continue reading on page 2…

Hajj Flemings breaks down the difference between a brand and commodity

One panelist Bishop Noel Jones, senior pastor of City of Refuge and the force behind the public-private partnership United Job Creation Council in Los Angeles, maintains the first step is “to be global in our thinking because technology has shrunk our world.”  So he stresses training an emerging and existing workforce with a focus on competition that is no longer national but global.  For quite some time, contenders have not been contained to California, New York or Illinois but can be found in China, India, Brazil and other parts of the world—across a range of industries.

In fact, Taylor’s assessment was more frank: “African Americans are the only group in this country with no connection to the global economy,” citing as one example the stronger ties the Chinese government and businesses have with Africa.

That’s why it’s important, Taylor says, to learn languages such as Spanish and Mandarin to expand your portfolio of opportunities. To make his case, he offered the example of a bilingual American broadcast journalist who was able to find employment in China as a news anchor.

Identifying hot spots like IT, mobile services, healthcare, green jobs, genetics and elderly services can prove to be a smart move. In most cases, you need the right skills demanding “years and years of preparation,” says Curtis Silvers, area director of the Southern California region of UNCF. Large numbers of mid-career workers can gain retraining to become employable in such fields. But Silvers, along with Jones and Taylor, believe the next generation will gain the best shot at being positioned to advance and innovate within such occupations—that is, if they gain sufficient education in K-12 and at the collegiate level.

Always use new technology to your advantage though.  Social media strategist Hajj Flemings demonstrated how to bolster your personal brand to remain relevant in his comprehensive tutorial on how to use social media and online tools.  He maintains that inviduals must develop a personal branding map, a visual representation of your relationships and “how you are wired positions you for greater impact in the space you desire to dominate. ” How do you achieve this goal? Create an idea, develop quality content, follow a detailed strategy and pursue it with passion. Says Flemings: “You should own your genius.”

Black Enterprise CEO Earl "Butch" Graves, Jr. (second from left) poses with a few of the day's panelists

Another key to job creation and advancement: entrepreneurship, of course. Panelist Magnus Greaves, founder and CEO of TheCASHFLOW and advisory board member of 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, described his model to foster business development. Greaves’ incubator includes selection of winners of his business pitch competition who receive $10,000 in capital and mentorship to boot.  BLACK ENTERPRISE has partnered with Greaves’ organization in producing the Elevator Pitch Competition at our annual Entrepreneurs Conference.

Greaves says one size doesn’t fit all: different types of entrepreneurs need different skills. However, all must have passion, dexterity and guidance to create sustainable enterprises: “Entrepreneurs must develop skills and platforms to pass on to other entrepreneurs.”

To achieve that end, Schleier-Smith advises budding entrepreneurs to take an “honest assessment of their skills and to set yourself up with a great mentor.” He speaks from experience: Schleier-Smith’s was counseled by one of the co-founders of LinkedIn.

Timothy A. Reese, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of the Minority Angel Network, has identified crucial steps: Attend business forums to discover how financiers make investment decisions and “learn the difference between equity and a paycheck.”

Don’t fret about setbacks. Our panelists admitted that they found the path to success through failure. Says Reese: “I was fired once and that was all it took for me to become my own change agent.”

Professionals come together to get real about the job market (Image: Thinkstock)

It’s no secret that an overwhelming number of African Americans continue to be tested by today’s job market like never before. Whether your collar is white or blue, far too many of us have been unable to gain employment or forced into underemployment. Those fortunate to clock in each day have fully dismissed the notion of job security.

Face it, we can no longer spend our time complaining about the challenges of  an unwelcoming labor market, especially when the Black unemployment rate has risen to 16.2% versus 8% for Whites. National Action Network President and White House adviser Rev. Al Sharpton aptly characterized such an approach as being “therapy not strategy. We must discover the will to win rather than just assess the problems.”

That’s exactly what BLACK ENTERPRISE, in partnership with Walmart—the nation’s largest corporation, decided to do when we convened our event—”20/20 Vision Forum: Job Creation and Career Opportunities in the Next Economy” this week. In his opening remarks, BLACK ENTERPRISE CEO Earl “Butch” Graves, Jr., told the standing-room-only crowd at the W Hotel in downtown Manhattan: “We brought together some of the most brilliant minds in business, government, non-profit sector and academia to share strategies for job creation; identify emerging sectors and workforce readiness programs for entry-level employees to mid-career professionals; and reveal fresh models of business innovation that will spur the development of the next wave of job-producing machines.” And Walmart’s Vice president & Northeast Regional General Manager Paul Busby described this groundbreaking gathering as nothing less than a “revival.”

In addition to keynote speaker Sharpton, other participants included Arnold Donald, president & CEO of the Executive Leadership Council and former CEO of Merisant, maker of Equal tabletop sweeteners; Kelly Beaty, vice president of marketing and communications for Dress for Success Worldwide, a workforce development organization; Tony Valentine, CEO of Valentine Manufacturing LLC (No. 96 on the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE COMPANIES list with $21 million in revenues); Wendy Ramadar, director of employment for the New York Urban League; and social media guru James Andrews. Dr. William Spriggs, assistant secretary for policy for the US Labor Department, was on hand to provide our labor market outlook citing, among other trends, that Black unemployment had been rising for 10 straight months before Obama took office. The others pulled no punches as they shared strategies to create our own individual and collective employment prospects as well as reinvent careers in an ultra-competitive, technology-charged environment. To quote Beaty, who once served as a contestant on the reality TV show The Apprentice: “Even in chaos, there are opportunities.”

Click here to see the 7 strategies that get the job done and to watch my video clip from the job fair.

(Image: Thinkstock)

1. Embrace and ma ster change. Rethink your approach to work and step up your game. Training is essential to develop the tech and project management skills needed to stay current in the job market or transition into a new industry. Social media maven Anderson maintains more companies require recruits to have capabilities such as the ability to manage online communities. According to NYUL’s Ramadar, job seekers, especially mid-career professionals, will be forced to go back to school to gain new credentials. She says: “Isn’t  three months in class getting a new certification better than six months of unemployment?”

2. Critically evaluate yourself. Asserts ELC’s Donald: “Knowing yourself is the most powerful thing you can do in your job search. No. 2 is knowing how others view you.” To full identify such strengths and weaknesses, conduct a 360-degree assessment in which you get a range of people you have worked with—managers, peers and those who reported to you—to weigh in. Moreover, he stresses job seekers to “not talk about what you did, talk about what you’ve accomplished.” Chris Lennon, SVP and Managing Director of Executive Search Practice for head hunter The Marquin Group adds that you should not “neglect any piece of your PIE,”  an acronym that stands for performance (what you do); image (what people think you do); and exposure (how many people know what you do). “Black people concentrate too much on the P and not enough on the I and E.”

3. Increase your exposure through social media. Our experts say plugging your resume into online job sites is outmoded these days. Employers now use social media to spot new hires. Panelist Deon Barber, president of the enterprise staffing unit of The Bartech Group (No. 21 on the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE COMPANIES list with $190 million in revenues), says acquire at least 250 connections to gain the exposure that would lead to opportunities. Anderson advises employing such tools as Google Alerts to manage your reputation and Twitter to build relationships. Rule of thumb: 20% of your tweets should focus on you and the other 80% on information that’s useful to others.

4. Compete on a global scale. Ronald Mitchell, CEO of career development firm CareerCore Inc. bluntly states you have no choice. As companies, large and small, continue to outsource services to save costs and maximize profits, American workers must work harder to make themselves attractive prospects. Engage in comprehensive research of prospective employers to develop your value proposition to that organization. “Black people are no longer competing against White people for jobs,” he says. “We’re competing against China and India. Adopt a global perspective and take responsibility for your career development.”

5. Become a free agent. One subject debated throughout the forum was whether you should buy a job as a business-building entrepreneur or a self-employed consultant. Valentine says decide whether it’s best for you to “pursue entrepreneurship or retool your career. It depends on your DNA. Focus on pursuing your passion.” Mitchell takes a different view. Launching a full-fledged enterprise may be too painstaking for the uninitiated. You can find temp assignments quicker by applying your skills through  self-employment instead. Ramadar adds that self-employment can fill in gaps on your resume as well.

6. Find sweet spots in growth industries. Due to new federal government regulations, industries like healthcare and finance offer a myriad of opportunities. But Barber admits you have to “go granular” to identify niches in  hot sectors. For instance, the high-demand jobs in IT include cloud computing, enterprise architecture, business intelligence, IT security and network architecture. Be aware that a sweet spot today may be a dead end tomorrow.

7. Volunteer for that new job. Beaty first met Dress for Success CEO Joi Gordon in 2010 at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference. Impressed by the organization’s mission, she landed her VP job after enthusiastically working as an unpaid volunteer and demonstrating her skills sets and management prowess. “Find your gift and figure out how to offer it in service to the world,” she says. “Stop saying you won’t work for free. It’s better than sitting at home for free.”

ELC president & CEO Arnold Donald plans to increase the number of African Americans in the C-suite.

With the mission of expanding black corporate leadership across the globe, the Executive Leadership Council, a network of the nation’s most powerful African American executives, announced the changing of the guard at its Annual Recognition Gala last night. At the hot-ticket event that attracts a Who’s Who of business leaders, the group selected corporate veteran Arnold Donald its new president and CEO.

ELC Chair Jessica Isaacs said, “We have found the best individual possible – one who can embrace our traditions as we seek to have an impact on global leadership. “  In making the announcement, she ticked off Donald’s numerous accomplishments, which included his most recent role as CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the world’s largest charity funding such activities; Chairman of Merisant Company, manufacturer of food product sweeteners; and a senior executive at Monsanto, the mammoth agricultural biotech company. In fact, during his tenure at Merisant, he was named the 1997 BLACK ENTERPRISE Corporate Executive of the Year.

Donald, who will assume the position on Nov. 1, says ELC will seek to demonstrate that “the power inclusion in the C-suite can result in advancing major corporations and growth of increasing shareholder value.”  Although he did not offer details on his new management thrust, Donald maintained his commitment to key planks of ELC’s agenda: global expansion of black senior management ranks; preparation of African Americans executives for corporate board positions; networking and professional development; and programs that will impact African American communities.

At the event, the organization also presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Reatha Clark King, former president and chair of the General Mills Foundation and a member of Black Enterprise’s Registry of Corporate Directors. ELC’s achievement honor went to Don Thompson, president & COO of McDonald’s and the 2007 Black Enterprise Corporate Executive of the Year; and the Corporate Award was given to McDonald’s for its diversity efforts. As part of its new “community impact initiative,” ELC also raised $500,000 for the LEAD (Leadership, Education and Development) program, which places black high school students on professional and business tracks.

Kevin M. Warren

Xerox Corp. named Kevin M. Warren president of its U.S. Solutions Group Wednesday, succeeding Doug Lord, who is retiring after 34 years with the company.

Warren, who was named one of Black Enterprise’s “100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America” in 2009, had served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Xerox Canada since 2007. He will now move to the U.S. to lead the technology company’s direct sales force that markets and sells Xerox systems and services across the country. Warren will report to Russell Peacock, president, Xerox North America. The appointment is effective July 1.

Prior to his position with Xerox Canada, Warren led the transition team for Xerox’s 2007 acquisition of Global Imaging Systems and had been head of Xerox’s U.S. eastern sales operations. Warren began his Xerox career in 1984 as a sales trainee in Washington D.C.

Warren, 47,  is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and earned a bachelor of science degree in finance from Georgetown University. He is an advisory board member of the first international chapter of the National Black MBA Association, and sits on the national board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. He also is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and the Young Presidents’ Organization, and is a board member of the Conference Board of Canada.

ELC members at the summit. (Source: Kerry-Ann Hamilton)

Intellectually, everyone understands the importance of change, but when it’s time to happen people want to take it personally, said Kim Goodman, president, Merchant Services Americas at this week’s Executive Leadership Council’s panel, Black Women on Change, an inaugural series and part of their annual Black Women’s Leadership Summit, this year held in Washington, D.C.

Goodman was one of several ELC members who encouraged women to fully not just embrace the concept of change, but work toward executable goals that will help define them as leaders in their organizations.

In a session moderated by Evern Cooper Epps, retired president of the UPS Foundation and vice president of UPS corporate relations, these female execs talked candidly about the elements of making effective change: courage, instinct, planning and working fearlessly. In the midst of managing change, “the true principles of leadership are constant,” offered Epps. Here are just a few points panelists urged women to consider:

Racquel Oden, managing director, head of global product strategy & business development, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch

Oden learned some of her best lessons on navigating change by white river rafting. When you are thrown from the boat, her guide instructs, let go and put your feet forward.

They tell you to trust the direction of the river, she says. Holding on is what causes the greatest injuries.

***

Susan Chapman, global chief administrator officer, Citi Reality Services

In battling fear, Chapman always asks, what’s the worst that can happen? “I do things outside my comfort zone where winning doesn’t matter.” Activities like mountain biking or playing tennis help her to realize that you can always recover from a loss. “Name your fear. Know what it is. That’s what grounds you. If it doesn’t work out, it wasn’t meant for you.”

***

Kim Goodman, president, Merchant Services Americas

Goodman believes that trust is one of the most important components of change management. “People will let go of their resistance if they trust you.” Goodman also believes professionals have to clear about what they want their work to represent and then set clear goals to accomplish them. “Do you want security or impact?” Leaders must demonstrate conviction that is tempered with the ability to be flexible and adaptable as they set out to achieve their goals.

***

Paula Madison, executive vice president, diversity & chief diversity officer, NBC Universal and Co. officer, General Electric

“I live for professional change,” states Madison. “I want to make history…I’m’ looking for whatever the first is; then we have something to aspire to.” Many professionals are dangerously dictating their lives based on the goals of their organizations, says Madison. If the organization fails then you fail. No professional should be in fear of losing their job, she admonishes. “If [my boss] doesn’t like me, [then] I’m broke – That can’t happen.” Secure additional streams of income, live below your means. Your job is a contract, reminds Madison. “Either one of us can opt out.”

As more companies are downsizing and reducing budgets, now more than ever, companies must understand how invaluable diversity is to its bottom-line, especially the influence black women executives bring to the corporate sector, according to a recent study.

Despite the fact that black women are graduating from college, graduate school, and joining corporate companies at high rates, many are having difficulty moving into senior positions. According to “Black Women Executives Research Initiatives,” a new report from the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) and the Executive Leadership Foundation, “because both their race and gender are beyond the norm in corporate America, black women like other women of color, face the burden of being ‘double outsiders.’ ”

Black women hold just 1% of corporate officer positions at Fortune 500 companies, according to a 2005 Catalyst report cited in the study.

“Companies can’t afford to overlook black women executives,” said Ancella Livers, executive director of the Executive Leadership Council’s Institute for Leadership Development & Research, at a private reception in New York City unveiling the ELC’s report.

The study explains that black women’s inclusion at senior levels can “help heighten the chance for broader and more innovative approaches throughout the organization” because they “champion new viewpoints to companies mired in status quo thinking.”

The report, sponsored by the Moody’s Foundation and J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation and conducted by Springboard, represents a year-long study on the success factors and impediments for black women executives reaching the C-Suite, including relationships, mentors and sponsors, work-life balance, risk-taking, and cross-cultural competence. Seventy-six black women, 18 CEOs, and 38 peers were interviewed.

Some of the key findings include:

Relationships with senior executives need more work. Black women executives suffer the lack of comfortable, trusted, and strategic relationships at the senior level with those who are most different from themselves, most notably white males.

Feedback is alive, but not well. Networks for black women executives do not provide enough strategic feedback about how they are doing and how best to advance.

Experiences that lead to the C-Suite are not visible enough. CEOs are often unaware of the breadth of skills and experience of black female executives. At the same time, the bar is higher for all C-Suite candidates.

Work-life balance means getting your house in order. Being proactive about managing the integration of work and life increases the ability of black female executives to compete at the highest levels.

A new leadership model emerges. The interview data clearly defined a new leadership framework for black female executives based on critical success factors for rising to senior levels in their organizations. The framework provides the foundation for a leadership assessment that black women at all levels can use.

CEOs interviewed for the study believe many black women executives “just say no” to leaving Profit & Loss (P&L) roles too early, seek big operating roles, and spend too little time developing strategic relationships. CEOs say black women executives need to be more visible and increase risk-taking. A CEO interviewed said, “White men don’t have a frame of reference. Most of them don’t know any black women in this setting. Black women need to be aware of this and work on it. The burden is on black women to figure it out.”

Livers and her team hope this report starts a dialogue across corporate America, resulting in actionable steps. The ELC plans to reach out to CEOs and business schools to develop formalized coaching programs for black women executives in route to the C-Suite.

To attain C-Suite status, one participant put it best: “When you’re in the C-Suite, everyone who’s at the table wears the company hat, not just a functional hat. You’re really up at a high enough level where you’re representing and should be able to speak to all aspects of the company. They see you as someone who can embrace change and who knows how to look through the windshield and help lead.”

Further reading: More Minorities in C-Suite is Good for Business

Though it seems like a stretch to compare the job of a CEO to that of a bus driver, the analogy is fitting, according to Ancella Livers, executive director of the Executive Leadership Council’s (ELC) Institute for Leadership Development & Research. Driving a bus carrying precious lives and cargo in bad weather is similar to running a company in these uncertain economic times. If no one knows you have experience doing it, then they aren’t going to allow you to do it.

A poll of 150 executives from a broad range of industries, services and locales, found that African-American women face serious challenges if they desire to take the reigns of their company as CEO. Thirty-one percent of CEOs say those challenges are attributed to a lack of strategic networks, 24% blame them on inaccurate perceptions of black women’s capabilities and 23% believe the problem lies with work life balance demands.

Responses came from companies with revenue of $1 billion and above annually and included CEOs, chairmen, executive vice presidents, vice presidents, and directors. Included in the interviews were 76 black female executives, 18 CEOs, and 38 fellow executives including African American men, white women, and white males.

According to the survey, 82% of senior corporate executives believe it is important to have minorities in senior management roles and they recognize that it is good for business. The findings show that 75% of corporate executives believe that having minorities in senior executive positions is particularly important to providing new ideas and innovation and to better reflect the diversity of customers.

“CEOs want to participate with us on this because they recognize there is a potential for underutilizing people because you really don’t understand all that they bring to the table,” says Carl Brooks, CEO at the ELC, a nonprofit organization to assist African Americans in executive roles at major U.S. companies.

He plans to develop ELC workshops and focus groups around the results of the survey to help young black executives and white CEOs learn to communicate better with one another.

The poll was taken between Nov. 4 and Dec. 2, 2008, at a time when there was increased discussion of how Barack Obama’s election would impact opportunities for minorities seeking to move into the C-Suite and on to corporate boards.

Livers says that if black women want to be seen as a contender for the CEO position, they need to seek positions that affect the company’s profits, assume assignments that stretch their responsibilities and reveal their hidden talents, and cultivate strategic relationships at work.

The executives said the best strategies for increasing the number of African-American women in the C-suite are recruiting (27%) and mentoring (21%).

Respondents from the survey suggest that black women should also find supporters and sponsors who will speak on their behalf. Livers suggests they identify the group of people who can speak for them in an appropriate way, and find supporters who will help bring them into various meetings and sessions and be a bridge to the C-suite. While executive coaching is an area that respondents suggested as helpful, it is also necessary that black women communicate their experience to those who are trying to help them.

“Black women often don’t talk about the things that they have done,” Livers says. “Sometimes you have to find ways for your light to be seen … Are [you] letting people know that [you] would like to run a global assignment?”

Finally, the survey found that black women should be more aggressive and take chances by taking on assignments that are outside of their normal realm of experience. Doing so will show employers they are willing to stretch their thinking, and it will give them higher visibility and more impact within the company.